The Kenwood BM450 - A Reliable Top-Performing Breadmaker

The idea is simple - read the recipe, put the ingredients into the machine and set it to run (maybe on a timer). In the morning you are woken by the scent of newly-baked bread. Simple.So what are the features on offer from this particular machine?First of all, a wide variety of baking options - 15 pre-loaded programs in all - to enable you to produce all kinds of bread. Simple white or brown of course, but also wholegrain, French, sweet and craftsman-type doughs can be handled. Gluten free doughs can also be produced. And jam as well.A dispenser will automatically add nuts, dried fruit and seeds to the dough at the right time (adding them during the kneading cycle will crush them).Loaf sizes can be set to 500g, 750g or 1kg and there's also a choice of how brown you want the crust to be - light, medium or dark.There's a 15 hour delay timer so you can wake up to fresh bread, or have it ready when you get in from work. It will even keep your bread warm for an hour after is has finished baking.Once you have some experience, you can design your own programs and store them on the Kenwood BM450, in addition to the 15 supplied, so can fine-tune your own favourite recipes.It's a stylish piece of equipment as well - stainless steel and smoky glass, with a wipe-clean panel incorporating the touch-controls and smart status display.Do remember that a bread maker takes up quite a bit of room. So it will probably need to be kept out on the counter and needs to be easy on the eye.The lid is removable for cleaning, and contains a clear panela and a light so you can see how your bread is coming along.A commonly-reported problem with bread makers is difficulty in actually getting the loaf out of the tin. The mixing/kneading paddle stays in the tin and the loaf has to be extracted. This is one aspect that the BM450 is reported to be excellent at.Do people report any problems? Some have remarked that it is perhaps not as quiet as some, although that is not a common criticism. Others have thought that the touch-sensitive controls are sometimes variable in their response to pressure and that it can be easy to inadvertently activate a button. I feel sure that anyone would quickly get used to working the panel without difficulty.That's about as far as it goes for criticisms. The Kenwood BM450 is extremely well regarded. Hundreds of users have been sufficiently impressed to take time to say so, which tells you something~Scores of users have taken the time to report their satisfaction - which must tell you something. We believe that you would be just as impressed.