Customer Reviews

Kenwood BM450 Bread Maker with Ingredients Dispenser

5 star:		(171)
4 star:		(56)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(20)
1 star:		(37)

 

 

I'd heard a lot about breadmakers recently and despite being tempted by a Panasonic breadmaker with fruit/nut dispensers I plumped for this model when given the chance to try it, and I have bought Karen Saunders' book; Breadmaker Bible as although this machine comes with a recipe book, I like to experiment. As an aside, I do thoroughly recommend the extra book, which is available on this very site.

I have made a banana, chocolate and walnut loaf, a cinammon and raisin loaf, and a normal wholemeal loaf, all of which came out perfectly. I didn't know how well the ingredients (I mean the nuts, etc) would be distributed but it worked well and they were smattered throughout the loaves.

It was easy to get the hang of how to use the machine, and also easy to take apart and clean relevant bits. I have not yet tried to make jam, but I look forward to giving it a go and seeing how this breadmaker makes jam.

Much as a previous reviewer has said, it is heavy and large and does take up space, so be aware of this if you have limited storage/a small kitchen, and if you're only making ordinary loaves, then you would be fine with a cheaper option. It looks very classy and modern though and should match most kitchens.

This breadmaker is 'absolutely great' and with such little reviews so far, i thought i had better add another to highlight the credit that this breadmaker deserves.
I have never made a loaf in my life but i really fancied having a try and additionally I wanted to get back into making some cakes and jam too but without too much time being spent.
After countless research on breadmakers, the BM450 ticked all the boxes. I took the plunge and purchased the BM450 about two weeks ago and I can say that I'm absolutey delighted with it.
The Breadmaker seems to be of high quality and would sit proud in any kitchen.
The Kenwood instruction booklet is easy to understand, even for a novice like me and The Kenwood recipe booklet offers enough varied recipes to get you started.
The Breadmaker is really easy to use and the paddle rarely gets stuck, especially if you oil inside the paddle which is a really good tip from a previous review.
I've already made several 100% successful tasty bread recipes and it really is a case of just adding all of the recipes ingredients, in the correct order and exact quantities and the breadmaker does all the work.
Ive made the Kenwood Marmalade Cake recipe, with a slight adjustment to adding extra topping for my sweet tooth.
Jam was also a great success but the recipe only filled one jar, so im going to try slightly increasing the ingredient quantities next time in order to get a bigger batch.
As suggested by other reviews, two really good breadmaker recipe books are by Sonia Allison & Karen Saunders which I'm looking forward to trying because this BM450 is a pleasure to use and gives great results.

Having bought most of my goods from Amazon in the last 10 years, I wasn't too impressed that the package had been opened when it arrived. Had eagerly tracked - loaded onto the HDNL van in the early morning only for it to arrive tampered with and late in the eve. This is the first time this has ever happened. Anyhow, the BM looks fantastic, it really is a sophisticated looking piece of kit and goes well on my worktop with my other stainless steel gadgets. The only initial worry that I had was that it looked as though it had already been used. The bread pan was stained and the glass top showed a few nicks and tiny chips. Many have commented that it is large but it's what I expected and leaves ample room in front of it on a standard worktop for a full size breadboard. It is tall but still stood comfortably on the worktop under the wall cupboards with a few inches to spare. Couldn't wait to try it so opted for prog 3 - wholemeal. 4.5hrs!! But the smell was gorgeous. Didn't rise as I'd hoped but bread was bouncy. I made a real home-made loaf using the same flour and ingredients a few weeks ago and whilst this bread rose lovely and looked like a traditional loaf, it was far more solid than the BM loaf. The BM loaf turned out fine with no problems with the paddle sticking in the loaf and the bread pan was a breeze to clean - a quick swoosh under the hot tap and that was that - no residue whatsoever. The crust - set to med was good too(can't wait to try the French Bread prog). The book said to leave the loaf to rest for 30 mins on the cooling rack but having waited all day for the machine and all night for the loaf, it lasted about 5 mins before I cut off a sizeable nobbler to go with butter, cheese and chutney! Ok, I might have some strange dreams tonight with hot bread and cheese but it was worth it, it tasted lovely! I spent a good few weeks researching which bread machine to buy and every one seemed to rate the panasonic D255. I own a lot of panasonic goods(mainly audio/visual and a microwave which I cannot fault) but the Panasonic BM looked tacky in comparison and as though it would discolour quickly. I am so far pleased with my Kenwood purchase. One niggle is the measuring cup. The recipe book states several times it is important to use the exact quantities stipulated yet the
cup is in 50ml gradients - also difficult to decipher which line pertains to which gradient. Could be better. Fingers crossed the next loaf will rise more and I will not have to revise this review.

Ok, so 4 days after baking my first loaf in the BM, I finished it and it was still not stale. Quite impressive. Made a loaf today using a bread mix on Prog 2 and that turned out ok too (bit of guess work with measurements). But the real reason of posting is that I've sussed out how to remove the paddle that is so problematic to people. The instructions tell you to turn it clockwise to remove it and that is true. What they do not tell you to do is to ensure that when you do this with your left hand, you are holding still the rotating nodule(on the underneath of the pan) with your right hand. If you ensure that you do this, the paddle should remove effortlessly every time.

Am still very impressed with the machine.

Six weeks after buying this bread maker, we haven't bought a single loaf of bread! We have put on weight though!! Makes delicious, bread of a perfect size. For the two of us, we do the medium sized white loaf and it lasts us a couple of days. Was pleasantly surprised how well the bread keeps even after a couple of days - had thought that the lack of preservatives and all the gunk in shop-bought bread would show itself, but although it's undoubtedly best on the day of baking, it's still perfectly good - particularly for toasting for a couple of days after!

Our machine arrived with a broken plug and a slight dent in the side but Amazon were wonderful (as they always are when it comes to returns!) and immediately offered to replace it by first class delivery. However, we were so keen to get going that we didn't want to wait even an extra day... so accepted 15% refund from Amazon and haven't regretted it for a moment!

This machine has been used almost every day for 6 weeks and is simple to operate, easy to keep clean and looks very smart in our kitchen.

It is quite noisy, but that's more than compensated for by the heavenly smell it's noisily creating and it's a shame that the plush key-pad and display can't be more visibly located - ie on the side of the machine - but to be honest, once we're chomping through soft, warm bread we don't care about such things!

The whole/tear left in the loaf by the paddle is sometimes frustrating but it seems to be less pronounced if I can persuade myself to leave the loaf sitting in the machine for a little while after the programme has finished (with lid open so that it doesn't go default to 'keep warm') before tipping it out onto a cooling rack... but then again, the bigger the whole, the more warm bread to pick off and 'test' before anyone else sees!

Always been a little apprehensive about getting a breadmaker, given how cheap bread is to buy and wondered whether this would be something we would actually use. We have had it for a weekend so far and already made three different recipes! We have made a basic white loaf, Gingerbread cake, and Pizza dough, and have been really pleased with all of them. The bread tastes much nicer than what you buy in the shops, with the added benefit of the lovely fresh aroma in your kitchen! The machine is straightforward to use, and comes with a clear instruction booklet, as well as an excellent full-colour recipe book which explains the timings and ingredients for each option you can make. It takes only a few minutes to prepare your ingredients and put these into the bread tin, which then slots back into the machine. Then you choose your programme from the options listed and set it running. There is a light which allows you to look inside and see what is happening which we found intriguing during the kneading etc!

Overall this at the top end of the breadmaker products available, but produces amazing results, is easy to use, and looks very smart and stylish in the kitchen. Fully recommended!

This is my first bread maker and I don't have any experience of using a bread maker. My choice was between this Kenwood BM450 and the Panasonic SD255 which seems to be very popular. But I chose the Kenwood because it looked a lot nicer and was a good price from dixons. I'm really happy with my purchase and have baked 5 loaves so far mixed grain, brown, malt, granary and white and each loaf came out brilliantly. The smell and taste is amazing, I'm really pleased.

The machine comes with a recipe book of around 12 - 14 recipes and instruction manual which is short and helpful to read before making your first loaf as it explains what you should and shouldn't do, eg. the order in which to put ingredients into the baking tin.

The delay timer is really useful to make bread for the morning and the internal light is a nice feature to see how it's getting along without having to open the lid.

It's a great machine I fully recommend it, making a loaf of bread is really quick and easy.

I never thought that making bread, cakes and dough would be so much fun!

Before purchase, I read some of the reviews that criticised this machine most unfairly.

The first bad review was that the mixing blade was difficult to remove and when forced lead to damage to the bread maker. If these people had read the instructions, then they would know that the bread basin needs to be soaked in soapy water after use thus making it come away easily.

The second bad review was given by a person who did not follow the recipe book and thus was disappointed by the result. Bread making is fairly simple, but sticking to the recipes (at first) is essential.

I suspect that some people who had already owned a previous bread maker, decided to skip reading the instructions for this one. For shame.

Kenwood have made a really attractive bread maker which I would wholeheartedly recommend to a friend.

Bought this BM450 in preference to the Panasonic SD255 because of its apparent flexibility (5 programme slots for your own recipe/programmes) and a need to eat bread without preservatives. I also wanted to make bread with Spelt, which I have done with some success. The first effort with wholegrain Spelt was a disaster; collapsed top and sides but further reading of the book and a little internet research put me on the right track. So far have been successful with a wheat 100% wholemeal, a light wholemeal Spelt (programme 4) substituting Spelt white and wholegrain flour for white and wholemeal wheat flour and a white Spelt using programme 4, 300ml water, 1.5 Tbsn EV olive oil, 450g white spelt, 1 Tspn salt, 2 Tspn sugar, 1.5 Tspn dry allison yeast. This is quite good but am going to try to improve by formulating my own programme, perhaps to adjust kneading time and proving/rising time. Apparently the key is that Spelt requires c. half the kneading time and half the rising time of wheat flour. Am enjoying not only the bread but also learning tricks of the trade and the ability to experiment with my own programmes. I am sure the varied recipes, including cake, naan, pizza and jam will eventually turn out great. Why do some Americans put flour enhancers and honey in their Bread recipes??

I have now owned five different breadmakers in 20+ years, including a Bifinett from Aldi's that had twin kneader blades. Unfortunately, one blade stopped working (try imagining a duck using only one leg to swim...) I knew then I had to buy a new breadmaker. I read all the reviews I could find and as I still have, in full working order, a 1970's Kenwood Chef, I decided to a) not tell Husband until deed was done b) dust off credit card and c) bit the bullet and bought the Kenwood BM450.

I have had the breadmaker for three months now and love using it! The bread is of a perfect consistency and crust, even the rapid setting (58 minutes!) turns out a loaf that is better than anything I can buy in the supermarket and it makes perfect sandwiches. The seeded white is delicious and for my next trick, I am going to try the bread rolls. The three different size loaves are all perfect, I slice the largest one in half downwards across the middle and take a slice from each half to make each sandwich (essential that autistic child has matching sized bread in his sandwiches!)

The LED display is bright and clear and easy to use, even with my poor eyesight.

Everyone whp visits my house gets a slice, buttered and thrust into their hand on arrival, with a cup of tea and I have had so many compliments and questions about the recipe I use.

This breadmaker is worth every penny and if you are thinking about buying one, DO IT!!

Only downside is the noisy ingredients dispenser. Husband and cat jumped out of their skins first time I used it!! Leave it in place, as it is less noisy than leaving it out.

Bought this in preference to the Panasonic equivalent, as Which had actually marked down their new design comapared to the old model.

So far all loaves have been fine out of the Kenwood, and only (slight) downside has been that it is a little bit noisier than I would like - but if you put it on some kind of non-vibrating surface/rubber mat that should improve.

Lots of good features, but best is probably the convection fan - it means you can ask for and get an all over dark crust