Best bread makers: bake perfect loaves at home

The best bread makers produce delicious, crusty loaves, and will fill your home with the lovely smell of freshly baked bread every time you use them.

We've tested popular bread makers from Amazon, Russell Hobbs, Morphy Richards, Panasonic and others to find out which bake consistently good loaves. The results revealed two excellent Best Buys that are several slices above the rest.

Although baking your own bread is unlikely to be cheaper than buying a run-of-the-mill loaf from the supermarket, the novelty, taste and smell makes it worth it for many. Some bread makers can also make cakes, jams, yoghurts, dough mixtures and cheese.

We noticed a good few bread makers out of stock the last time we checked this page, so if you want one of our top picks you might have to be patient and sign yourself up to a stock alert at your chosen retailer.

The best bread makers

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The bread makers we've tested

All the bread makers we've tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

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Lakeland White Compact 1lb Daily Loaf Bread Maker

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Size and weight 25 x 31 x 21.5cm (HxWxD); 3.547kg

No. of programs 11, including French, Sweet and Gluten Free

Accessories Measuring spoon, measuring cup, kneading paddle hook

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; viewing window; keep warm (up to 1 hour); beeps for nuts/raisins; auto-program memory; 75cm cable; 500g loaf size only; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes dough and cake; wholemeal bread recipe is not 100% wholemeal

Morphy Richards 48281 Fastbake Breadmaker

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Size and weight ‎30.5 x 28.5 x 40.5cm (HxWxD); 7.4kg

No. of programs 12, including French, Sweet and Jam

Accessories Measuring spoon, measuring cup

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; viewing window; keep warm (up to 1 hour); beeps for nuts/raisins; 85cm cable; 454g, 680g or 907g loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves (although dark is always recommended unless otherwise stated in the instructions); also makes dough, jam and cake

Panasonic SD-B2510WXC Bread Maker

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Size and weight ‎36.2 x 39.5 x 25.2cm (HxWxD); 6.5kg

No. of programs 20, including French, Brioche and Gluten Free

Accessories Measuring spoon, measuring cup

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; beeps for nuts/raisins; auto-program memory; 90cm cable; M, L or XL loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes dough, cake and jam

Compare our toaster reviews.

Panasonic SD-YR2550SXC Bread Maker

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Size and weight ‎36.2 x 40.8 x 25.2cm (HxWxD); 7.5kg

No. of programs 31, including Rye, Sourdough and Gluten Free

Accessories Measuring spoon, measuring cup, rye bread kneading blade, sourdough starter spoon

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; auto dispensers for nuts/raisins and yeast; auto-program memory; 90cm cable; M, L or XL loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes cake, dough, jam and sourdough starter

Sage The Custom Loaf Pro BBM800BSS

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Size and weight ‎35.2 x 39.9 x 24.8cm (HxWxD); 7.8kg

No. of programs 13, including Custom, Gluten Free, Yeast Free

Accessories Collapsible paddle, Fixed paddle (for making jam)

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; auto dispensers for nuts/raisins; beeps for nuts/raisins; keep warm (up to 1 hour); auto-program memory; detachable lid; viewing window; internal light; cable tidy; 103cm cable; 500g, 750kg, 1kg and 1.25kg loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes cake, dough and jam

Tefal Pain et Delices PF240E40

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Size and weight ‎29.8 x 29 x 31.7cm (HxWxD); 5.23kg

No. of programs 20, including French, Rye and Gluten Free

Accessories Measuring cup, measuring spoon, kneading paddle hook, soft cheese and yoghurt filters

Need to know Delay timer (up to 15 hours); rapid bake; viewing window; keep warm (up to 1 hour); auto-program memory; 95cm cable; 500g, 750g or 1kg loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes cake, jam, dough, yoghurt and soft cheese; wholemeal bread recipe is not 100% wholemeal

Fancy a lighter snack? Make perfect popcorn with the best popcorn makers

Tower T11003 Breadmaker

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Size and weight ‎35.7 x 24 x 30.5cm (HxWxD); 4.3kg

No. of programs 12, including French, Sweet and Gluten Free

Accessories Measuring cup, measuring spoon, kneading paddle hook

Need to know Delay timer (up to 13 hours); rapid bake; viewing window; keep warm (up to 1 hour); beeps for nuts/raisins; auto-program memory; 78cm cable; 700g or 1kg loaf sizes; light, medium or dark loaves; also makes dough and cake; wholemeal bread recipe is not 100% wholemeal

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How we test bread makers

We choose bestselling bread makers from leading UK retailers, and bake lots of loaves to find out which can produce the perfect loaf of bread.

We pay for every bread maker that goes through our tests.

We regularly revisit the bread makers on sale to see if there are any more popular models that need testing and when we find them we do.

Find out more about how Which? is not influenced by product manufacturers or retailers and how your support helps us to stay editorially independent.

Baking quality and consistency

• We baked several white and wholemeal loaves using each bread maker, following the exact recipes for each loaf and judging them for their evenness and texture.

Ease of use, noise and paddle sticking

Our experiences with the bread makers varied widely. While some ran quietly and couldn't be easier to use, others were very noisy and kneaded so aggressively that the bread maker moved across the kitchen counter.

• We judged each bread maker on how easy the controls and program options were to understand, how easy the recipes were to follow, and how straightforward the bread was to remove from the bread pan after baking.
• We listened out for annoying whirring noises during kneading, or piercingly loud beeps that couldn't be silenced. We favoured bread makers that hummed along quietly throughout baking.
• We also checked how frequently the kneading paddle got stuck in the bread after baking.

Cleaning

We rated the bread pan and kneading paddle for how easy they were to clean after each use. All were rated exactly the same for this, and all are handwash only.

Energy efficiency

We plugged in an energy-use monitor while each bread maker was running, and found the differences in energy use fairly small. If you were to bake two white 1kg loaves every week, under the current energy price cap (25.73p per kWh), it would cost between £5.63 and £12.48 of electricity per year to run your bread maker.

Check out our reviews of the best non-stick frying pans and best saucepans.

How to make bread in a bread maker

• Follow the instructions to the letter: Bread makers are very particular, so make sure you add your ingredients to the bread pan in the right order, measure accurately and follow the recipes exactly.
• Manage your water temperature precisely: Tepid water, usually between 21 and 28°C, is needed to make the bread rise just the right amount. Use a thermometer to check before you bake. If it's too cool it won't rise, and if it's too warm it will sink in the middle.
• Delay timers can be tricky when it's cold: It can spoil your loaf if the water in the machine cools too much overnight when the heating is turned down. Your kitchen needs to be at least 21°C to prevent it from cooling too much. It's best to use the delay timer in warmer seasons.
• Ingredients lists can be long: Although some bread makers only require flour, water, salt and yeast, others have longer lists of ingredients. Check the bread maker's recipes before buying to see what impact it will have on your grocery shopping.
• Check wholemeal programs before you buy: Several bread makers we tested have a wholemeal program, but often when you flick to the recipes for that program, it turns out to be 50/50 or even slightly more white flour than wholemeal. Check carefully if you're after 100% wholemeal loaves.
• Longer programs tend to be better: Although lots of bread makers have fast-bake programs, you're likely to get better loaves from the traditional, longer programs. There's no way to force yeast to work faster. 
• Take your bread out as soon as it's ready: Plenty of bread makers have keep-warm functions that will kick into gear for up to an hour after your bread finishes baking, but for the best results you should always take it out straight away.
• Let it cool: Although it can be tempting to tuck into your freshly baked bread as soon as the program finishes, you should place it on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting it. This allows time for steam to escape.
• Don't use your dishwasher: Bread pans and kneading paddles have non-stick coatings, which will wear away when cleaned in the dishwasher. None of the bread makers we've tested have dishwasher-friendly parts - all are handwash only.

Is it cheaper to buy bread or make it in a bread maker?

It depends on a number of things, such as what type of bread you're wanting to bake, the recipe of the bread maker you're using and the costs of supermarket bread and electricity, which change all the time.

Generally speaking though, it's unlikely that making bread yourself using a bread maker is going to be cheaper than buying cheap supermarket bread. Our extensive testing has taught us that bread maker recipes often require a much more varied list of ingredients than those you need to make a loaf by hand.

As well as the usual flour, water, salt and yeast, some of the bread makers we've tested have also asked for oil, sugar, butter, powdered milk, and even crushed vitamin tablets.

This lengthier list of ingredients, combined with the cost of the electricity you'll use to bake the bread, plus the initial outlay of buying your bread maker, means you're very unlikely to be banking much extra cash.

If you're considering buying a bread maker, therefore, you should see it as an enjoyable activity that gives you freshly baked bread when you want it, rather than a cost-saving exercise.