Bread Machine Review

Evaluating reviews of bread machines

We found the most recently written professional review for breadmakers at The Wall Street Journal. Editors test several bread machines, baking white bread, wheat bread, sweet bread, French bread and pizza dough in each machine. Five bread machines are recommended, although those that didn't make the cut are not listed or described. Winners are discussed in terms of features, capacity and ease of use, although formal ratings aren't provided. Neither ConsumerReports.org or Cook's Illustrated magazine review bread machines.

Slate.com and BreadInfo.com also offer comprehensive reviews of bread machines, although these reviews aren't as recent as the Wall Street Journal's roundup. At BreadInfo.com, editors rate eight machines, ranking them with grades from A+ to B- according to their features and price. Only the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 (*Est. $240) receives an A+" rank, although the less expensive West Bend Hi-Rise Breadmaker (*Est. $100) gets an A rating. At Slate.com, Mason Currey tests five machines over the course of six weeks, rating each machine for quality and taste on a scale of 40 total points. The Panasonic SD-YD250 (*Est. $150) comes out on top, winning over the discontinued Zojirushi BBCC-X20, simply because the BBCC-X20 is so expensive. Currey says he doesn't think that any of these machines make bread good enough to compete with his local bakeries.

Two older reviews are also informative. At BreadMachineDigest.com, Robert Barnett tests 13 bread machines, summarizing his findings in one-page, undated reviews, and in an article in the Toronto Star, Vicky Sanderson tests and reviews three models. Two consistently reliable sources, Australia's Choice magazine and the U.K.'s Which? magazine, publish comparative reviews of bread machines with excellent information for buyers, and results are reliable and well-reasoned. None of the tested bread machines is available in the U.S.

We consulted a few individual product reviews, including three separate reviews on About.com and one review comparing an older Sunbeam bread machine to the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme at TammysRecipes.com. To balance out these reviews, we also read hundreds of owner ratings at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Epinions.com, Cooking.com and Viewpoints.com. Unlike professional testers, owners can comment on long-term reliability, and we found more up-to-date user reviews than we did professional reviews. Chowhound.com, an online forum for foodies, also includes a few useful threads related to bread machine use; some include recommendations from owners on the best bread machines.

Bread machines can do more than just bake white or wheat loaves. Some can prepare pizza, pasta and bagel dough, as well as make jam, meatloaf and even butter. With all models, you can follow a recipe from scratch or use a packaged kit purchased in your grocery store's bakery aisle.

Most breadmakers costing more than $100 include a delay timer that allows you to mix the ingredients in advance and set the breadmaker to start at a later time, a convenient feature for those who like to wake up to or come home to fresh-baked bread. Most bread machines have 13-hour timers (considered the maximum food safety window for the ingredients). Other perks include power-failure protection and quick-bake cycles. Power-failure protection maintains the program settings to resume baking in the event of a power failure (although in some models the power button must be pressed again to resume baking). Quick bake cycles reduce baking time by an hour or more, but some users indicate that breads cooked on quick bake cycles are denser or yeastier than traditional cycles. Despite these advances, some machines fall short on the most important performance quality -- delivering fresh, tasty loaves.

Some breadmakers fall flat

Clad in stainless steel, the Cuisinart CBK-200 (*Est. $130) boasts several practical features, including a convection fan, an indicator that tells you when to remove the kneading paddle, and cycles for low-carb and gluten-free breads. Vicki Sanderson, in a review for the Toronto Star, likes the brushed stainless-steel finish and molded side handles, which make moving the machine off the countertop easy. These innovations can't make up for lackluster performance, however, according to Robert Barnett of BreadMachineDigest.com. Barnett says the design of the loaf pan requires you to stop the kneading cycle to scrape down its sides. Although the convection fan produces crisp, evenly browned loaves, he found that the lid of the Cuisinart bread machine traps flour, which he had to remove with a cotton swab. Mason Currey, in a Slate.com review, says his only two "dud" loaves came from the Cuisinart CBK-200, and even the good loaves had tough crusts. He also noted that it was a bit loud.

Laura Moser of The Wall Street Journal is more positive and includes the Cuisinart CBK-200 as one of five recommended models. Moser says the Cuisinart CBK-200 is "far and away the most attractive machine we tested" and cites its "impressive array of settings, including low-carb and gluten-free." Owners posting to Amazon.com give the Cuisinart CBK-200 mixed reviews overall. We read several reports of breakage, lopsided loaves and burned bread. Owners who like the Cuisinart CBK-200 say it takes some trial and error to produce a good loaf.  

The Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC (*Est. $140) bakes a horizontal loaf and has a convection fan for even baking. It receives mixed reviews at Amazon.com: Owners complain about poor-fitting lids and pans that don't stay in place, sometimes jumping out during the kneading cycle. Owners also say that it's noisy during operation. There are numerous consumers who say their Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC stopped working altogether within 10 minutes, a few days or a few weeks; some have had the same experience with multiple replacement units. On the other hand, consumers who receive functioning machines are generally pleased, saying the Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC is user-friendly and produces delicious bread. A number of owners do say the Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC works especially well for gluten-free recipes. Overall, the Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC bread machine earns a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 on Amazon.com, and BreadInfo.com gives the Breadman Ultimate TR2500BC a B ranking, referencing questionable customer service but offering no specifics.