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How to Choose and Buy a Breadmaker

Here are some hints and tips on some of the things to consider when choosing and buying a breadmaker:

Size and Style

Although early models of breadmaker tended to be bulky and were generally white, there are now many different sizes, styles and colours available on the market. If you are short of space in your kitchen, you may want to consider buying one of the more compact breadmakers available. You also need to consider whether or not it’s important to you that your breadmaker matches your other kitchen appliances, and if so check that the model you are thinking about buying is available in the colour that you want.

Settings/Cycles

Check that the settings (or cycles) on the bread machine are suitable for your needs. The cycles on a bread machine include separate cycles for different types of bread such as white bread, wheat-free bread, raisin bread, bread rolls and so on. If you are planning to use your bread machine to make a wide range of things, then you will need to choose one which is versatile enough for you to do so. However, if you only want to use it to make standard loaves you may want to choose a cheaper bread machine with fewer settings.

There are a couple of specific cycles that you may find useful, and it’s worth considering whether or not you want your breadmaker to feature these when you are deciding which model to buy:

• Dough Cycle – this allows you to programme the breadmaker to stop after it has made the dough so that you can cook it in a conventional oven.
• User-Programmable Cycles – if a breadmaker has this option, you can programme your own cycles into the machine to suit your own needs. This may be important to you if you are experienced in making bread
• Fast-bake Cycles – These allow you to bake your bread more quickly. With some models, the fast-bake cycle means that you can bake a loaf of bread in under an hour.

It’s also worth checking to see if the breadmaker you are looking at allows you to stop cycles part way through or to extend the cycles if you need more cooking time, as these can be handy features.

Many breadmakers also offer a choice of crust settings, allowing you to choose how pale or dark you want the crust of your bread to be, so if you would like to have more control over the bread you make you may want to choose a breadmaker with more than one crust setting.

Loaf Shape and Size

Check that the breadmaker that you are considering can produce the size and shape of loaf that you want. Most breadmakers now allow you to bake three different sizes of loaf in them, but some of the compact models only allow you to bake one or two different loaf sizes. Some breadmakers also allow you to make different shaped-loaves, but these may be more expensive.

Viewing Port

A viewing port allows you to check on the progress of your bread as it is baking. Not all breadmakers have viewing ports, so if this is important to you, check the product descriptions carefully.

Timers

Many breadmakers have delayed-start timers, meaning that you can programme the breadmaker to start the cycle at a certain time. Check to see if your chosen model has this option if you think you would be likely to want to use it. Some models of breadmaker also have progress indicators can also be extremely useful – these show you how much longer the cycle will take.

Other Features

• Check to see whether the breadmaker you are considering is likely to be easy to use and clean – does it have a removable non-stick pan, and can you detach the lid to clean it? Also does the bread pan need to be removed with a handle? If so, this can be difficult if the bread rises too high. Some breadmakers use a twist-lock mechanism instead which means that you don’t need to use a handle to remove the bread.
• Some breadmakers have power failure protection, so that if there is a power cut, for a certain amount of time the machine will remember where it was in the cycle and continue from there when the power goes back on. This can be a handy feature to have.
• Many breadmakers include fruit/nut dispensers. With some models, the fruit or nuts are dispensed automatically, whereas with others the breadmaker will bleep when the extra ingredients need to be added. If you want to leave the breadmaker to bake your bread while you do other things, then an automatic dispenser may be more suitable for you.

Extras

Many breadmakers come with extras such as measuring cups, measuring spoons and recipe books. Check the product descriptions when you are choosing your breadmaker to see whether any extra items are included as these can provide added value.

Further Information

You can find out more about some of the top models of breadmaker available on the market on our Top Breadmaker Models page.

If you want to buy a breadmaker, you can find out more about some of the top online breadmaker suppliers including details of their delivery times and postage and packaging costs in our Where to Buy section.

You can learn more about other types of cooking appliance in our Types of Cooking Appliance section.

You can find out about specific cooking appliance manufacturers and brands in our Brands of Cooking Appliance section.