Breadmakers Brands and Links

Bread machines require accurate ingredient measurement

We found numerous reports of fallen loaves for nearly every bread machine. Other experts and owners, however, point out that the likely cause of a fallen loaf is an imprecise ratio of wet to dry ingredients, too much yeast, too much flour or a similar issue. Bread-making connoisseurs suggest measuring ingredients by weight instead of volume for the most precise measurements. Check out our report on kitchen scales for the best models.  One of the most problematic ingredients for owners is yeast, which must added carefully to the mixture to avoid getting it wet before the appropriate time in the mixing cycle. One bread machine, the Panasonic SD-YD250 (*Est. $150) offers a separate yeast dispenser to avoid this problem. The Panasonic is the only bread machine we encountered offering this feature.

BreadInfo.com, BreadWorld.com and BreadMachineDigest.com offer reviews, recipes and maintenance guides. All provide advice on specialty ingredients and gluten-free baking.

TheFreshLoaf.com is another comprehensive site that offers bread machine recipes, as well as recipes for traditional breadmaking. The site also has links to a number of helpful video tutorials on breadmaking, as well as book reviews and links to other bread blogs.

Dan Lepard, a British baker and author, offers tips on breadmaking at London's The Guardian newspaper.

Jessica Harlan, About.com's guide to cooking equipment, offers tips for baking bread in a bread machine, as well as recipes. More bread recipes can be found at About.com's baking channel and Southern food channel.

Chowhound.com's discussion forum is an excellent place to obtain feedback on bread machines, tips for using bread machines and recipes.

There are a number of bread recipe books available online and at bookstores. Two recommended books are "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger and "The Bread Machine Cookbook" by Donna Rathmell German.

People on a gluten-free diet will appreciate the bread cookbook "Gluten-Free Baking Classics for the Bread Machine" by Annalise G. Roberts, which is also available online and at bookstores.

Bread machine brands

Manufacturers' websites offer detailed specs and product information:

Panasonic

West Bend

Zojirushi

Breadman

Cuisinart

Emerilware

Sunbeam

Oster