Kenwood BM450 Bread Maker with Ingredients Dispenser

I bought this Kenwood breadmaker to replace a Morphy Richards one that had died. As I wanted to use it on a regular basis, I wanted a top quality one and, although it was at the expensive end of those available, it has not disappointed me with the build quality and lovely looks.

I read many reviews before committing to buy and was a little dubious about one review saying the control buttons were indecipherable. They are not..... the button symbols are pretty logical, so don't be put off. The main ones are a book symbol for the program number, a scales symbol for size of loaf with three choices and a slice of bread symbol for colour of loaf, again with three choices. So with these I set it to make a white loaf within 5 minutes of getting it out of the box and it was perfect, as have been all the other loaves I have tried.

A lovely feature is that it allows you to extend the cooking time at the end and I'm just starting to practise with the custom made programmes with good results

The only thing I can fault it on is that the touch buttons are very sensitive, so don't brush your arm on it when setting up!!

Bread machines have been around for some time now, and the technology is evolving.
This machine differs from older bread makers in a few distinct ways:
* The mixer paddle does not tend to get stuck in the loaf when you remove the bread from the tin
* The mixer paddle does not make a large gaping hole in the bread loaf (It's much thinner, and has less of a vertical curvature than paddles on older machines I have used)
* A round tin is available as an additional extra so you can enjoy different shaped loaves

Other features which perhaps not all breadmachines have are:
* Incredibly good looks - those pictures don't do it justice
* A light to see inside through the hinged lid, without lifting it and jeopardising your loaf
* Very good quality and comprehensive recipe booklet
* Genuinely good rapid bake setting (creates well risen loaves in less than an hour)
* A large dispenser to add nuts or fruit partway through the cycle (added from the beginning, they get broken into too small pieces by the mixing action)

And of course, it has all of the standard features like a timer setting so that you can set your bread to be ready as you wake in the morning, cake programmes, jam programmes, and the ability to select different sizes and crust colour. If you'd be interested to see the recipes which come with the maker they are available free of charge online from the Kenwood site, I googled for 'kenwood bm450 recipes'.

As a breadmaker it really does an excellent job, the bread it's produced for me has been flawless. As with all new technology I needed to read the instructions first, though the programming of the cycle was not disimilar to other makers I have used.

As other reviewers have noted it is rather large, Amazon have provided dimension in the product specification so you can see if it would fit your kitchen.

I hope you find this helpful in making your bread maker decision!

I previously owned a Panasonic SD253 - a very good product but it's not the best looking child in the class. As it's not practical to put it away in a cupboard between uses, it does inevitably become a conspicuous part of the kitchen furniture. So when the Panasonic stopped working properly (after only 3 years) I decided to go for looks as well as functionality and bought the Kenwood 450. This product really does look great in the kitchen, albeit you have to have a reasonable amount of counter space to accomodate it. The basic bread recipes work very well every time and the Brioche recipe is so much better than the shop bought equivalents.

There are one or two niggles that do irritate, particularly that the kneading cycle does not tend to pick up all the ingredients, meaning that some flour will end up clumped together in the corners and will be stuck to the outside of the loaf at the end. I have taken to scraping the pan with a silicon spatula during the kneading cycle, but feel I really shouldn't have to do this. It also means that if you do an overnight or unattended bake, you have to pretty much accept this outcome. The paddle does make a nice neat hole in the bread and is less obtrusive than the Panasonic, but the paddle is very difficult to remove after use, and I have to force it about with such vigour to loosen it that I'm glad I sent off the warranty card.

Once you've sat down and mastered the sequence of the bake programs are very easy to use, although some of the more fancy recipes have been a bit hit and miss (fruit bread was to heavy) even though I followed them closely.

Overall I really like this unit and would recommend it particularly for those who are conscious of looks.