Russell Hobbs Stainless Steel Breadmaker 22710 review

The Russell Hobbs 22710 is the company’s premium breadmaker but, at under £80, it’s still one of the cheaper models I’ve seen.

It generally looks the part, with a smart steel body and glossy plastic lid. I wasn’t particularly keen on the control panel’s wobbly buttons and distorted type, which cheapened the product somewhat. The display is clear, and makes it simple to see which program, crust type and loaf size you have selected, as well as where the bread maker is in the baking cycle. The display and all the controls are on the front of the machine, so you may need to bend down to use the bread maker depending on the height of your kitchen worktop.

You don’t get a fancy colour recipe book with the 22710: just a black and white instruction manual with clear tables for bread, dough and jam recipes. There aren’t many recipes, but the basics are covered, from white, wholemeal and French bread to sweet cinnamon and sultana. Bear in mind that unlike models such as the Panasonic SD-ZB2512, this bread maker doesn’t have an automatic fruit and nut dispenser, so you’ll need to be around to add the ingredients when the machine beeps at you.

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The bread pan doesn’t have a bayonet fitting, and is instead held in place by two spring clips at the sides. This does make it trickier to fit and remove the bread pan, but the pan does at least snap definitively into place; you’re not left wondering whether it’s fitted correctly, as on the cheaper Russell Hobbs 18036. There’s a large bread viewing window in the breadmaker’s lid, but the chamber isn’t backlit so you’ll need to shine a torch in if you want to check on the progress of your loaf.

The bread maker can make a standard white loaf in 3h 18m, which is fairly quick. The resulting loaf looked great, with a pleasing shape and a lovely golden colour. The good impressions continued inside the bread, too, thanks to the loaf’s even texture. The bread was ever so slightly more chewy than I would like; the 22710 couldn’t match the Kenwood BM260 for the quality of its white loaf.

At first, I was worried that the wholemeal loaf had gone wrong, as it had risen to create an odd shape at the top. All was forgiven when I sliced into the loaf, however. It had an excellent texture, and no hint of the chewiness that afflicted other bread makers’ wholemeal loaves.

There’s also a Super Rapid mode, which will make a white loaf in 1h 23m. This wasn’t nice, being an under-risen, doughy lump. The only bread maker I’ve seen capable of producing a decent white loaf in under an hour and a half remains the Kenwood BM260.

The Russell Hobbs 22710 is not only better looking than the cheaper 18030; it also produces better white and wholemeal loaves. It can’t match the Kenwood BM260 for white bread, but its wholemeal loaves were superior. It’s not a perfect bread maker, but it’s a decent compromise for the price. Buy Now from Amazon or check out our buying guide and all our award-winning bread makers.