- Tips for choosing a bread maker
The bread maker takes care of all the work on kneading, standing and baking the dough, you just have to load the ingredients and press a couple of buttons. The cost price of homemade bread is 2 times lower than a loaf from a supermarket, and its quality and taste is much better. And the bread maker is good in that it allows you to automatically cook in it not only bread, but also various muffins, pastries, a base for pizza, and in some cases even pilaf, yoghurts and jams. In this material, we made 12 tips on how to choose a bakery and what to look for when comparing different models.
Tips for choosing a bread maker
Tip 1.Think about how much bread you usually eat. Some bakers can only bake a 500-gram loaf in one cycle, and some - a loaf weighing, kg or more. Approximately 1 person takes 250-300 grams of bread. Thus, the following recommendations will help you to choose the bakery correctly:
- For 1-2 people you need a bread maker, which gives 500-750 finished baking;
- For a family of 3-4 people there will be enough oven, baking 800-1300 g of bread;
- For a large family (more than 4 people) you need a stove, designed to cook, kg of the product.
If you want to be able to bake both small and large bread, then look for a model with a function of choosing the weight of the finished bread.
Tip 2.A set of programs is perhaps the most important criterion for choosing a bread maker.
- Each program already has temperature and time settings, the established order of cycles of kneading, proofing and baking the dough in accordance with the recipes of various types of baking.
Typically, low-cost devices have 7-12 programs, models more expensive can have from 12 to 20 different programs. The more programs a stove has, the more expensive it is. If you are new to bread baking, then the standard set of programs is enough for you.
.- Most programs of any bread maker are designed for baking different types of bread: wheat, rye, whole-grain (from wallpaper flour), gluten-free (from rice, buckwheat flour), sweet, French baguette, bread with additives. In addition to bread baking programs, ovens often have at least one program for mixing dough (yeast), a program for baking dough and muffin (cakes, cakes or pastries) and a program for cooking jam / jam.
And here is a list of additional programs that a bread maker can have:
- Mixing the dough for pizza;
- Mixing of a yeast-free dough;
- Mixing the dough for pasta;
- Extinguishing;
- Porridge;
- Jam (from, to 2 liters);
- Jam;
- Yogurt (you can make yogurt, matzoni, etc. dairy);
- Soup;
- Pilaf.
In addition to the programs, the bread maker can have the following additional settings:
- Degree of browning- a mandatory option, there are all ovens, but in many models is available only for white bread.
- Custom Mode / Favorite Program Mode- it is desirable that the baker has at least one such mode that will allow you to customize and memorize your settings to your favorite recipe.
- Delayed start- allows you to program the start of work at the desired time. So, you can load the oven from the evening, and in the morning get a freshly baked loaf for breakfast. Delay start in different models varies from 3 to 15 hours.
- Maintaining heat- the heating is switched on automatically, as soon as the bread is baked. Due to this function, the bread will remain warm for another 1-3 hours (depending on the model) after turning off the bread maker.
- Child lock- can be arranged in different ways, for example, the lid can be locked, or the control panel can.
Tip 3.When choosing the best bread maker model, pay attention to the power of the appliance.
- It can range from 450 to 1600 watts. The higher the power, the faster the oven bakes bread, the more it has functions and, of course, the higher its price.
Think about how much time you are willing to spend on making bread and how often will you use it?
- If you are ready to bake one loaf for more than 3-4 hours, you do not need an abundance of programs and a lot of baking, then we advise not to overpay and buy a standard oven with a capacity of 500-750 W.
If you buy a large oven, want to cook bread quickly and you need additional programs, then choose a furnace with a capacity of at least 800 W, which bakes bread for no more than 3 hours.
Tip 4.The working bowl (bucket) is the weak point of the bakery and it is because of its wear and tear that there are problems with the oven. Therefore, before buying the chosen model, make sure that you can order its cup in special shops of spare parts of home appliances or service center.
- The working bowl is made of aluminum or stainless steel and is coated with non-stick coating. The bowl of aluminum is cheaper, but wears out more quickly. The bowl of steel is more durable, but it significantly increases the cost of the device.
Before buying a stove, be sure to inspect the non-stick layer. It should be absolutely smooth, smooth, without scratches and bumps and, preferably, thick.
The working bucket can have 1 or 2 kneading knives (kneading blades) depending on the size. They are removable and also covered with non-stick layer. Sometimes manufacturers complete bakery with two different mixers - for baking and for jam. However, as practice shows, the mixer for baking perfectly copes with jam / jam. By the way, since the mixer is baked in baking, it is advisable to attach a special hook to the oven to make it convenient for you to get it.
- In shape, the working bowl is often rectangular and bakes an ordinary loaf. But if you want, you can search for a model with a round bowl that bakes round loaves or with forms for baking at once 4 baguettes. For example, a baguette is completed with some models of bread makers from Moulinex.
The bakery has two bowls - a round for baking loaves and cakes and a square for baking loaves
Although the shape of the bread does not affect its taste, round loaves are baked somewhat more evenly and quickly.
Tip 5.As for the material of the furnace body, here the issue of choice is reduced to personal preferences and budget, because it does not affect the quality of work and durability. The case of stainless steel is stronger, it looks better, however it makes the device heavier, and its cost becomes more expensive. In addition, the polished steel leaves fingerprints. The body made of plastic is lighter, easier to clean, cheaper, heated slightly less than stainless steel, but less wear-resistant.
Tip 6.Well, if the lid is removable, it will simplify its washing. And it is very important that the bread maker's lid has a large viewing window.
Tip 7.It is desirable that the bread maker has a special dispenser for additives (pictured).
You only need to fill it before starting, say, berries or seeds, and the stove itself will add them at the right time. This option is especially convenient when delaying the start, for example, when you turn on the bread maker for the night, and go to bed yourself.
- If there is no dispenser, then you have to add supplements manually, waiting for the sound signal, which you can listen inattentively. In addition, the additives in this case remain not crushed, but whole.
Tip 8.Decide where you will put and store the bread maker. Estimate what size it should be, what color the body will fit better in the interior and how long the cord you need (1 m).
- Keep in mind that the device of the square form is compact and more convenient for storage.
Tip 9.Breadmaker can make a lot of noise during the kneading and kneading test. This is especially noticeable when the oven prepares pastries at night.
- To avoid this, before buying a bread maker, make sure that the withered noise level is not more than 55-60 dB.
Tip 10.Bakers often have a mechanical control system, which is more reliable.
- However, the touch panels of expensive models have significant advantages: they are very convenient and easier to wipe. When choosing a device with a touch-sensitive control panel, make sure that it can be blocked. Otherwise, your cat or child will be able to turn on the device with one touch or change the settings.
And one more tip: the control panel with backlighting is much more convenient monochrome.
Tip 11.If there are frequent power failures in your home, we recommend buying a bakery with a memory function. Thanks to it, after stopping the power supply, the furnace will be able to continue its work at the stage that was interrupted.
- The memory capacity in different models can be from 5 minutes to 1 hour.
Tip 12.Correctly to choose a bakery you can get real feedback from users from sites like irecommend.ru, ixbt.com, otzovik.ru and culinary forums. After all, only from them you can learn such nuances as:
- Is it easy to remove the mixer from the bread?
- Does the bread catch the shape or the blades?
- How long will the bowl last?
- Is it noisy?
- Do not annoy the signals that the furnace emits when it finishes work or "asks" to add supplements? Or maybe they, on the contrary, are too quiet?
- How understandable is the instruction and the recipes from the manufacturer are correct?
We offer you to watch video reviews of the most popular bread makers of well-known companies.
Feedback on Panasonic bakery - obsolete models 257 and the new model SD-2511WTS, which is very popular:
Feedback on the expensive Kenwood BM450:
And here is a useful video from the "Control Purchase" on how to choose a bread maker for the house.
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