A stand mixer — or kitchen machine — is the workhorse at the heart of serious home baking. It kneads bread dough, creams cake batter and whips egg whites hands-free, and with the right attachments it will mince, slice, spiralise and more, replacing a drawer of gadgets. An extensive test of 41 kitchen machines sorted the best, and these are the top picks, checked against current UK prices.
What to Look For
Power and capacity. Motor wattage runs from around 700 W on lighter machines to 1500 W on the mightiest, and more power helps with heavy bread dough. Bowl size matters just as much: a compact 4.8 litres suits small kitchens, 5 litres most households, and 6.6 or 7 litres the biggest batches. Just as important is how much dough a machine kneads at once — capacities run from about 1 kg to 1.5 kg, 2 kg or even 2.5 kg on the mightiest, while some smart machines cap out at around 1.8 kg.
Head design. There are three approaches. A tilt-head lifts up so you can reach the bowl, which is easy on smaller machines; a bowl-lift raises and lowers the bowl to a fixed head, sturdy for heavy dough though removal can be fiddly; and the Ankarsrum's unusual design spins the bowl around a stationary tool, which excels at large dough batches.
Attachments and extras. The best machines take a food processor, mincer, pasta roller and more through a power take-off, turning one appliance into many. Look, too, for genuinely useful touches: a built-in scale saves weighing separately, and a display can guide you through doughs and recipes.
Build, stability and noise. These are heavy, powerful machines, so solid build and a stable base matter — the best stay put, while lesser ones can wander across the worktop under load. Quieter running and an easy-clean finish are worth having if you bake often.
The Winner: Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker
The Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker (KVC85, around £399.99) is the best for most people. Kenwood's all-rounder has more than enough power for home baking, a large 5-litre bowl and — a lovely touch — a built-in scale so you can weigh ingredients straight into the bowl. It is beautifully finished in every detail, easy to clean, and genuinely versatile, with a food processor attachment on board. It can wander a little when kneading heavy dough and the splash guard feels fragile, but as a do-everything kitchen machine it leads the field. Check the price on Amazon
Best Icon: KitchenAid Artisan Bowl-Lift
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The KitchenAid Artisan Bowl-Lift (around £749) is the design classic, and its 6.6-litre bowl-lift mechanism makes it a sturdy choice for heavier work: rather than a tilting head, a lever raises and lowers the bowl to the fixed beater. It is superbly built and endlessly accessorised. The trade-offs are practical — the bowl-lift is not always the easiest for scooping out mixture, and the bowl can scratch the paint over time — but few machines match its blend of looks, durability and attachment ecosystem. Check the price on Amazon
Best for Serious Bakers: Ankarsrum Assistent
The Ankarsrum Assistent Original 6230 (around £940.99) takes a completely different approach: instead of a beater spinning above the bowl, the 7-litre bowl itself rotates around a stationary roller and scraper. It sounds odd, but it is brilliant for large batches of bread dough, and its 1500 W motor runs impressively quietly. There is a learning curve — the tools require a rethink and the whisk needs its own separate bowl — but for dedicated bread bakers, nothing else here comes close. Check the price on Amazon
Also Tested
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The Bosch Serie 8 is Bosch's comfort-and-quality option, strong on large amounts of firm dough and cleverly able to weigh ingredients both in the bowl and at the machine's head, with a display to guide you through different dough types. It is less happy with liquid batters, and UK availability is patchy. The Tefal I-Coach Touch takes things digital, with a touchscreen that walks beginners through recipes step by step; it is stable and reasonably quiet but tops out at around 1.8 kg of dough, and the build and glossy finish are not the last word. Check current UK stock for both.
How to Choose
Decide how you bake. For all-round home use — cakes, the odd loaf, whipping and mixing — the Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker does everything well and its built-in scale is a joy. If you want an heirloom-grade icon with a vast attachment range, the KitchenAid Artisan Bowl-Lift is worth the outlay; if you bake bread in serious quantities, the Ankarsrum's bowl-rotating design is unmatched. Match the bowl size and dough capacity to your batches, prioritise the attachments you will actually use, and buy the sturdiest machine you can afford — a good one lasts decades.
Verdict
The Kenwood Titanium Chef Baker is the kitchen machine to buy for most people at around £399.99: powerful, versatile, beautifully made and blessed with a built-in scale. Step up to the iconic KitchenAid Artisan Bowl-Lift (around £749) for looks and durability, or the bread-specialist Ankarsrum Assistent (around £940.99) for serious dough. Buy well and a stand mixer becomes the appliance you will still be using in twenty years.
