How to choose a badass bread maker – baking bread at home effortlessly

Dear Diary,

I decided that from now on, I want to bake bread at home. And the easiest way to do that is with a badass bread maker machine 😎…

Why do I need a bread maker?

Plain and simple: I want tasty bread but have zero time for baking it regularly.

I’ve had enough of the fact that in spite of living in a big city, I cannot find good bread in the nearby, that is tasty, has a good texture and is good even after a few days as well. I’ve tried out the products of several bakeries and supermarkets in the neighbourhood and in the city as well in the last few years, but none of them could meet my expectations (which are not that high, honestly).

During the COVID lockdowns, I’d started baking bread myself, and they’d turned out quite tasty, I was satisfied with it, but it requires some work to do it. What I don’t have at the moment, is TIME, especially for baking bread regularly.

Therefore, I need a solution where I just put everything into the bowl and have nothing else to do with it except to get the crispy and tasty bread fresh out of the oven (or machine in this case). So what I need, is a BREAD MAKER.

Tefal is the winner, but which model should I choose? – Comparison of 7 Tefal bread maker models

I’m not the type of person who just goes to the store and buys whatever appliance can be found there, I like to do a bit of research before buying anything major. And I prefer online shopping, it’s so much easier.

Browsing the products of the webshops where I usually buy my appliances, it was not a question for me that Tefal was the brand I would choose in this case, so this narrowed down the search to 7 bread maker models.

Every Tefal model offers the option to choose from 3 baking levels resulting in a light, medium, or dark crust colour and comes with standard accessories (a measuring spoon, a beaker, and a hook) and a recipe book. The start of the programme can be delayed by up to 15 hours, and the bread can be kept warm for 1 hour after baking.

Let’s see the big ones first

Basically, there are two types of Tefal bread makers regarding their sizes. The smaller models have only 1 kneading blade and can bake bread of 500 g, 750 g, or 1000 g, whereas the two bigger ones make bread the size of 750 g, 1000 g, or 1500 g, with 2 kneading blades.

The big bread makers look alike, they come in white (Tefal Home Bread Baguette PF610138 – with 16 programmes and 29 recipes) and black (Tefal Bread of the World PF611838 – with 19 programmes and 35 recipes) colours, with a power of 1600W, a peak-in window on the upper lid and further accessories, the specific bagel trays for baking bread of various kinds of shapes.

This specific trait sounded quite attractive to me as in many cases we prefer baguettes and bagels to bread, especially when it’s still fresh, warm, and crispy. However, at the moment I need a solution where I do not have to work with the dough at all and in the case of baguettes, you have to get the dough out from the machine to shape it. And I thought if I had to get it out, I could put it in the oven to bake it as well, therefore, not so easily though, but I had let go of this function.

1 kg of bread, which is the limit of the smaller bread maker models, is enough for us at once, the point is that I can bake a fresh one whenever I want, day or night. Anyway, the space in the kitchen is quite limited too, so I’d better go with the smaller type.

I’d go with a smaller Tefal bread maker, let’s choose the smartest one!

There are 5 smaller bread maker models, with about 700W power each. The white Tefal Pain Doré PF210138 bread maker has 12 programs and 11 recipes, the black Tefal Pain Plaisir PF220838 is the same design, with 17 programmes and 28 recipes.

There are 3 bread maker models with an additional yoghurt/dairy pot accessory, the silver Tefal Pain & Délices PF240E38 with 20 programmes and 28 recipes, the white Tefal Pain et Tresors PF250135 with 20 programmes and 28 recipes, and the black Tefal Pain et Tresors Maison PF251835 with 22 programs and 28 recipes. The latter two have a peak-in window on the upper lid, where we can see what’s happening inside, and an automatic seed dispenser for adding the yeast and extra ingredients as well.

Comparing the programmes

Overall, every model can bake basic French bread and has a quick programme as well. Furthermore, they can be used to make whole grain bread, sweet bread or simply dough. Every model has a gluten-free option and cooking/baking mode only. The cake and jam programmes can also be found in all of them.

The bigger models have additional programmes for baguettes, but there are more options in the Tefal Bread of the World.

All except the Tefal Pain Doré have a pasta programme, and many of them can be used for making salt-free or rye bread, porridge, and cereals. The manual mode and shortcrust programme are specific for the Tefal Pain et Tresors Maison.

There are 3 bread maker models (Tefal Pain et Tresors Maison, Tefal Pain et Tresors, Tefal Pain & Délices) that have programmes for preparing dairy products as well.

Summing up the comparison

My vote is for the Tefal Pain et Tresors Maison PF251835

The cheapest of the smaller Tefal bread maker models has only 12 programs, and the price difference among the rest was relatively low, therefore I decided to go with the “smartest” model, the Tefal Pain et Tresors Maison PF251835.

I like it, because it has the most programs (22), 3 of which are used for making dairy products. It’s something previously I have never thought of doing (especially not with a bread maker), and I’ve also wondered why this would be good for me if I would work with store milk anyway, but I’ve read some good reviews so it I decided it’s something I would eventually like to try out. There are extra accessories for making dairy products. It also has a peak-in window and an automatic dispenser.

I have already ordered it online, can’t wait to start using it! I have very high expectations of this model, I hope it can fulfil them.

XOXO from my kitchen 🙃