Bread Machines: Reviews

Updated December 2011

While bread machines can do more than just bake bread (some can prep pizza and pasta dough and even make jam and butter), do they actually do as good a job baking bread as your local bakery? That's what we sought to determine. User reviews were the best sources of information for this category, and in the end we did find a few machines that do a good job.

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Best bread machine overall

Panasonic SD-YD250

*Est. $150 Compare Prices

The Panasonic bread machine doesn't have custom settings, a cycle for making jam or a viewing window, but reviewers say these are features you might not miss, especially if you are mainly interested in a breadmaker that's… expandeasy to use and makes tasty bread. The Panasonic SD-YD250 bread machine makes horizontal loaves with a single paddle; some experts say that dual-paddle machines are better at mixing, but we didn't see any consistent complaints in reviews that the Panasonic SD-YD250 breadmaker doesn't mix well. This bread machine gets great scores for its 1.5- to 2.5-pound loaves. It also has a dough-only cycle, which is helpful for making pizza and bagel dough. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

The Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal evaluates an undisclosed number of bread machines and recommends five.

Amazon.com: About 865 owners post reviews here, and most give the Panasonic SD-YD250 the top rating of 5 stars.

Slate.com: Mason Currey of Slate.com puts the Panasonic SD-YD250 at the top of the five machines he tested, noting its good-looking loaves, dark crispy crust, quiet operation and compact design.

Epinions.com: The Panasonic SD-YD250 breadmaker receives a high rating (4.5 stars) in more than 70 reviews posted at Epinions.com.

Viewpoints.com: More than 30 owners contribute to an average rating of 4.53 stars out of 5.

BreadInfo.com: Although the editors at BreadInfo.com consider the Panasonic SD-YD250 to be somewhat expensive for a home bread machine, they say the price can be justified by the Panasonic's "sturdy build and versatility." This site offers a chart comparing the features of six breadmakers, but it does not provide ratings; also, we cannot tell whether this machine was actually tested.

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Buy from Amazon for $349.34
eBay for $199.99	LivingDirec- t for $169.15	Walmart for $174.95

Full-featured bread machine

Zojirushi BB-CEC20

*Est. $240 Compare Prices

Reviewers agree that the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 is the best breadmaker, though it costs more than others. The Zojirushi bread machine has two mixing/kneading paddles, which experts say do a better job of mixing ingredients… expandthan single-paddle machines. Plus the Zojirushi bread machine produces traditional, bread-shaped loaves instead of the tall, narrow loaves made by competing machines. The Zojirushi has a sourdough-starter cycle, three custom-memory settings and a 13-hour delay timer. It gets solid reviews from owners, but we did find a smattering of complaints about various issues (but not one in particular). If you don't care about creating custom cycles, the highly rated Panasonic SD-YD250 costs less and gets great reviews. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

The Wall Street Journal: This recent roundup conducted by editors of the Wall Street Journal evaluates several bread machines by making white bread, wheat bread, pizza dough, French bread and sweet bread in each machine.

BreadInfo.com: Editors of BreadInfo.com provide a detailed evaluation of the Zojirushi BB-CEC20, praising its ease of use and wide array of convenient features.

Amazon.com: The Zojirushi BB-CEC20 bread machine receives about 315 reviews and earns an average rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars at Amazon.com.

Cooking.com: This retail site lists about 315 ratings for the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 bread machine.

ConsumerSearch.com: The Zojirushi BB-CEC20 has replaced a discontinued model, the BBCC-X20.

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Buy from Amazon for $219.95
Amazon for $209.95	Zappos.com for $249.99

Budget breadmaker

Sunbeam 5891

*Est. $80 Compare Prices

The Sunbeam Programmable Bread Maker 5891 offers a number of features common to more expensive bread machines, including dough-only, bake-only and jam settings, and a signal to let you know when to add fruit or nuts.… expandOverall, users can choose from 12 cook settings and three crust selections, as well as a 13-hour delay programming feature. Owners say the Sunbeam 5891 produces delicious bread, but advise avoiding the recipes provided in the manual, because they call for too much yeast and can result in flattened or too-dense loaves. Reviews say it's affordable and easy to clean. The Sunbeam 5891 can make 1-, 1.5- or 2-pound vertical loaves. It has an LCD-display, although some owners say it's tough to read in dim light. The Sunbeam 5891 is backed by a one-year limited warranty. collapse

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Expert & User Review Sources:

The Wall Street Journal: The Wall Street Journal evaluates an undisclosed number of breadmakers by using the same recipes for white bread, wheat bread, pizza dough, French bread and sweet bread in each machine.

Slate.com: Mason Currey of Slate.com ranks the Sunbeam 5891 last of the five machines he tested, saying its appealingly compact size and large viewing window can't make up for the poor quality of bread it produces.

Amazon.com: More than 745 owners post, and the Sunbeam Programmable Bread Maker 5891 receives very good aggregate reviews at Amazon.com.

Cooking.com: About 115 owners post at Cooking.com, and nearly all (97 percent) say they would buy the Sunbeam Programmable Bread Maker 5891 again.

Viewpoints.com: More than 85 owners contribute to an average rating of 4.21 stars out of 5.

Epinions.com: The Sunbeam 5891 earns a slightly above-average rating in about 45 owner reviews here, though the reviews are not as glowing as those on Amazon.com and Cooking.com.

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Buy from Amazon for $54.59
Amazon for $54.59	BuyDig.com for $67.95	eBay for $69.88

Cuisinart CBK-200 *Est. $130

3 picks by top review sites.

T-Fal Emerilware Bread and Baguette Maker *Est. $150

3 picks including: About.com, Amazon.com…

Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC *Est. $140

2 picks by top review sites.

West Bend Hi-Rise Breadmaker *Est. $100

2 picks including: Amazon.com, BreadInfo.com…