8 best bread makers for freshly baked goods at home

We were thoroughly impressed with the bread this machine produced, so, that first order of business gets a big tick. You can select how golden you want your bake to be, as well as choosing from two different loaf sizes. There’s a big viewing window, so you can clearly see what’s going on inside, and the LED display is clear to see. There are nine different bread settings, including a sandwich setting that produces bread specifically for a sandwich – there’s less crust, and our kids were fans of this. There’s also a gluten-free setting and a cake one too.

If you want more control, the Lakeland digital will also simply knead your bread for you (useful for pizza dough especially) or just bake it, if you prefer to do the kneading by hand. The only thing we struggled with is the sheer size of this bread maker – it’s a big ’un for sure. However, we liked that there’s a delay timer, in case you want to bake bread over night and wake up to the dreamiest breakfast ever. Plus, the keep-warm function will make sure your bread is that perfect just-baked temperature when you want it.

Comparatively small when standing next to others in its field, this bread maker won’t take up too much space in your kitchen. It makes just one size of loaf (1lb) but we found this perfectly adequate. It turns out delicious with a nice, chewy crust. Despite its size, the Lakeland compact can still do eight different types of bread, as well as cake, kneading of bread rolls or pizza. When baking, you can select the colour of your bread, from light to dark.

We found this bread maker really easy to use, with a clear display and a menu to remind us of all the settings. However, we did find that the white outside makes it look a tad old-fashioned. Plus points are the (albeit tiny) viewing window, a keep-warm function and a delay timer.

Sleek and compact, we liked that this bread maker didn’t look too obtrusive on our countertop. We found it pretty easy to use from a functional point of view, but we struggled initially as it doesn’t come with its own recipes for the size of the tin (2l). A bit of Googling to the rescue, but it would be less faff to have the basic recipes printed in the manual.

Having said that, once we landed on a recipe, we found it produced a delightful wholewheat loaf. As well as that, the Dunelm bread maker can knock up white, French, sweet, gluten-free, sandwich and buttermilk loaves. There are also options for a speedier setting, and a dough and cake setting too. Despite the relatively low price point, this bread maker offers plenty of settings and produces just as good loaves as more-expensive models.

If bread making, even with a bread maker, seems like a faff, the Panasonic SD-YR2550 could be for you. It has a bread mix option. Just pour in a bread mix (containing yeast) then add water and select the bread mix function. The bread maker does the rest for you. Smug with minimal effort? That’ll do nicely.

This high-spec bread maker senses the room temperature and the internal temperature of the bread maker to ensure perfect cooking and proving heat at all times. It also has a special paddle and ridged sides on the pan, which Panasonic claims replicate artisan bread makers. This is a claim we can neither confirm nor deny – but it did make some very tasty loves, including a very decent brioche. There are a dizzying 31 settings on this bread maker. It will make everything from a simple white loaf to sourdough and gluten-free loaves as well as cake, jam, and pizza dough. We were also very taken with the automatic dispenser, which drops in yeast and other toppings at just the right moment, to get the alchemy of bread making perfect.

If you’re gluten intolerant but still yearn for baked carbs, this bread maker could be a game changer. The SD-R2530 (bit of a mouthful, if we’re honest) has four gluten-free functions: bread (natch), cake, pizza and pasta (ooh). If you’re OK with gluten – the more the better, we say (nutritionists, we know that may not stack up) – there are 30 settings. These include a function for making your own sourdough starter as well as making raisin bread, wholewheat, rye and brioche. Essentially, whatever your bread-based jam is, this model has got you covered. Oh, and it actually does make jam too.

If the aforementioned raisin bread piqued your interest, Panasonic has deployed a little raisin and nut hatch on the SD-R2530. This will drop in the sweet load at just the right time, so everything is baked just so. In your face, Paul Hollywood. We found this bread maker very easy to use. The instructions gave us plenty of inspo, and we were able to cook up a wonderful nutty wholewheat loaf… although it did take five hours. Fear not – we later discovered the rapid functions.

This bread maker is on the smaller side, which is a relief in a kitchen busting at the seams with appliances. It’s sleek and black, so can sit discretely on your counter while baking you up a fresh loaf. And it does make a very decent loaf. You can choose from seven different types of bread (basic, French, wholewheat, sweet, gluten-free, sandwich and speciality), as well as jam, cake, and pizza dough.

We found the controls easy to navigate. The instructions come with recipes, including one for chocolate cake, which we were absolutely on board with. You can adjust the size and colour of your bread, so you’re getting your perfect loaf each time. There’s also a delay timer and a keep-warm function, so you can be sure you’re going to get fresh, warm bread almost on demand.

If you want to give bread making a go but you’re still a bit worried you’ll somehow get it wrong, this Judge bread maker is a great starting point. The detailed instruction booklet offers up actual recipes and explains the theory behind why you layer ingredients in the pan the way you do. It’s totally foolproof – we’ve tried it, after all, and it produced a delicious wholewheat loaf for us.

Functionality wise, the Judge can whip up white, French, wholewheat, sweet, gluten-free and sandwich loaves. It can also make cakes and jam, dough and simply bake a loaf you’ve already kneaded. There are options for quick (two-hours) or ultra fast (1 hour 38 minutes) settings, if you are in urgent need of a loaf.

This is a very sturdy bread maker indeed – it looks more like a mini oven. It offers eight pre-set bread making functions, spanning French bread to fruit bread and everything in between. There’s a gluten-free setting too. Plus, the Gastroback makes cake, jam, dough, yoghurt and, get this, ice cream. For the latter, you need to buy a separate attachment but, still, it’s doing some hard graft here.

The instructions are very detailed, so you’re not likely to muck up bread even if you’re a novice. And it turned out a beautifully golden white loaf for us. There is also a hatch where you can pop in nuts, seeds or chocolate chips for the machine to drop into the dough at just the right moment. Oh, and there’s a decent viewing window, too. The Gastroback can make three different sizes of loaf, and you can alter your colour depending on how crusty you want your bread. We mentioned the instructions, but we should say they encourage you to be adventurous – there’s recipes for cornbread, soda bread and more. This bread maker, although sizable, is a veritable Swiss army knife of bread makers.