Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer review: why we loaf this mixing machine

The Ankarsrum Assistent Mixer puts kneading front and center. Although you'll find it right at home in our guide to the best stand mixers, there really is no comparison when it comes to this machine's capabilities. That is of course, unless you turn to professional-level machines. While many mixers focus on making batches of cupcakes or whipping up quick buttercreams, Swedish brand Ankarsrum designed its Assistent Mixer with one primary function in mind: making brilliant bread.

Of course, it can do a lot more besides, including whisking, creaming, even making ice cream, but it's clear that this mixer has thrown in enough muscle to make multiple loaves at once, which is something you won't always find with key stand mixer brands.

We were taken by the design, which had a retro feel and comes in 12 colors. The design is practical, too, with a somewhat low and long base that means it will sit happily under kitchen counters. Find out how we got on in our Ankarsrum Assistent Original review.

• Buy from Ankarsrum.com, $750 / £650

Ankarsrum Assistent Original review

• Model: Assistent Original AKM6230
• RRP: $750 / £650 
• Colors: 12, from black and cream to red 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 

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Millie Fender

Millie Fender is Head of Reviews at Future Homes. Formerly Homes & Gardens' resident cooking expert, she still loves to test anything that involves baking or cooking, and is a real air fryer obsessive. 

Millie was 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. 

Getting started with the Ankarsrum Assistent

Straight out the box, this is a big stand mixer. The base is very hefty (according to Amazon, it weighs ‎28.2 pounds) and the dimensions for the assembled mixer are ‎17.8 x 18.51 x 13.19 inches. 

Alongside the metal bowl there is also a plastic transparent bowl, which is used when making the most of the whisking function, and a 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-based bakes 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. 

The base houses the controls for this mixer. There is one dial which functions as an on/off switch, and also a timer. The other controls the speed of the mixer, which is operated via a cog in the base which spins the bowl, rather than an overhead mechanism like you'll find in alternatives from KitchenAid or Cuisinart. 

What is the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer like to use?

When getting started with the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer, we opted for the toast bread recipe. This required a lot of ingredients: over a bag of flour and most of a carton of milk. It was a good example of how much the mixer can handle in one go though. 

The recipe first involved heating the milk and then adding the yeast, 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. 

As we did this, 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, we 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, we were really pleased with the feel of the dough, and felt confident that we could leave the mixer to work without any supervision. 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 though, 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 we were 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. 

Our second rise happened inside a baking dish, where we split the dough into four equal parts and topped with some sesame seeds before putting it in the oven.

Here is where we struggled, because the recipe instructed to cook for just 30 minutes. For such a huge volume of dough, we were incredibly sceptical that this was accurate. Surely an hour and 30 minutes was more realistic? However, we followed the recipe and cooked our dough on quite a high heat for 30 minutes, after which our sesame seeds were scorched, the top crust very developed, but the dough sadly raw underneath it. We 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.

Lesson learnt: while there's no faulting how well this mixer works, the recipe book itself may not be foolproof. 

After we made our toast bread, we wanted to give the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer another shot, and opted for the classic cinnamon buns recipe from the Ankarsrum website. We were thrilled that this recipe went off without a hitch, using overnight fermentation to make a cold yeast dough. 

Making cake

To make cake in the Ankarsrum Assistent Original Mixer you'll need to use the plastic bowl and attach the double-whisk attachment to the center. Instead of the bowl doing the spinning, it's the whisk that moves with this one. 

Most stand mixers come with a flat beater, best used on cake mixes, and a whisk that's great for making meringues or whipped cream. You'll be using the whisk for both cake and cream with this mixer, another sign that it's a mixer best used for bread, although the whisk itself had no trouble in our testing, and the double-sided design meant that our mix came together in record time. 

How to clean the Ankarsrum mixer

It's all good news here: the removable parts can go straight through the diswasher, 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. 

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 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, while other options are available, we think the Ankarsrum would make a killer gift for the baker in your life who's managed to keep their sourdough starter going since 2019.