I owned a Bosch for twenty years and loved it's performance. The only thing I didn't like was that the bowl and lid were not dishwasher safe. However, that is NO longer the case, I think. So, check that part out.

It does a terrific job with bread which was my primary concern. It will throw a small amount of flour if you forget to put the lid on. But, it never throws as much flour as the Kitchenaid regularily does. Another positive of the Bosch is the ease of adding ingredients. Because the bowl sits on top of the motor, there's nothing to hinder access to the bowl. Under heavy strain, it will walk across the counter. When I purchased my Bosch it came with the blender which added to the value. I don't know if it still does; or, if it's now a separate purchase. Again, you'll need to check. In twenty years, I never had a need to even phone for a question much less need a repair so I can't speak to their customer service. But, that fact does speak very favorably about the reliability of their equipment.

I've never used a Delonghi so won't offer any comments.

After an exhaustive search and review of stand mixers 3-4 years ago, I replaced my Bosch with the Electrolux 'Assistant'. I went to the King Arthur Test Kitchen in Norwich, Vermont and spent an entire day test driving the major brands. King Arthur sold all of the major players so they had no need to influence me in any direction. The 'Assistant' was the clear winner.

You won't be disappointed with a Bosch. I replaced my Bosch after twenty years of trusted service not because it wasn't working but because I just got sick of the non-dishwasher safe bowl. Health reasons make ease of use critical to my choice of kitchen equipment. Since I believe they've corrected that, I highly recommend a Bosch IF the cost of the 'Assistant' is too steep.

Tricia

triciae, I hope you'll check back in on this thread...
I have reason to believe that i may soon be getting a stand mixer (must contain enthusiasm in case i'm wrong...).

I plan to look at both Bosch and Electrolux. For me, it's got to be easy to use and large enough capacity. At the moment i do most everything by hand, a couple things in the food processor. However, even w/my 12-cup food processor, i don't feel safe doing dough that has more than 4 or 5 cups of flour, so no more than 1 or 2 loaves at a time, and no heavy grains like whole wheat. Because it's hard for me to set aside time to bake bread, when i do have a day i can bake, I'd love to be able to do 4 loaves (or even more) at a time, stick a couple in the freezer, and give some away. Can i do that with both of these machines?

Also, on the more powerful KA models, i don't like that it looks very hard to add ingredients, so i guess that's what i mean by ease of use. It seems like there's a bigger learning curve w/the electrolux--will it be difficult to figure out when to use which attachment, and how much to adjust it?

Would really like to get your feedback on this, since you're a master bread baker--thanks!