You requested a comparison of the Bosch and DLX. Below, you will find mine. Both machines have staunch and loyal supporters, so don't be surprised when you get conflicting recommendations. These are the top two machines on the market. As a former dealer, I have sold them both, so have nothing to lose by being 100% honest with you.

My preference is for the DLX. You will see why when you read the comparison. I just wanted to tell you up front so that you can consider that as you read.

The comparison below is my opinion based on the comparison research I did to make the decision when purchasing my own. I compiled this research as a consumer, not a distributor. After purchasing, I was asked by Magic Mill to represent them as my research was very thorough (and in their favor!).

I hope this proves helpful to you. Please understand that I have sold both machines, so have nothing to lose in telling you the truth about each one. However, you will see why I favor one over the other, based upon by own research as a consumer.

As far as the DLX and the Bosch go, I have to say that in my opinion the DLX is the far superior machine. A nutritionist friend of mine who formerly owned the Bosch feels there is NO comparison!

When taking the two machines apart and looking at the interior construction you find that the Bosch has two pulleys, and plastic working parts. The two pulleys require more power for the machine to handle a heavy load. The DLX has a direct drive and has all stainless steel working parts. It requires less power to run, thereby making it more economical in the long run with your power bill.

My husband is a contractor, and therefore a "tool freak." When he took these and looked at the interior construction, he TOLD me to purchase the DLX because he felt it would last longer and need less repair. So far, I've had no problems with either of the two I own and I've had one for almost 12 years. (I have two for the class I teach. I use one and my family uses the other in the kitchen while I teach and demonstrate the other.)

The DLX can run on a generator, (I've done it!), and you only use 16-20 minutes of power for SIX, 1 1/2 lb. or 2 lb. loaves [or NINE, 1 1/2 lb. loaves] of (triple rise) bread! (Good for about a week on the counter.)

The DLX holds 15 lbs. of bread dough, 21 cups of flour. At a family reunion several years ago, I made SIX "Healthier Tollhouse Pies" in it at ONE time!! (recipe in my cookbook) The beauty of this machine is that I can make one loaf of bread, (I weekly make one loaf of pumpernickel for me, as I'm the only one who likes it.) one pie, one cake or multiples. The machine can handle SO much! The Bosch has a smaller capacity.

The Bosch can "throw dough" out of the bowl, especially with larger recipes, unless you use the lid for the bowl. The DLX has no lid, other than the "dust cover" (less to clean dough off of) and in all these years has never thrown anything out of its bowl.

The DLX has a seamless stainless steel bowl with no "doughnut" hole in the middle. The Bosch has a doughnut shaped bowl. Dough has been known to get down into the working parts of the Bosch making it unsanitary and potentially dangerous to use, in my opinion.

The DLX housing is sealed and NO dough can get inside or anywhere else that can't be cleaned. It has ALL stainless steel working parts; the Bosch has mostly plastic.

All I can tell you is what others tell me - and I think they are the best testimony, not just someone who used to be a distributor. The ones who own a Bosch and see my DLX have said to me, "I wish I'd seen this one first!"

The money is comparable as far as an investment goes. Neither is "cheap," which is why I tell people they are an investment in their family and their family's health.

The Bosch comes with a dough hook and has these attachments available: blender (traditional style with narrow "cup" bottom), food processor, meat grinder, whisks and sausage stuffer. To make the Bosch capacity closer to that of the DLX, you must purchase the stainless steel bowl. By the time you do that, you have more money invested in the smaller Bosch than you would put into the purchase of a DLX.

The DLX comes with a roller and scraper, lid, cleaning paddle and your choice of either the Double Whisk bowl or dough hook. The roller and scraper mimic the kneading action of your hands without adding additional flour, [which would result in a much heavier loaf of bread]. The roller doesn't care how sticky the dough gets! (My basic recipe is a Jewish Challah bread, VERY sticky, but VERY good and light, especially for a loaf of 100% freshly milled bread. The DLX produces a light, high rising, finely textured bread comparable to grocery store bread, but from the healthier flour of 100% freshly milled grains.) The DLX just keeps kneading. The scraper cleans the bowl for you AS the roller is mixing.

This machine has been the mixer of choice in Europe for approximately 50 years. It was engineered by Electrolux of Sweden. They have a reputation for FINE machinery. The motor is "torqued" and will adjust to the load or demand placed upon the motor. The Bosch is not.

The DLX has a sliding speed control giving you very slow to very fast and any choice of speed in between. The Bosch has 3 speed settings, all of which are fast.

Another interesting fact: the DLX has an attachment called the Grain and Spice Mill. There is an attachment engineered/made for this which will let you use it on the DLX AND the attachment converts it to a hand mill. This saves BIG money for those outdoor types who camp and who wish to take their freshly milled grains with them to the woods.

Without a lot more money to spend on another grain mill, you can use it electrically AND have a back up for times with no power. Not only that, but this will allow you to use almost all of the DLX attachments by hand.

The attachments include: a double whisk bowl, dough hook (I have never had a reason to have to used mine). With the purchase of the DLX, you can have your choice of either the double whisk or the dough hook. It also offers: a flake mill (roll oats, wheat, etc.), a food shredder/slicer, a meat grinder, pasta disks, berry press, nut grater, cookie extruder, sausage stuffer, citrus juicer and the BEST blender I've ever used. I use the blender to powder dehydrated orange/lemon/lime peels, dried tomatoes [for instant tomato sauce, paste, pizza sauce, pimento cheese], and to powder dried apples for cinnamon apple nut bread, flavored oatmeal, etc. (All in my cookbook) You may invest in the ones which interest you and now have the ability to still use most all of them without power.

So, I highly recommend the DLX to you, for the reasons above. If you choose not to go this route, the Bosch is a good machine, certainly better than the competitors I've seen. The Bosch has a smaller capacity, isn't quite as easy to clean (important to me - love to cook, HATE to clean!). It will do a fine job as well but I must admit to partiality to the DLX, as you can tell.

These machines are designed to last for your lifetime and the lifetime of your children as well. Other mixers don't seem to have these criteria.

Hope this helps! And thank you for contacting me. :o)

Beth ºÜº
(Bread Lady)

PS If you have questions once you begin bread making, I am available to help you . I also have a step-by-step video showing you how to make bread in the DLX, if you are inexperienced at bread making or feel somewhat timid in beginning with this machine. You watch, stop, go do, come back and watch, stop, go do, etc. So far, it has been 100% successful for those inexperienced (and experienced but not quite sure about how to use the machine) at bread making who have used it.

Here to help and serve,
Beth ºÜº

The write up below contains more technical type info. It was sent to a lady who wanted more info on the motor and some other technical aspects of the DLX. I am not the technical person in this family, so I got my husband to help me explain that part. I hope this will help you as well.

Let's take these one at a time and see what we can do for your questions.

Okay, because the DLX has a variable speed torque motor and because it has a direct drive, it doesn't require as much power to do more work. So, the 450 watt motor will handle more load than the Bosch's 700 watt motor, thus the DLX is rated to handle a larger amount of dough than the Bosch. Your husband should be able to confirm that. This is the largest non-commercial mixer out there and can easily handle fifteen POUNDS of dough, 21 CUPS of flour at one time.

The Bosch has different belts going from wheel to wheel to wheel, each wheel decreasing in size (or increasing, depending on how you look at it). If you have a family of nine, even though I have sold the Bosch, I couldn't in all good conscience recommend one to you. You would have to do more batches with the Bosch as it isn't rated to handle the load the DLX is. My husband took our apart to confirm how it was made.

Okay, for your numbered questions:

1. Parts are readily available. Most times, warranty work is sent off to New York State . The warranty is 3 years, which, I believe, is the longest on a mixer. Even Kitchen Aid is now down to a 1 year warranty. However, the best news is that they RARELY need fixing. I have had my oldest one for almost 12 years and it has not given me any trouble.

2. The blender is one of my favorite attachments to the DLX. I used to hate the old blenders with the narrow necks at the bottom. Everything would get stuck down there and then I'd have to stop the blender, dig the mixed up stuff out of the bottom and try to push the unmixed down. With the DLX blender, which is almost a perfect cylinder in shape, it just chews up everything. In the class that I teach, I put 1-2 cups of walnuts in the blender to make cinnamon rolls. The people's eyes get huge when they see that thing go. It probably takes 5 SECONDS to make walnut meal out of those walnuts. It's on, then off; VERY fast. I also use mine to powder apple slices, tomato slices, lemon and orange peels that I have dehydrated. It chews them up into a very fine powder. It has a 5 cup capacity.

3. One of the biggest advantages of the DLX is that it comes the closest of any machine to mimicking the kneading action of human hands. That is what the roller and scraper are for. A dough hook was made for those who insisted on having one, but a dough hook actually stretches and tears the dough. The roller and scraper knead the dough in a very similar action to your hands thereby forming a beautiful cell structure to produce finely textured, small celled bread (comparable to grocery store bread texture). I use the roller and scraper for bread, cakes, including a carrot cake I make with nuts, coconut, shredded carrots and pineapple. The roller and scraper don't get tangled up with the solid ingredients. You could not do this with beaters. I also use the roller and scraper for cookies, cheesecake, a Date-Walnut Pudding I make at Thanksgiving which is made with flour and I've even made SIX "Healthier Tollhouse Pies" in it at one time. It will handle one cake, one batch of cookie dough, one loaf of bread or multiples of these items. With your family size, I'm sure you need the ability to do multiples! In all my 12+ years, I have NEVER used the dough hook. And I have two dough hooks, one for each DLX.

Another advantage of the DLX is its attachments. I have taken chuck roast and made ground chuck when I was out (we purchase an organically grown cow each year. It's cheaper than the grocery store, healthier and we get it cut the way we want. I can get a half a cow for about $225.00, with my choice of cuts, packaged for the # of people I want, freezer wrapped, marked with the cut, frozen and delivered to my door). I also use the roller and flaker to make our own oatmeal, granola, etc. anything with flattened-out grain (only grain it won't do is corn, it's too big). I use the grain and spice mill to make the best grits in the world, to grind spices (allspice, cloves, etc.), make cream of wheat, grind coffee beans, etc The shredder/slicer is the rave of those who "Mega-cook" in a weekend and freeze 6 months of entrees at a time. They can process 50-100 lbs of produce without having to stop and empty a bowl (like a food processor requires). The meat grinder also works pasta disks, a berry press (took the seeds out of 2 GALLONS of blackberries in 45 minutes!), sausage stuffer, cookie extruder and nut grater. All of these work with a hand crank as well. The hand crank is an exclusive item to the DLX.

The DLX comes with either the dough hook (useless as far as I'm concerned) or the double whisk bowl which I use weekly to make butter and will whip cream, egg whites small amounts of batter, etc.

4. The bowl of the DLX is a seamless stainless steel bowl with a welded shaft which engages the drive mechanism. The shaft center piece is an upside down U, which fits on and in the base drive mechanism. The U sits in a circle which fits over the outside of the "male" piece on the base. The base has a steel bar in the center which catches the U and turns the bowl. I hope that makes sense and is clear.

5. Like you, I once had to make this same decision and major purchase for my family. I chose the DLX (and there are just four of us) long before I was approached to become a dealer. It has been the mixer of choice in Europe for many years. That's a good track record for me. Plus, when I was making my choice, my husband was involved and he liked the engineering of the DLX and felt that it was a far superior machine to the others. I liked the fact that it wasn't doughnut shaped (easier to clean-my least favorite thing to do), was stainless steel, dishwasher-able and I could make as small or as large a batch as I liked. Though my family is only four, when my parents and siblings all get together, there are 16 of us and more nieces and nephews being born. When we all get together here at Thanksgiving, the DLX can keep up with the demand for dinner rolls, desserts and mashed potatoes. It truly is a wonderful machine. It will keep up with your family as you add in-laws and will even be around to pass down to someone - if you can bear to let it go. I'm no longer a dealer, but I still recommend this machine. I chose it for myself when I was the consumer and had researched myself silly. If I wouldn't buy it for myself, I wouldn't recommend it to you. I know that some recommend the stainless steel bowl for the Bosch. If you go that route, you will have put as much money into it as if you had purchased a DLX (which comes with a stainless steel bowl) but the Bosch just cannot handle the load the DLX can.

With your family size, I will tell you that the DLX is the best choice for you. Knowing the numbers you are feeding, I could not recommend anything else. I would hate for you to put that much money into a machine and not be satisfied. I know you'd be satisfied with the DLX.

As I said in the comparison, the women who have the Bosch and see my DLX work have said to me, "I wish I'd seen that one first!" One lady had just gotten a Bosch for Christmas. It had been a dream of several years. She was just SICK when she saw the DLX work and all it would do. She was mourning that she hadn't researched a bit more. However, there are many Bosch owners in the world who love their Bosch and are as attached to it as I am to my DLX.

The Bosch has been loved and used in the US for many years, is a fine machine and definitely has been the “old stand-by” on the US market. It would still be an excellent machine choice. The DLX is the “new kid on the block” in the US market, though it has a long track record in Europe .

If I missed something, just email me again. Hopefully, this will help you in your decision.

Blessings on your decision!
Bread Lady
(Beth Holland)

My Experience with the Bosch and the DLX by Jeff B.
I thought I would write to you concerning my experience with the DLX mixer. I have previously used Bosch mixers (Universal and Concept 7000) and Kitchen Aid for the past 15 years. In that time I have made mostly whole wheat bread, some white bread, and used various attachments. Whole wheat bread generally turned out fine as long as I made the standard recipe (6 cups water) It wasn¹t as good with smaller batches as the dough would just travel around the centre post without kneading very well. Even large batches of white bread would do the same as it seems to be a more slippery dough.

It has been quite a revelation with the DLX. The first thing I noticed was the build quality, which is far better than the Bosch mixer’s plastic. The stainless steel bowl is very large and without a centre post. (More about that later). When I turned it on I was very surprised to find out it produced much less noise than the Bosch.

When making small batches of dough I noticed how the machine accomplished the kneading process. The dough is pushed against the scraper and squeezed behind the roller-an action that closely mimics hand kneading. It’s a pleasure to watch and a very efficient action. My rolls and breads have been consistently higher and lighter than ever before. It also does a great job on the large batches as well. It has power to spare and, even though it is rated a lower wattage than Bosch, it will do at least as much work. Because the bowl turns and the roller and scraper are stationary, and there is no centre post, you can add ingredients without hindrance. I know the safety first people would cringe, but, I also feel the dough with my fingers as it is being kneaded. You simply can¹t do that in a machine with a rotating
dough hook.

Cleanup is a breeze. There are no nooks and crannies to worry about. In the Bosch you have to clean the centre post inside, not too bad in the Concept, but near impossible in the Universal.

The DLX also excels with cakes and frostings. You don’t have to stop and scrape down the bowl, because of the built in scraper. This is a major pain with all other mixers. Frostings are also very silky-I think more so than any other mixer I have used. My wife thought she would try to whip cream with the roller and scraper one night even though I urged her to use the smaller bowl with the wire whips, because I didn¹t think it would work. Much to my surprise the cream whipped beautifully.

My wife, by the way wouldn’t use my Bosch at all. She thought it too
complicated and difficult to clean, which is why I always had the Kitchen Aid as well. She loves to use the DLX however, and I was finally able to sell the Kitchen Aid. We both love this machine and can’t think of anything it doesn¹t do well.

Jeff and Carol B.
Mossley, Ontario, Canada