Verdict
The Kenwood BM260 is a mid-priced breadmaker that impresses with every little thing from its fashionable design to its fan-assisted cooking.
Professionals
- Good styling touches
- Eco mode
- Reasonably priced
Cons
- A bit loud
- No window in lid
Key Specs
- Review Value: £79.99
- 350g, 500g and 600g loaf sizes
- Timer delay
- 11 packages for breads, muffins, doughs, jams and eco mode
- Fan assisted
What’s it?
The Kenwood BM260 is a unusual mid-priced breadmaker. Uncommon design touches embody retro-ish styling, fan-assisted cooking and even an adjustable spoon.
It has an “eco” program that makes use of much less power and time – it bakes a white loaf or bread combine in 85 minutes – and it comes with a shiny e-book containing a wealth of foodie recipes. The ensuing loaves are spectacular, making the Kenwood an excellent purchase.
Design
Construct high quality is significantly stable for a reasonably reasonably priced breadmaker. The love-or-loathe design is uncommon, white with a retro-style deal with for the lid, harking back to a Fifties fridge. And as a substitute of a window for inspecting progress, the lid boasts a built-in fan to help cooking. The BM260 is compact, the dimensions of an A4 sheet.
Options embody the aforementioned “eco” program and a gluten-free program, plus packages for breads, muffins, doughs and jams. It makes loaves in three sizes, starting from a 500g loaf made utilizing 350g flour to a 1kg loaf utilizing 600g flour. Baking a loaf takes 3 to three.5 hours on a typical program.
The breadmaker comes with equipment together with a larger-than-average measuring cup and an uncommon adjustable spoon: slide the plastic internal to measure half or complete teaspoons and tablespoons of elements. There’s additionally an precise energy swap on the again – once more an uncommon contact.
Efficiency
The Kenwood’s accompanying recipe e-book comprises an excellent vary of recipes, a few of them somewhat foodie. Recipes embody, or instance, caramelised onion bread and chocolate bread. We examined it with an 86% wholemeal recipe however even this had barely quirky elements, together with lemon juice (maybe taking the place of the vitamin C powder that some recipes characteristic) and a mix of butter and skimmed milk powder, somewhat than one or the opposite.
The adjustable spoon was excellent, it labored nicely and make measuring simpler and faster. Washing it up was barely fiddly, as it’s important to pop the 2 items of plastic aside, nevertheless it was nonetheless total value it. And the machine and controls had been nice, though it was a bit loud when the kneading blade was whirring round.
The bread had an excellent crumb and was gentle and fluffy, as a lot because it’s doable for an 86% wholemeal loaf to be gentle. It solely appears small within the images as a result of we baked the smallest (350g flour) dimension. The kneading blade bought caught within the loaf, however this didn’t seem to be it might be a perennial downside. And the crust and base weren’t overdone as a result of the breadmaker’s “hold heat” operate labored higher than most due to the fan within the lid which gently circulates heat air.
Ought to I purchase it?
Sure, should you’re on the lookout for a mid-priced breadmaker then the Kenwood received’t disappoint. However should you can afford twice as a lot, the perfect breadmaker efficiency we’ve seen up to now was from the Panasonic SD-ZB2502BXC.
Verdict
The Kenwood BM260 is a mid-priced breadmaker that impresses with every little thing from its fashionable design to its fan-assisted cooking.