This Swedish heirloom is the best stand mixer for bread, buns, and brioche
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Now featured in our guide to the best stand mixers, the Ankarsrum stands tall among classics like the KitchenAid Artisan, carving out a unique niche as the best stand mixer for bread-making
After testing it in our home kitchens, we realized that this Swedish powerhouse handles dough like an artisan baker. Its unique rotating bowl mimics the hand-kneading process, while the powerful motor, positioned in the base, provides a low center of gravity that keeps the mixer steady, even when tackling the densest doughs. Built to last, the Ankarsrum mixer isn’t just a tool; it’s destined to become a kitchen heirloom.
And it doesn't stop at bread. This versatile mixer excels at whipping cream and combining cake batter. You can even add attachments for rolling and cutting pasta.
We'll dive deeper into our test results below, but if you love to whip up homemade batches of sourdough bread (or you have aspirations), the Ankarsrum stand mixer should be your next kitchen investment.
The Ankarsrum Mixer: First Impressions
Model: Assistent Original AKM6230
RRP: $750 / ￡650
Colors: 12, including black, cream, forest green, blue, and yellow
Warranty: 7 years
Power: 1500 watts
Functions: 16 additional accessories available
Capacity: 7 litre bowl, can mix 1.5 L of liquid and 5 kg of dough
Weight: ?28.2 pounds
Dimensions: ?17.8 x 18.51 x 13.19 inches
We were sent the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer by Ankarsrum. In the UK you can find it at Borough Kitchen, and in the US it's available on the Ankarsrum site or at selected retailers such as Amazon.
Straight out of the box, this is a big stand mixer. The base is hefty (according to Amazon, it weighs ?28.2 pounds) and keeps the machine rooted to the counter. Coupled with the wide, 7-litre metal bowl, the Ankarsrum can manage big batches with ease, whether you’re preparing a dozen cinnamon rolls or kneading several pounds of dough.
It's beautiful too – with a shiny steel bowl and minimalist style. It will make your kitchen look like a chic Nordic bakery.
Accessories
Alongside the metal bowl, there's a plastic transparent bowl for the whisking function. We also loved the lid that can be used to cover the metal bowl when you're leaving your dough to rise.
We were pleased to see a recipe book included, although it wasn't as bread-heavy as expected. You'll find recipes for cakes and pastry in here, too.
Other nice-to-have extras included a scraper for removing every last drop from the mixing bowl, a paddle insert that prevents ingredients from getting stuck to the side of the bowl, and a dough roller that attaches to the overhead arm and is screwed into place at an adjustable distance from the side of the bowl, depending on what you're making. There is also a formidable-looking dough hook, best used for seriously intense bakes.
If you want to explore more mixer accessories, there's a pantry-load to choose from on Ankarsrum.com. They offer citrus juicers, pasta rollers, mincers, ice cream makers, and cookie cutters.
Mixing Performance
To test the best stand mixers, we assess their performance with a range of essential tasks, including bread dough, cake batter, whipped cream, and cookie dough. We examine how evenly the ingredients are incorporated, aiming for a smooth, consistent mix. For dough, we look for perfectly kneaded results – elastic and soft without overworking. The mixers must show they have sufficient power to handle even the heaviest dough while maintaining stable, reliable speeds. Ultimately, we’re seeking a machine that can effortlessly switch from delicate whisks to powerful kneads, making it a true kitchen companion for all types of bakers
Test 1: Bread
To test the dough kneading function on the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer, Millie opted for the toast bread recipe. This required a lot of ingredients: over a bag of flour and nearly a whole carton of milk. It was a good example of how much the mixer can handle in one go.
The recipe involved heating the milk, then adding the yeast and stirring inside the mixer to allow it to bloom and become frothy. From there, it was a case of adding the butter, sugar and salt to the mix, along with flour, a cup at a time.
If you're used to a traditional KitchenAid design, you might find there's a learning curve to using the Ankarsrum. The speed setting is a bit unclear, as it uses images instead of speed numbers.
But once Millie mastered the controls, the mixer slowly turned our mix into a glossy and elastic dough. The scraper sat firmly to the side of the bowl and did an excellent job of preventing our mix from getting stuck outside the reach of the central attachment.
As the dough came together, Millie turned the speed of this mixer up and marveled as it continued to run without ever overheating or even remotely struggling with our industrial-sized quantities of ingredients.
By the end, Millie was really pleased with the feel of the dough, and felt confident that she could leave the mixer to work without any supervision. Millie said, 'With other stand mixers we've reviewed, we have had concerns that the jolting often caused by kneading bread could cause the mixer base to move around on the counter. Because the overhead attachment holding the central spinner is adjustable, it seemed to absorb all of the impact without ever budging the base of the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer.'
From here, it was time to leave the dough to rise. This was made easier because Millie was able to add the plastic cover to the top of the bowl and let the first rise happen inside the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer itself. It doubled in size in under an hour, proof that the kneading really had done its job in developing a healthy dough.
One thing to note: the recipe book instructed a 30-minute bake. For such a huge volume of dough, this doesn't seem accurate. Surely an hour and 30 minutes was more realistic?
However, Millie followed the recipe and cooked the dough on quite a high heat for 30 minutes, after which the sesame seeds were scorched, the top crust very developed, but the dough sadly raw underneath. She turned the heat right down and added a sheet over the top of the dough to try and prevent any extra burning, but by this point the recipe was past redemption and we had to throw it out.
Millie says, 'Lesson learned: while there's no faulting how well this mixer works, the recipe book itself may not be foolproof.'
Test 2: Cinnamon Rolls
After we made the bread, we wanted to give the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer another shot. Lydia opted for the classic cinnamon buns recipe from the Ankarsrum website and this recipe went off without a hitch. The rolls were smooth, fluffy and delicious.
Test 3: Whipped Cream
The plastic bowl was super helpful when it came to whipping cream. Lydia could easily keep an eye on the texture of my cream to avoid over-whipping. Bakers usually use a hand mixer for meringue, as it allows more control and avoids over-whisking. But the whipped cream success got us thinking: the Ankarsrum could probably help out with your next pavlova.
Test 4: Cake, Cookies & Frosting
If you're familiar with the large whisk design of a KitchenAid Artisan mixer, you'll notice a difference here – Ankarsrum uses two smaller whisks, which Lydia found to be surprisingly efficient. She said, 'Working in tandem, the whisks effortlessly combined my ingredients into a silky-smooth cake batter.'
Lydia then switched the whisks out for beaters to cream butter and sugar together – the common origin of cookies and frosting.
The butter hadn't quite reached room temperature, but this was no problem for the Ankarsrum, which promptly got to work. A delicious, brown sugar frosting was ready in a couple of minutes. A successful day of baking – and not the slightest arm ache or countertop spillage in sight.
Cleaning
It's all good news here: the removable parts can go straight through the dishwasher, although we found that the stainless steel bowl was on the larger side for our half-size washer. Cleaning it by hand took less than a minute, and it was easy to remove any marks on the exterior of the bowl to keep it looking shiny and smart.
Our Verdict
The questions is: should you buy the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer?
For bread-lovers, this is a must-have mixer. The Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer really prioritizes quality, high-power design that we're confident you'll be passing down to your kids one day. You might want to follow your own recipe to mitigate any mishaps with the instructions booklet, like we encountered.
You could make the case for buying a less expensive option if you're an occasional bread maker, and of course, that large mixing bowl might be overkill for making one loaf at a time. However, we think the Ankarsrum would make a gorgeous gift for the baker in your life. Lydia has already put one on her wedding registry!