Product weight
The weight of the bread that the bread machine can bake at one time. Usually, the weight of the finished bread is taken into account, and not the original ingredients. Of course, we are not talking about accuracy to the gram: in fact, the weight of the finished product may vary depending on the recipe. Nevertheless, this parameter characterizes the capacity of the device well.
It is worth choosing according to this parameter, taking into account how much bread is eaten in the family, how much it has to be baked at a time. For comparison: the weight of a standard store-bought loaf is about 350 - 450 g. Note that home-made bread often turns out to be tastier than store-bought, it is eaten more and more willingly. However, all bread machines have a choice of the final weight of the product, which will help you choose the required volume of the finished product.
Power
Rated power of the breadmaker.
This parameter is closely related to capacity (see "Maximum baking weight"): the higher bread weight inevitably require more power to heat efficiently. At the same time, models of the same capacity may have different power. In this case, the more powerful device will cope with its task faster, but will consume more energy and, most likely, will cost more.
Additional programmes
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Cake. The programme is designed for baking sponge cakes. Working according to the Cake programme, the bread machine creates optimal conditions for the sponge to rise well and acquire a soft porous structure.
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— Jam. Due to the possibility of mixing and heating the product in the working chamber of the bread machine, many models allow you to cook not only bread, but also jam. For this, a special temperature regime is provided, in which more useful substances are stored than during conventional cooking over an open fire.
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Dough kneading. Programme for preparing raw dough, without subsequent baking. It is useful if you plan to cook food outside the bread machine — for example, you can make dough for pies, dumplings, etc.
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Pasta. Special kneading programme for hard dough for making homemade pasta. It is found mainly in advanced models of bread machines. Allows you to knead a thicker dough than for bread.
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Pizza.... Kneading dough as a base for pizza. The programme involves compliance with a certain recipe using yeast cultures.
— Yogurt. Programme for making yogurt at home. Milk and starter culture are loaded into the working chamber of the bread machine, after which the optimal temperature regime is maintained there for the vital activity of beneficial lactic acid bacteria.
— Cream butter. In some bread machines, it is possible to use a stirrer to whip butter from milk, cream or sour cream. The presence of such a feature is useful, in particular, because the ingredients for making butter do not have to be fresh — thus, you can buy fresh sour cream for eating, and use it for butter after standing for a while.Functions
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Programming capability. The ability to create and edit custom bread baking programs is a key feature of these bread makers, making them highly versatile by providing users with a wide range of options that are not limited to pre-set programs.
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Bread size selection. The option to choose the bread size allows for a more accurate selection of the amount of bread produced, ensuring that it will last until the next baking while also preventing it from becoming stale or spoiling. The number of size options may vary, and this should be confirmed in each individual case.
— Delay start
timer. With the presence of a delay start timer, ingredients can be loaded into the bread maker in advance and the timer can be set to begin the baking process automatically at a desired time, such as overnight to have fresh bread ready for breakfast. However, it is important to consider that some ingredients may spoil before the mixing process begins if the delay is too long.
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Temperature maintaining. Thanks to the temperature maintaining function, the bread maker can keep the freshly baked bread warm for some time (up to several hours). This means that there is no need to time the moment precisely to enjoy hot bread, which many people consider to be the most delicious.
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Fast baking mode. The
...program for speeding up bread making mainly works by reducing the kneading time, resulting in a denser bread compared to the standard temperature method.Selection of baking degree
Regulation
of the baking degree of bread and color and structure of the crust depending on individual user preferences. Someone prefer soft homemade bread, while others prefer baked goods with a crispy crust.
Dispenser
A device for automatically adding additional ingredients to the dough — raisins, seeds, nuts — directly during the cooking process.
The dispenser allows you to fully automate the process of making bread, you can not be afraid to miss the right time to add additional components. Its presence is especially useful if bread is planned to be cooked at night, for breakfast.
Double baking form
Possibility of baking bread as two separate loaves at a time — unlike the usual procedure, when bread is most often baked in one loaf. Typically
, a double baking form is used in bread machines that bake bread in the shape of a brick (see Baking shape). Smaller loaves are often easier to slice.
Number of blades for kneading
Most breadmakers are equipped with one blade for kneading dough — this is enough to prepare dough for bread weighing up to 1 kg inclusive. Models that allow you to bake larger loaves (starting from 1200 g) are often equipped with two kneading blades. In addition to the fact that the
two blades allow you to cook dough with a larger weight, they also provide a faster and more uniform kneading. However, an additional blade, usually, affects the price of the device.