Breville Flow collection VFM034 hand mixer review

Read our review of the best hand mixers for bakers.

Our first impressions of the Breville Flow collection VFM034 hand mixer

It might be one of the least expensive hand mixers you can buy, but this Breville mixer is surprisingly well-made, with an appealing grey finish. The ridged design on the body of the mixer adds visual interest, but does make it trickier to wipe clean. The rounded handle is comfortable to hold, but the shiny plastic means it can get slippery if your hands are greasy or damp.

There are five speed settings to choose from on the switch at the top of the handle. You can select ‘boost’ by pressing either the right or left button, making it user-friendly for both right- and left-handed people.

The 240-watt motor isn’t as powerful as many other mixers, but that’s unsurprising given how inexpensive it is. The beater and dough hook attachments are good quality though, and easily as sturdy as some of the more expensive models.

How is the Breville Flow collection VFM034 hand mixer to use?

The speed switch is tough to move, so you have to push it quite hard, which means it often clicks straight past the first speed setting and on to speed two or three. This can be challenging if you’re mixing a bowl of dry ingredients – during our test, a cloud of icing sugar shot into the air when we started mixing buttercream. Despite this, the finished buttercream was beautifully light and fluffy.

It does a fine job of whisking egg whites and thickening cream, but if we’re being picky, it's a little slower than other mixers. Plus, on the fastest speed setting, it’s quite loud. The dough hooks work well to mix bread dough and it shows no signs that it can’t cope with heavier mixtures. There is some vibration up through the handle though, and it can feel heavy when used for longer periods.

Our verdict

A bargain hand mixer that doesn’t have the low-quality feel of a cheaper model. It mixes well, but feels a tad heavy and is loud on the fastest setting.

Breville Flow collection VFM034 hand mixer specifications

Attachments: twin beaters and two dough hooks
Eject button: yes
Speeds: five, plus turbo function
Weight: 900g
Size: 19 x 8 x 14.5cm
Wattage: 240W
Dishwasher-safe parts: yes

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