History of the Bread Maker
Bread makers have revolutionized the bread production process as busy at home chefs can include a healthy and delicious addition to home-made or semi-homemade meals.
Bread’s history can be traced back farther than man’s recorded past. Researchers have confirmed that early man gathered grain for food when meat was scarce. People discovered that they could cultivate the food source when grain began sprouting after becoming wet.
During ancient times, bread making was a profitable skill since the process was labour-intensive and required numerous hours to produce. Early bakeries also employed a large number of workers.
In the 1800s, Joseph Lee invented the first bread handling machine. His invention was a device that could crumble day-old bread to use in other recipes. Prior to his design, old bread was tossed out. With the money he made from his initial invention, Lee created the first automatic bread maker. The machine could mix and knead the dough, which allowed bakers to focus on forming and baking the bread. In addition to speeding up the bread creating process, Lee invented a more hygienic method for making bread.
Bakeries began purchasing the automatic machine to produce more bread products. During the 1950s, most bakeries used a bread maker. Unfortunately, at-home chefs did not have access to the handy machine until 1986.
A Japanese company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, which is now Panasonic, created the first bread maker that could make one loaf of bread. This machine became popular and other manufacturers began producing similar versions. Each modern bread maker uses elements from Joseph Lee’s first design. In fact, today’s bread machine companies have discovered how to miniaturize Lee’s machine’s method.
When a busy cook pours the proper ingredients into a machine, the bread maker takes over and finishes the recipe by creating a delicious loaf of bread. In most cases, the cook will first add the liquid ingredients into the machine and then the dry items. The ingredients must be placed into the machine in the right order to ensure that the instant yeast becomes activated by the liquid. Therefore, the water and the yeast must remain separate until the dough making process starts.
Bread baked in a bread maker will take several hours for completion. Cooks will notice that the machine first shifts the ingredients with its paddle to create the dough. Bread makers also maintain the perfect temperature, which encourages optimal rising. After the dough has been given the proper amount of time to rise, the machine will begin the baking process.
Early bread machines created loaves in unusual shapes, but today’s devices typically produce loaves that have a classic appearance. Chefs using a bread maker will need to use a recipe designed for a machine since a bread maker will often make a smaller loaf than a traditional bread recipe. In fact, supermarkets often carry prepackaged bread mixes, which contain the correct portion sizes. With a mix, the cook will just add water.
When preparing bread at home, either with a bread maker or from scratch, cooks should remember that it will be lacking preservatives and won’t last as long as store-bought bread.
During 1996, numerous households owned the appliance, and 10 years later the number of households claiming bread maker ownership doubled. Manufacturers have increased the machine’s usefulness as the appliances can now make pizza dough, dinner rolls and baked goodies.
In fact, consumers who regularly use the machine have found that a bread maker can mix up almost any dough recipe, which can then be baked in a regular oven. A large number of bread machine recipe books have been released with specific directions.
Today’s bread maker has become a household staple and is one that permits time-challenged cooks to provide a homemade meal for their family, which includes freshly baked bread.
Therefore, many bread maker machine manufacturers have competed over the past few decades trying to produce the best machine for home bakers that can simplify the bread-making process as well as helping to deliver the best results.
When choosing the most suitable bread maker for home bakers there is a lot to think about, however, we have researched some of the best bread maker machines in 2020 based on specification, popularity, ratings and taking into consideration personal reviews.
7 best bread maker machines in 2020 for home bakers per category
1. Best overall for daily bread-making at home
Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker is the winner of this category. It is an all in one bread machine, so you can easily make sourdough, salt-free bread, gluten-free bread, vegan bread, cakes, or unique homemade recipes using this machine. Plus, it boasts double kneading blades and dual heaters for superior cooking results.
2. Best features customization
If you love to customise anything related to homemade baking, then Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker should be on your list. This versatile bread making machine is able to create four different loaf sizes ranging from 1 to 2.5 pounds. Additionally, with its 13 auto and manual settings and 9 additional custom settings, you can save your custom bread recipes easily, so next time you won’t have to adjust the settings all over again.
3. Best budget and quick baking
If you are on a budget but still want to bake various bread or even jams with a high-quality result then Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Breadmaker is the perfect bread machine for you. With its Expressbake setting, you can easily bake 2-pound loaves of bread in just under 1 hour. It’s a solid basic bread machine that’s perfect if you’d like to do quick baking on a budget.
4. Best compact design for limited space
Sometimes it’s not just the end result that matters with a bread-making machine. The design itself often plays an important role in how someone chooses their machine. Not all of us have a large kitchen space, therefore, with its compact and user-friendly design Cuisinart Compact Automatic Bread Maker could easily fit in your kitchen and still has 12 different pre-programmed settings, so you can cook any type of loaf that suits you.
5. Best pre-programmed settings
With 14 bake settings including artisan, low carb, gluten-free, jam and more, the pre-programmed settings of Breadman 2-Pound Professional Bread Maker will make your bread-making process a lot easier and save you heaps of time. Additionally, with its three loaf sizes and crust colours settings, you’ll create the perfect results every time you bake.
6. Best mini bread-making machine
If you want to bake a quick 1 pound loaf of bread, then this mini bread-making machine, Zojirushi Home Bakery Mini Breadmaker, is able to do the job nicely. With its small size, it won’t take up much space on your countertop or in your cabinets, so a small kitchen space is not a problem for this machine. Another interesting additional feature is that you are able to choose 3 types of texture for your bread: regular, firm, or soft, and 2 types of crust that you enjoy: regular or a light crust.
7. Best for baking any size of loaves
With its 16 pre-programmed settings, with multiple options for crust colours and loaf sizes the Cuisinart 2-Pound Convection Bread Maker can perfectly bake a variety of bread, doughs, and more for home bakers. Other noteworthy features of this machine are the fantastic look due to its sleek stainless-steel exterior, and easy to use functionality that results in delicious loaves of fresh bread.
Enjoy Better Bread
We have come a long way from the bread makers of old to the modern ones, but they still have the same goal, to help you bake a loaf of perfect bread with ease. Whichever bread maker that you choose from the above list, guaranteed it can give you a vastly improved experience during the bread-making process. Good luck and have fun on baking.