Bread Machines Reviews

We found two great reviews of bread machines: The most recent comparative reviews come from Australia’s Choice magazine and from New Zealand’s Consumer magazine. Both reviews test bread machines according to a uniform test process, so results are reliable and well reasoned. Unfortunately, none of the tested bread machines is available in the United States. For breadmakers available here, we found the best reviews at BreadMachineDigest.com, where Robert Barnett tests 13 bread machines, summarizing his findings in one-page reviews. Editors at the bread-enthusiast site BreadInfo.com test eight machines on the quality of their white, wheat and multi-grain sourdough loaves and cinnamon-raisin buns. We read dozens of owner-written reviews at Amazon.com, Epinions, Cooking.com and Target.com. Unlike professional testers, owners can comment on long-term reliability. Unfortunately, neither Consumer Reports nor Good Housekeeping has tested bread machines in a number of years.

Bread machines can do more than just bake white or wheat loaves. Some can prepare pizza, pasta and bagel dough, as well as jam, meatloaf and even butter. Most breadmakers costing more than $100 include programmable timers that allow you wake up to fresh bread. Other perks include power-failure protection and quick-bake cycles. Despite these advances, some machines fall short on the most important performance quality -- delivering tender, tasty loaves.

Clad in stainless steel, the Cuisinart CBK-200 (*est. $130) boasts several practical features, including a convection fan and an indicator that tells you when to remove the kneading paddle, as well as cycles for both low-carb and gluten-free breads. These innovations can’t make up for lackluster performance, however, according to Robert Barnett of BreadMachineDigest.com. The design of the loaf pan requires you to stop the kneading cycle to scrape down the sides of the pan. Although the convection fan produces crisp, evenly-browned loaves, Barnett found that the lid of the CBK-200 traps flour, which he removed with a cotton swab. Owners posting to Amazon.com give the CBK-200 mixed reviews. 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.

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Reviewers prefer Zojirushi BBCC-X20 overall as the best breadmaker. The newer Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery Mini is a more compact machine that makes only one-pound loaves, but it's nearly as expensive as the full-size Zojirushi breadmaker. If you don’t want to spend so much, the Panasonic SD-Y250 gets especially good reviews for being easy to use. It doesn't have custom cycles, a jam cycle or dual paddles, but many say these small inconveniences are outweighed by the lower price. We found good reviews for the smaller Breadman TR875, which has a snazzy stainless steel look. The West Bend Just for Dinner breadmaker is also a favorite of owners, but this model is now very hard to find. Instead, we included the Sunbeam 5891 in Fast Answers. This budget machine nonetheless has a long list of features, along with good reviews for bread quality and ease of use.