Spiralmac Mixer, SV8 Royal Queen, Bianca

Yes, the machine is heavy but this is a good thing, the spiral mixer is welded from heavy gauge plate steel and extremely sturdy. Construction, fit and finish and components used are of extraordinary quality making this a true 'once in a lifetime' investment.

I've been baking bread for 30+ years, everything from basic yeast breads to heavy sourdough rye breads and everything in between. I also destroyed a few so called heavy duty stand mixers over the years. For the last 10-15 years I had good success with the KitchenAid 8qt commercial stand mixer and the Ankarsrum, running them side by side at times. If I had to give an over all rating the Spiralmac SV8 easily makes the 1st place, followed by the Ankarsrum. The KitchenAid still does a good job but when comparing these three machines it only takes 3rd place.

The Spiralmac produces a silky smooth dough without tearing the gluten structure apart, it still takes time to knead a good dough but watching the dough develop in real time is jaw dropping. As is a problem with most mixers the Spiralmac can warm the dough to unacceptable temperatures but by using cold water and ice cubes this is easy to deal with, as it is with the KitchenAid. However, when kneading 8lb to 9lb batches of 75% hydration dough the powerhead on the KitchenAid gets extremely hot, to the point where I occasionally had to stop the machine and finish the dough by hand.

Kneading smaller batches is one option but very time consuming and still, the dough quality is not quite the same. The Ankarsrum falls right in the middle but keeps the dough cooler than the KitchenAid and the Spiralmac.


I have chosen the Spiralmac over other also highly praised spiral mixers because of the stronger industrial style induction motor, infinite speed control and mainly because of the solid one piece construction. Removing, cleaning and re-installing the breaker bar, dough hook and bowl is super easy and literally takes less than 30 seconds plus the time it takes to wipe the parts down under running water, which is nothing.

One other thing I noticed, and didn't really believe when I watched videos from other users of similar machines is how easy everything cleans up. The KitchenAid pulls the dough up the hook and literally bakes it on the bottom cover of the planetary drive, even the dough hook and the bowl are a p.i.t.a. to clean, especially when working with sticky rye dough. The Ankarsrum is slightly better but still a pain to clean.

Last but not least, the noise level under load, the Spiralmac is by far the quietest, almost soothing, followed by the KA commercial stand mixer and the Ankarsrum coming in last but is still much quieter than most household grade machines, incl. many of the KA models, on the market.

Over all, the Spiralmac SV8 is the perfect size for every batch size as small as 3lb.

The Spiralmac is too big and too heavy for most countertops but too small (short) to be used on the floor. Fortunately, Pleasanthill Grain offers a sturdy, made in America, welded steel cart with heavy duty casters that elevates the machine to a comfortable height.

Thank you Pleasant Hill Grain for making this machine available on the North American market.

Wow! This mixer has been a revelation for my bagel making. I had my hesitations pulling the trigger at this price point, but it's been worth every penny. My particular bagel recipe is incredibly low hydration, sometimes sitting at 50% or even less. Due to the manufacturer's recommendation I do run my batches at less than 33% capacity at low speeds (sub speed 3), the mixer honestly doesn't even seem to be breaking a sweat and still runs almost completely silently. Big shout out to Darren for helping me go through the details and get it ordered.

I purchased this mixer in January 2025 (he hardware I received was actually manufactured in 2023) and have used it many times over the past few months. Overall I am extremely pleased with the purchase. There are a few things for potential purchasers to be aware of:

1. This is a fairly tall mixer and can be awkward to use on a normal height counter, but is too low to go on the floor. I have it on a low table, which seems to work very well.
2. The mixer required an isolation transformer; when used without one it instantly trips the GFCI. Once I installed the isolation transformer (a TrippLite IS1000) it has never given me any trouble whatsoever.
3. This mixer does not come with a dust cover.
4. The breaker bar and spiral implement are held in with thumb screws. For some reason in use the thumb screw on the breaker bar has a tendency to tighten up, while the one on the spiral tool will loosen over time. I keep a pair of channel-lock offset pliers next to the machine.

Overall this machine is very well built. It is reasonably quiet and has plenty of power, even when used with low hydration dough. The dough comes out with a great consistency and bakes well. I recommend it!

I haven't had a lot of time with my SV8 machine yet, but in my observations so far, it seems like a winner. It is well-built, runs quietly, and has plenty of power for an efficient mix. I was surprised at how easily the hook, breaker bar, and bowl are removed. With fewer moving parts than a tilt head, I think this is a great trade-off. The machine is pretty heavy but fits and works well, without its casters, on the PHG-built Rolling Kitchen Cart. Tip: put felt covers over the caster mounts to keep the cart scratch free.

Mixer is very quiet. Love the speed control. Reverse rotation a plus. Ingenious way to remove hook and bowl but not as easy as tilting head. Price is competitive. Well built professional machine. The mixing is very efficient. The cherry on top is Pleasant Hill Grain customer service as always.