There are also programs for baking cakes and making and low-carb or sweet breads. Like many bread makers, you can also use it to make jam, regular or dairy-free yogurt, and pasta or pizza dough. Unusually, this Lidl has two mixing paddles, which should mean the dough is kneaded more effectively. You can remove these before baking, if you want to avoid too large a hole in your loaf. Capacity: like batch baking for cake sales? You’ll need a larger bowl capacity and perhaps a more powerful mechanism that will plough through larger volumes of mixture. Buy the biggest machine you can afford that will fit in your kitchen. Overall quality of materials: Well-made stand mixers with quality components should last. We looked for those that were robust. It has a good power, the 1200w motor certainly seems cut out for it, with a wide range of speeds plus a pulse button which I actually found very useful for folding in (better than the fold function on a k-Mix as I had more control)

It has 3 attachments – a beater blade for cake mixes, cookie doughs etc, a whisk for egg whites and cream and a dough hook, plus a splash guard. It’s lightweight, the body being plastic instead of metal, much easier to move around than my stand mixer but it’s bigger too so takes up more room on the worktop or in a cupboard.Like most bread makers, this one comes with the option to set a timer, so you can wake up to freshly baked loaves in the morning. Based on its specs, the Silvercrest bread maker seems pretty good value compared with premium models from brands such as Panasonic. It seems a little noisy to me, all stand mixers are if you’re stood next to them for prolonged periods of time. The mixer is a SilverCrest Professional Food Processor SKMP 1200 A2. With a 1200w motor and a 3 year warranty. The dough hook – kneads bread exceptionally well, something I have to admit I was surprised at and had expected it to fall down here but it didn’t. It made me a great loaf and was kneaded in less time than my other mixers would do.

Our tests have found that you don't necessarily need to spend big to get a great bread maker. We've uncovered some bargains in the same price range as this Lidl bread maker that make decent loaves - but we've also found some mediocre models to avoid. Is your product defective and the manual offers no solution? Go to a Repair Café for free repair services. It has 16 pre-set programs and features, so you can make everything from standard white and wholemeal loaves to sourdough and gluten-free bread, which is quite unusual for a cheap model. The beater blade doesn’t have silicone wings (one of the reasons I love a k-Mix) so you do have to stop and scrape down the bowl to make sure everything is being mixed in properly from time to time. Not a huge issue to discount it. This bread maker probably isn't suited to smaller households as it makes quite large 1kg loaves as standard. Usually, this is the extra-large setting on other bread makers. You can also make even larger 1.25kg or 1.5kg loaves.First impressions are okay, obviously it’s not as glamourous and seductively good looking as a KitchenAid or the Kenwood version but it’s not a bad looking piece of kit. Notable extras include a 'Super Rapid' program, that is claimed to make a 1kg loaf in 75 minutes, in addition to a standard rapid-bake setting, which takes just over two hours. The Silvercrest is good value for a larger-capacity bread maker with such a wide range of baking options.

The bowl is big in size (6.5litre) and good if you’re making plenty of mixture. It doesn’t have a handle though which I find a little inconvenient for manouvering after mixing.Results of functions: A machine that efficiently mixed all the ingredients at the same time was a staple requirement. We looked for pavlova mixes that were glossy and well-whisked, cake mixes that were light with evenly distributed zest and finally, well-risen dough that was soft and light when baked. Ease of use and cleaning: Modern stand mixers can offer sophisticated features but being easy to use is incredibly important. Washing your stand mixer’s attachments by hand can also be a pain, so we looked for dishwasher-safe accessories to make cleaning less of a headache. Versatility: stand mixers can work hard with the right attachments, which include everything from pasta rollers to sausage makers. Study the number of bolt-on accessories available if you want to use your machine frequently for lots of kitchen tasks. We tried out the Lidl Silvercrest bread maker when it was on sale this time last year, to see if it could rise to the challenge of baking tasty bread on a budget. Processor versatility: Stand mixers should take on key kitchen tasks that make life a lot easier. Whisking, beating and kneading attachments are key to this and we awarded extra points to machines that offer more integrated features, like weighing scales, timers and extra attachments.