With my latest work schedule, my usual baking has been on a bit of a hold. I haven't made the large batch farmhouse bread, so we were getting down to the last "heel", and I certainly didn't want Handsome to buy any at the store. So I got out my supplies and resolved to bake up a small batch using my sister, Di's recipe.
Rather than mixing everything by hand as with my farmhouse recipe, Di's calls for adding a simple four or five ingredients to a mixer and letting it do most of the manual labor. I got everything into my KitchenAid and turned it on.
Now, a little bit about my mixer. This was a Sweetest Day gift from Handsome and the boys, and I still have all the attachments and the instruction manual. It's the heavy duty model which weighs about thirty three pounds, so I like to keep it out rather than horse it out of a cabinet onto the counter when I need it. It's been sitting in the pantry on our new quartz countertop. Did I tell you we set that counter height at 40"?
I was tending the machine until a dang fly started buzzing around my head, so I set the timer for five minutes - per the recipe - and grabbed the hand vac to scoop up that fly while the dough mixed. I was getting ready to go back to the pantry when I heard a terrible crash. My mixer had walked off the counter and fallen onto the floor. I felt nauseous.
In the fall, the cord tightened and unplugged from the outlet, the mixer was on its side, and the dough (thankfully) was still completely in the bowl. Handsome came running to make sure I was okay, and we got the mixer back onto the counter.
There I realized that the dough hook had snapped in the fall, but the stainless bowl was unmarked and undented, and there were no visible issues with my mixer. The old lino tile floor had a chunk gouged out of it, so I'm glad we hadn't had new flooring installed yet.
First order of business was to take the dough out of the bowl, extricate the broken hook from the mixture (making sure there were no other metal parts in it), and complete my bread preparations. Then, I washed out the bowl, threw out the hook, and gave the mixer an exam. It still ran perfectly when I turned it on, and when I moved the lever to lift the bowl it seemed fine, too. However, it makes a sickening SNAP when I move the lever to lower the bowl.
I got on the internet and found the phone number for KitchenAid and called to find out about sending it to the company for inspection and/or repairs, only to find my machine is "too old and we don't even make parts for it anymore". I even had the original receipt showing that as of October 17th - this week - it was exactly thirty seven years since it was purchased for me. Hearing that they wouldn't even look at it left me in tears. The customer service person was empathetic and apologetic, but couldn't help. She suggested I look for a local small appliance guy who might be able to take a look at it. None of the numbers I called in the area would look at it either.
When I posted about it on Facebook - because why not? - one of my high school classmates contacted me. I was at work when he called, but he suggested that it could be a broken tooth on one of the gears that raises the bowl that could cause the noise. He told me that if Handsome and I weren't confident taking the machine apart, he'd be willing to look at it. I thanked him profusely and said I'd get back to him.
When I got home, we looked at the mixer and the area where the lever resides is completely encased, and the mixer head would have to be removed for any inspection. We aren't brave enough to do that. The machine is working now - even if the lever is noisy on release - so we're not going to tamper with it at this point. I'll let my friend know that I'll contact him if it gets worse, and that I'm grateful for the offer.
I did a little research, too, and found that KitchenAid does manufacture an updated version of my 7 quart bowl, heavy duty model. No surprise that it costs nearly twice what Handsome originally paid for mine, but the good news is that it must be up to the same standards. The new model also weighs in around thirty three pounds and still has metal gears. That's really saying something about the quality of the machine. I may end up asking for a new one, but am thankful it won't need to be on an emergency basis. I will be buying a special mat to make sure this one - or any other - doesn't walk around my countertop again.
The bread was made, the mixer survived it's swan dive, and there's just one more reason to replace this ugly floor. I'm just happy that this sentimental, workhorse, Sweetest Day 1987 gift will be around longer. The thought of having to scrap her really was more than I could bear. Crisis averted. I'll have her for future celebrations, and there are many recipes yet to mix.Yay!
