How to choose a bread machine

Bread is the basis of cuisine for many peoples of the world. It’s not for nothing that people have so many expressions about the role of bread in the house. Until recently, the tradition of making bread at home became a thing of the past, as it took a lot of time. However, thanks to technological progress, you can now make delicious and fresh bread yourself., and most importantly - do not put in a lot of effort and do not waste a lot of time.

To do this, you need to buy a bread machine, however, before doing this, you need to understand all the nuances of this device in order to make the right choice.

Choosing the right bread machine is important

The first thing they recommend starting with when choosing a bread machine is power. It is usually in the range from 450 to 860 W. It is most practical to buy with an average value. These cost a little less, plus they will reduce energy consumption. Next, you should pay attention to the volume of the oven. Everything is simple here: you need to take larger sizes, especially if you have a large family.

Separately, you should pay attention to functionality, because this is where people most often make mistakes. Often it is enough to take with minimal functions, because this is quite enough to bake delicious bread.

If your friends have a bread machine, then it’s worth consulting with them, perhaps even just to avoid repeating their mistake. If they are happy with everything, take the opportunity and come visit to look at the device yourself.

Important. Before you go to a store or buy online, read the product description, compare prices, and most importantly, find reliable reviews from other customers. This way you will be as prepared as possible for the purchase and will not make standard mistakes.

Now we should look at the technical characteristics in more detail.

Bread machine functionality

Ideally, the more features, the better. However, you need to remember that this often significantly increases the cost of the bread machine. Therefore, in such a situation, you need to clearly understand why exactly you need a stove and what minimum set of functions will suit you.

The main and most popular functions are:

• quick bread;
• knead the dough;
• simple bread.

Manufacturers often add additional features to the device:

• production of confectionery products;
• making jam;
• Borodino bread
• Baking loose bread for sandwiches;
• Making butter and yogurt.

By the way, another advantage of many bread makers is the ability to prepare bread according to an individual recipe. This is important for people who have health problems or are on diets. In addition, the bread machine can only be used for kneading dough, for example, dumplings, pies, etc.

Important. Often people buy a bread maker with a lot of functions and never use them.

Main settings

After you have become familiar with the functions, you should move on to analyzing the parameters of the bread maker.In short, unlike many other devices, it won’t be too difficult to figure it out, because most of the characteristics have a simple comparison category - size. But we should start with power.

Bread machine power

In rare cases, the maximum power can reach 1700 W. The minimum power is from 400 W. Power affects the speed of kneading the dough, as well as the speed of baking. However, a high-power bread machine consumes a large amount of energy. If you are not in a big hurry, then you should stay at the average value in the area 700-800 watts This bread machine costs much less and consumes less energy.

Bowl volume

This characteristic is very important because it makes it possible to prepare baked goods of the required size. There are three main types of bowls in terms of size.

Little ones

In such a bowl you can bake a product weighing from 450 to 750 grams. As a rule, such a product is enough for one or two people for a day. If there are more people in the family and they really love flour, then you need to do several approaches with such a bowl, which will significantly take away your time.

Average

You can cook bread in this bowl up to 1 kg. Basically, this bread is enough for a small family in 2–3 people.

Large

This bowl makes it possible to bake products weighing up to 2 kg. This is often convenient when you have guests, or when there are about 5 people in the family and everyone really loves flour products.

Number of blades

The number of blades is directly related to the size of the bowl. They are located in the middle of the bowl and allow you to knead the dough. If you buy a bread maker with a small bowl, then one spatula will be enough, but for a large bowl this will not be enough.

Many manufacturers are trying to reduce costs by mixing just one scoop in a large bowl. In this case, kneading a large amount of dough may cause difficulties for the device, and you will have to reduce the size of the product. It turns out that it was in vain to buy a bread maker with a large bowl.

Important. Large bowls and two spatulas have several disadvantages. Firstly, the product turns out with an uneven crust, which is not aesthetically attractive. Secondly, preparing a small product in a large bowl is often very difficult, since the dough is distributed unevenly between the blades, and sometimes even settles to the bottom.

Additional functions

Modern bread makers are often equipped with additional options for convenience:

• timer. A very useful thing, because it makes it possible to bake bread at the right time without being distracted by it at the most inopportune time;
• surge protection. This feature will keep your device safe and maintain its longevity;
• child lock. Children can often open the lid while cooking, thereby injuring themselves. With this function, children will not be able to open the lid;
• dispenser. This function significantly increases the cost of the device, since it makes it possible to fill flour products with filling;
• stop memory. In the event of a power outage, this function makes it possible to continue the baking process from the moment of the forced stop.

Popular programs

There are four programs:

• standard. Includes the entire bread preparation procedure and lasts approx. 3.5 hours;
• accelerated. This is an opportunity to reduce time costs, because the bread is being prepared in 2 hours. The big disadvantage is that it cooks quickly due to faster kneading. Because of this, the dough is not very fluffy;
• kneading the dough. Available in all models, but some of them have the ability to knead different doughs;
• bakery.

Some models have a program called “French bread”, it takes a lot of time, but the bread turns out fluffy and very soft. Some devices have a “cupcakes” program.

Expert advice

There are a couple of nuances that experts pay attention to:

• bread machine wall thickness. If you like a well-done crust, the walls should be thicker.
• presence of non-stick coating
• bread machine material. The cheapest option is plastic, but it is less durable. Steel is more reliable. The only negative is divorce, but this is a minor problem.

How to choose a budget bread machine at a reasonable price

In order not to spend extra money, you need to immediately understand the main thing: why do you need a bread maker. If you understand that you will use it rarely, using only standard recipes and classic functions, then you do not need to spend a lot of money on a very expensive bread maker. Remember that price is often not a guarantee of quality, but a calculation of the price of each additional feature. In addition, if you do not need to bake large volumes, you can reduce costs by purchasing a bread maker with a smaller bowl. Another way to save money without losing much in the end is to buy a bread machine with a lower capacity.

Rating of proven models

Today there are several models on the market that have an excellent reputation and a large number of positive reviews:
Moulinex OW613. This manufacturer is a well-known global brand. This model has a low power (700 W), the bowl can hold up to 1.5 kg test and equipped 2 spatulas.
Philips HD9016 is a small bread maker from another well-known equipment manufacturer. It has a power of 500 W, holds 1 kg of dough and is equipped with 1 spatula.
SUPRA BMS-150 – a high-quality, but very economical option. Small oven, holds up to 0.5 kg dough, has power 530 W. The case is plastic.