Bread Machines: Reviews

Reviewers agree that the Zojirushi is the best breadmaker overall. The Zojirushi has two mixing/kneading paddles, which experts say do a better job of mixing ingredients than single-paddle machines, and it produces… traditional, bread-shaped loaves. The Zojirushi has a sourdough-starter cycle, three custom-memory settings and a 13-hour delay timer. The Zojirushi gets solid reviews from owners, but we did find a smattering of complaints about durability. If you don't care about creating custom cycles, the highly rated Panasonic SD-YD250 costs less and gets great reviews.

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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… easy to use. The Panasonic bread machine makes horizontal loaves, but with just a single paddle, it sometimes doesn't mix quite as thoroughly as dual-paddle breadmakers. Still, the Panasonic breadmaker 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.

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The main difference between the Sunbeam 5891 bread machine and pricier models is that the Sunbeam bakes vertical loaves. That means the 1.5- and 2-pound loaves will be tall, rather than long and wide like traditional… sandwich bread. Still, reviewers say the Sunbeam 5891 is a good, no-frills breadmaker with 12 preprogrammed cycles and a jam cycle. We did read a few complaints about the LCD screen, which users say can be hard to read.

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