The KitchenAid ‘dime’ test will completely optimize your mixer — here’s how it works

White KitchenAid stand mixer with beating attachment
(Image credit: KitchenAid)

If, like me, you own a KitchenAid stand mixer you’ll have made a good choice, as they are one of the best stand mixer brands on the market. But despite being a home baker’s best friend and being able to whip, mix, and knead a plethora of ingredients, KitchenAid stand mixers have one drawback.

I know from experience that when using my KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer, the mixture can get stuck at the bottom of the bowl. There’s nothing more frustrating than having to stop the appliance mid-mix to scrape the ingredients from the base of the bowl to incorporate them. Or, worse still, discovering your cake batter, frosting or cookie dough isn’t thoroughly mixed when spooning it out.

The flip side is that your flat beater scrapes the bottom of the bowl, whereas it should move freely without hitting the base or sides.

But don’t fret, as there is a quick and easy solution to correcting the issue that you can do yourself without paying for a repair. It’s a quick hack that KitchenAid even publishes on its website. And you won’t need a whole toolkit for the job — a dime and a flathead screwdriver will get the job done.

KitchenAid Pro Line Series 7-quart, bowl-lift, stand mixer
KitchenAid Pro Line Series 7-quart, bowl-lift, stand mixer: was $599 now $529 at Crate & Barrel

KitchenAid's Pro Line Series provides professional mixing for the home kitchen. Suitable for mixing large and heavy  ingredients, including up to 13 dozen cookies in one go, or 8.5 lbs of bread dough. It includes a wire whip, flat beater, dough hook, flex-edge beater and pouring shield.

What’s the problem?

KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer with head raised

(Image credit: Future)

Your KitchenAid is out of kilter and needs to be back on track. KitchenAid explains that the mixer bowl-to-beater ratio needs adjusting to allow the right clearance between the two. If your beater is too high, ingredients will remain unmixed on the bottom of the bowl. However, once corrected and recalibrated, your batters and dough will mix perfectly.

Start with the dime test

KitchenAid dime test

(Image credit: Tom's Guide / Camilla Sharman)

The test can be completed on a tilt-head or bowl-lift KitchenAid stand mixer.

1. Place a dime in the base of the bowl. As I'm based in the U.K, I used a one penny coin, which is only fractionally deeper than a dime.
2. Attach the flat beater to the mixer.
3. Turn the appliance on and watch the dime.

If the dime stays put the beater is too high. The beater is too low if it doesn’t move around the bowl smoothly. Ideally, the coin should move steadily around the base of the bowl, shifting about a quarter of an inch with each pass of the beater.

How to adjust a tilt-head stand mixer

1. Tilt the head of the stand mixer back. A screw will be revealed where the head of the mixer sits on the base.
2. Taking your flathead screwdriver, turn the screw slightly counterclockwise to raise the beater, or clockwise to lower it.
3. To check that your adjustment has worked, repeat the dime test, and if needed, adjust the screw until your beater sits at the perfect height.

How to adjust a bowl-lift stand mixer

Cake baked in the KitchenAid 7-Quart Stand Mixer

(Image credit: Future)

1. Lower the bowl to the down position. The screw will be revealed about the back of the bowl.
2. Taking your flathead screwdriver, turn the screw slightly counterclockwise to raise the beater, or clockwise to lower it.
3. Run the mixer at each speed and check the clearance between the attachment and the bowl.
4. Repeat the dime test and adjust the screw if needed by repeating the steps above.

Once you correct the calibration of your stand mixer, you can sit back and allow your KitchenAid to do all the hard work for you. You'll end up with perfectly whipped or blended ingredients without having to check in on the progress halfway through.

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Camilla Sharman
Staff Writer, Homes

Camilla is the Homes Staff Writer and covers everything to do with homes and gardens. She has a wealth of editorial experience, mounting over 30 years, and covers news and features, tests products for reviews and compiles buying guides. 

Her work has appeared in business and consumer titles, including Ideal Home, Real Homes, House Beautiful, Homebuilding & Renovation, and Kitchen & Bathroom Business. She’s even appeared on the cover of Your Home, writing about her own house renovation.

Although she’s obsessed with decorating her home, she also enjoys baking and trying out the latest kitchen appliances. But when she’s not inside, you’ll find her pottering about in her yard, tending to her vegetable patch or taking in her prized hydrangeas.

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