The art of bread making began in earnest in ancient Greece, but in modern times it needn’t even involve a baker. Baking bread at home is now even easier than ever before, thanks to the arrival of bread makers.
Used properly, even the most basic bread maker can produce good bread, but the more features you have, the better your chances of success. And don’t worry: Everyone’s first few loaves come out like cinder blocks – they’ll get better.
Most bread makers produce a horizontal loaf of between 1 and 2 lbs. The number of settings you get is a question of price, and cheaper models will typically only produce one size of loaf. Similarly, if you want a choice of baking programs, you’ll need to look for pricier models. Some also have a separate browning feature allowing you to control the crustiness of the finished loaf.
Nearly all models now have a facility to delay the start time for up to 13 hours. This can be useful if you want to wake up to a freshly baked loaf, but it cannot be used in conjunction with recipes that call for perishable ingredients such as milk or eggs.
Energy consumption isn’t a big consideration with bread makers, since they typically only run for an hour or so at a time. Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to save a few pennies on the power bill, so check for the Energy Star logo to find the more-efficient models.