This is an excellent value for making bread dough. I wondered if a true offset spiral mixer would do a better job of developing dough than a stand mixer with a dough hook. So far the answer is a solid "yes." I've tested it on
* High-hydration dough--around 85% hydration using the double hydration method
* Low-hydration dough--bagel dough using 14% protein flour and 57% hydration
* Inclusions--one with raisins, one with cooked diced onion
* Highly enriched dough--brioche dough with 40% butter, 10% oil
In all cases the mixer mixed the dough without strain, developed a smooth windowpane quickly and thoroughly, and mixed all ingredients uniformly.
It worked on a batch with only 500 g of flour. The specs say it goes down to 250 g, but I would be hesitant to go below 500 g. I suspect that this mixer's "sweet spot" is 1,000 g and above.
It would be nice if the mixer had a removeable bowl, reverse, more than one speed. But at this price point it's fine.
However...note that the mixer had significant quality control issues:
* The safety cage was misadjusted so that I could not raise it. Even I was able to fix this easily.
* The mixer had no power when it arrived. It just made a horrible grinding sound. Their technical support (which I could only reach by email, I couldn't reach directly...had to have my messages relayed by a customer service representative, and seemed to not be staffed by people who spoke English as a first language) instructed me to open the machine. Open the machine?! Bakers shouldn't have to do that! Once inside even I could see that the belt that transfers power from the motor to the gears was loose. In fact, it was at the very loosest setting. That means that NO ONE adjusted this before it went out to the customer. It was a bit challenging for me to fix this, but I was able to in time. And since then...it has worked flawlessly. I am not anticipating any additional problems.
Also note that the mixer arrived about 5 days later than the website listed. But that's not a huge problem.
Finally note that the listed price has been raised by $75 (15%) in just the last 4 weeks. So watch the price on this item. It may go up or down. And watch for coupon codes (using something like the Honey browser add-on). I waited until a 10% off coupon briefly activated.