Don’t bother with a hand mixer that has a dough hook. Chances are the motor isn’t powerful enough to handle bread dough. It would also be too uncomfortable holding the mixer over a bowl for the amount of time it takes to machine-knead dough. Hand mixers are typically 200 to 250 watts of power, and for the thinner mixtures that these are typically used with, a motor that is 200 to 225 watts should work just fine. But when you are out.