A READER QUESTION FROM GERALD LAMONTAGNE:

Morning Mr. Reynolds-

I’ve decided that you need another post about kitchen gadgets!!! Alright, that’s probably the wrong way to go about this. Mainly, I’m wondering if you had any recommendations for alternatives to the Kitchenaid Pro 600 Mixer.

We’ve got the Pro 600 6-qt model- well, we had a 6-qt model… actually our 2nd 6-qt model just died this week, for different reasons than when the 1st model we had died. Kitchenaid was good enough to replace the original model we had, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to replace this model as well. But at this point I’m wondering about a different manufacturer altogether. The main drag on it is that I make bread- probably 1+ loaf a week. At this point I’m thinking that the machine just isn’t up to that kind of abuse on a regular basis. Of course, it’s possible that no home-kitchen mixer model is up to that kind of use (abuse?).

I’ve had bread machines in the past, but I’m not interested in that path because I prefer the versatility of the Kitchenaid style mixer(s). I know about the Viking but I’ve read reviews stating similar problems. If you know of any good alternatives I’d much appreciate any suggestions.

Not really, myself — I don’t do a lot of baking (the Insta-Daughter bakes bread sometimes, but not a whole lot) and for what mixing I do I just use a Kitchenaid hand mixer (I think it’s this model, but I’m downstairs, it’s upstairs, and I’m too lazy to go check the model). So, any Insta-Reader advice? It seems to me that Gerald shouldn’t be having so many problems — I thought the big Kitchenaid mixers were supposed to be pretty rugged. Looking at the customer reviews, most people seem very happy, though there’s one complaint about breakage.

Anyway, any advice from readers? I got nothing.