Product weight
The weight of the bread that the bread machine can bake at one time. Usually, the weight of the finished bread is taken into account, and not the original ingredients. Of course, we are not talking about accuracy to the gram: in fact, the weight of the finished product may vary depending on the recipe. Nevertheless, this parameter characterizes the capacity of the device well.
It is worth choosing according to this parameter, taking into account how much bread is eaten in the family, how much it has to be baked at a time. For comparison: the weight of a standard store-bought loaf is about 350 - 450 g. Note that home-made bread often turns out to be tastier than store-bought, it is eaten more and more willingly. However, all bread machines have a choice of the final weight of the product, which will help you choose the required volume of the finished product.
Power
Rated power of the breadmaker.
This parameter is closely related to capacity (see "Maximum baking weight"): the higher bread weight inevitably require more power to heat efficiently. At the same time, models of the same capacity may have different power. In this case, the more powerful device will cope with its task faster, but will consume more energy and, most likely, will cost more.
Bread making
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Wheat. Bread made from finely ground wheat flour — the one that is called "white". Delicious and nutritious, suitable for both savory and sweet sandwiches. However, due to its high calorie content, it should be eaten in moderation, especially for people prone to being overweight. In addition, wheat flour has a lower content of vitamins and other nutrients than rye flour.
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French. A kind of wheat bread with a fairly thin crispy crust, light and very soft inside. Historically, such bread appeared as a "breakfast bun", and is very good in this role even now.
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Whole grain. The possibility of baking bread from the so-called whole grain flour (coarse flour). In such flour, unlike ordinary flour, all grain components are preserved, due to which it is especially rich in micronutrients and vitamins. It is believed that whole grain bread does not contribute to weight gain, strengthens the immune system and has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system. Such bread is cooked longer than usual due to the long rise and kneading time.
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Rye. Classic "black" bread. Rich in vitamins and micronutrients, has less calories than wheat, due to which it is better suited for daily use. However, the recipe for its preparation is quite complicated and relatively few bread machines are equipped with such a programme
...— mostly expensive advanced models.
— Borodinsky. A kind of black bread. The dough is prepared in a way similar to a choux pastry, it includes additional ingredients — rye malt, molasses, coriander, etc. Such bread has a peculiar smell and a sweetish taste.
— Dietary. Bread without yeast. It is believed that such bread has less effect on the figure; also used during religious fasts.
— Gluten free. Gluten is a group of proteins that are formed when baking bread according to classic recipes. They can cause allergies, in addition, there is a disease in which gluten is not absorbed and damages the intestines. The gluten-free baking mode allows you to prepare gluten-free bread suitable for these types of problems.
— Sweet bread. Programme for baking dough with a high sugar content. Additionally, raisins, dried apricots, nuts and various seeds can be added to such a dough.
Additional programmes
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Cake. The programme is designed for baking sponge cakes. Working according to the Cake programme, the bread machine creates optimal conditions for the sponge to rise well and acquire a soft porous structure.
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— Jam. Due to the possibility of mixing and heating the product in the working chamber of the bread machine, many models allow you to cook not only bread, but also jam. For this, a special temperature regime is provided, in which more useful substances are stored than during conventional cooking over an open fire.
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Dough kneading. Programme for preparing raw dough, without subsequent baking. It is useful if you plan to cook food outside the bread machine — for example, you can make dough for pies, dumplings, etc.
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Pasta.... Special kneading programme for hard dough for making homemade pasta. It is found mainly in advanced models of bread machines. Allows you to knead a thicker dough than for bread.
— Pizza. Kneading dough as a base for pizza. The programme involves compliance with a certain recipe using yeast cultures.
— Yogurt. Programme for making yogurt at home. Milk and starter culture are loaded into the working chamber of the bread machine, after which the optimal temperature regime is maintained there for the vital activity of beneficial lactic acid bacteria.
— Cream butter. In some bread machines, it is possible to use a stirrer to whip butter from milk, cream or sour cream. The presence of such a feature is useful, in particular, because the ingredients for making butter do not have to be fresh — thus, you can buy fresh sour cream for eating, and use it for butter after standing for a while.Selection of baking degree
Regulation
of the baking degree of bread and color and structure of the crust depending on individual user preferences. Someone prefer soft homemade bread, while others prefer baked goods with a crispy crust.
Number of blades for kneading
Most breadmakers are equipped with one blade for kneading dough — this is enough to prepare dough for bread weighing up to 1 kg inclusive. Models that allow you to bake larger loaves (starting from 1200 g) are often equipped with two kneading blades. In addition to the fact that the
two blades allow you to cook dough with a larger weight, they also provide a faster and more uniform kneading. However, an additional blade, usually, affects the price of the device.
