Best Bread Makers to Bake Bread at Home in the UK

The Panasonic SD-ZB2502BXC is an excellent machine, not primarily because it is especially powerful. It is not necessarily weak though, outputting 550 watts. It is high enough to save your time on bread making and get a brilliant result. For example, a standard programme for baking a 600 g loaf of white bread lasts about 4 hours. And if you are in a hurry, you can bypass it by selecting a 2-hour rapid programme to make aromatic fresh wheat bread. This powerful bread maker will definitely become an unmatched kitchen appliance both for a stay-at-home mom or dad caring about a homely home and for a business person who's always in haste.

With an extremely wide range of preset programmes, this unique bread maker can create a variety of different kinds of bread, cakes, and dough. You may be confused by such versatility, but the operating modes are comprehensive and easy to cope with. Along with basic wheat, rye, and wholemeal bread, you can make a pizza base, pasta, rolls, brioche and even different jams and compotes to your preference. Just select the right programme from the menu, choose a recipe in a superb recipe book and follow simple instructions to delight your family with tasty loaves.

The Russell Hobbs 23620 is pretty compact and really fast. Measuring 32.2 x 29 x 30 centimetres in overall dimensions, the model will not impose on any precious kitchen space you want to conserve. It weighs 4.3 kilograms, so you shouldn't have any issues moving the bread maker around either. The black housing with silver accents, incorporating an LCD screen and touch buttons, will mesh well with any modern/contemporary kitchen setting.

Drawing 600 watts, the machine takes far less time to prepare bread than its peers. The company's 55-minute fast-bake feature is present as well, letting you whip up the most delicious white loaf in less than an hour.

Fast-bake aside, the model comes equipped with 10 additional pre-set programmes, including Basic, French, Whole Wheat, Cake, Sweet, Dough, Jam, Sandwich, Gluten-free, and Speciality. You can use these settings to prepare anything on this list, from delicious but healthy whole-wheat bread to mouth-watering jams.

As far as the loaf size is concerned, the model will let you make 500-, 750-, and 1000-gram loaves. As you would imagine, these loaves will be enough to satisfy 2-4 individuals.

The programmable bread machine from Murphy Richards is all about providing the user with a multitude of choices. Though they aren't necessarily unique, a dozen of pre-set programmes will allow you to bake not just a number of different types of bread but also the most delicious cakes and jams. Of course, if you wouldn't describe yourself as a person with a sweeter tooth, the model has plenty to offer you too. From a basic white or a French to a wholewheat or simple dough, the machine can bake it all.

In terms of the loaf size, the bread maker will allow you to choose from 1 lb, 1.5 lb, 2 lb loaves (or 450, 680, and 900 grams if you feel so inclined). The last couple of options work with the Fastbake function. Using the latter, you will be able to make yourself a freshly baked loaf in no more than 50 minutes. If you have a celiac disease or you simply do not fancy gluten in your food, the model will allow you to сhoose from a number of gluten-free options, using the recipes that are included in the instruction manual. And if you like to switch things up every once in a while, there're 3 crust settings that you can use to change the crust from light to dark.

More often than not, stainless steel appliances land more on the expensive side, and there's nothing necessarily surprising about that. But people seldom like spending more than 100-150 pounds on bread makers, so the choice is usually between stainless steel models that are a little budget-hostile or plastic machines that are easy on the pocketbook but not quite as durable or attractive as the previous group. However, at times, you can find a model that fits both descriptions, which is how we arrive at the Tower T11005.

Made from stainless steel and, with its chrome finish, the machines towers above its plastic peers, protecting the housing against dust and corrosion and making upkeep a lot less demanding. Also, despite the glossy chrome treatment, the finish's not the fingerprint magnet that you would expect it to be.

The black top balances out the chrome body, making its profile less uniform. On the same top, you can find a nice little viewing window that lets you observe the baking progress without opening the lid. The good news is that opening the lid will be pretty convenient as well, owing to the lid handle that was put below the screen.

Using this screen (as well as the controls to its right), you can switch between 3 crust settings, keep the bread warm for 60 minutes, or choose one of the 19 pre-set programmes that include Soft bread, Sweet bread, Natural sourdough, French bread, Whole-wheat, Quick bread, Sugar-free, Multigrain, Milky loaf, Cake, Raw dough, Leaven dough, Jam, Bake, Yoghurt, Gluten-free, Sticky rice, Stir-free, and Ferment. Between these programmes, you can prepare all kinds of breads, cakes, dairy snacks, dough, and more.

The Klarstein KG13-90500-B looks like those sleek stainless steel appliances that cost almost as much as cars. Nevertheless, the model comes at 95 pounds, which is not necessarily cheap, but also not expensive, not really. Sure, there are more affordable bread makers out there but those come without stainless steel housing that's protected against rust and corrosion and that requires very little upkeep.

The illuminated LCD screen and the controls also contribute towards its sleek aesthetic. But where things get a little hairy is with the controls' sensitivity. Because they're as sensitive as they are, there's almost no way you will avoid occasional misclicking. On the plus side, the backlit screen lets you manipulate these controls without turning on the lights.

Before you play with different recipes, however, we would recommend starting with the model's 14 pre-set programmes. Aside from normal bread and the usual settings, such as express/quick, dough, gluten-free, whole grain, and 2 homemade settings, these programmes include fluffy, sweet, pasta/noodles dough, low-carb bread, cake, marmalade, yoghurt, a separate bake programme, and a knead-only function. As you can tell, the appliance has a certain fondness for the sweeter things in life, so this bread maker will be appreciated by people with a sweet tooth as much as by those who like their bread simple and their desserts more savoury.