Bread Machine Reviews

This is a bread makers dream. This is a bread maker that is high tech., yet simple to use. It has many features not avaiable on other makers, (and I've gone through two others). This machine allows you to customize the bread you want to make, various types and batters, sizes and crusts...and more.
It has a hard crust feature to replicate the European crusts. It even does bagels that come out as bought at the deli.
Sultan, the manufaturer, has another great product.
You won't be diappointed with this machine.

Well, at first I was not so sure about this one based on some reviews elsewhere in this site. I have had this machine for only foud days so far and IT IS GREAT!
The first time I got it, I set it for delayed baking. My first loaf. It was fantastic! You REALY, REALLY, REALLY have to read the manual BEFORE YOU BUY IT (find it at Oster.com) and get ALL you need before you start baking: measuring cups (for liquid and dry ingredients), bread flour, yeast, etc. Then you will have absolutely NO problem if you follow the instrucions EXACTLY the way they are written, believe me. The count for me so far is 5 loaves and all perfect and great tasting. Get it!

After using a friend's Oster/Sunbeam breadmaker for a couple of months, I got hooked on the idea of making my own bread. Since I didn't need a full-size 2lb. model, I decided to try this 1.5lb unit. What appealed to me at first was the compact footprint and the oversized viewing window.

The burn-off issue described here and elsewhere on the web is pretty accurate. My package included a correction sheet for the manual that clarifies that the pan should be in the machine when you run it dry the first time. This may explain why some people reported that the dome window was melting. Anyhow, I ran the machine outside with a bit of water in the pan and that worked out fine.

After that, it was time to try my first white bread. The machine is pretty noisy compared to the Sunbeam model I'd first used. Unless your bedroom is far enough from the kitchen, you will hear this sucker if you decide to use the delay timer for morning fresh bread.

The first loaf I made was a failure since Fleischmann's active dry yeast (unlike others) is not suitable for bread machines. The granules are different sizes and do not dissolve fast enough. So I bought instant yeast which has very small granules which should have done the trick...but it looks like it was old! I had to use double the amount to get the bread to rise to a decent height. Anyhow, now I buy yeast in large vacuum packs. It is very reliable, last forever and is labeled "instant" or "quick" yeast.

So far, I've made over a dozen breads, mostly whole grain or variations of "healthy" breads. For a small family or couples, this unit is a great value. I've used stone-milled and unbleached wheat with success, although I never add the egg that almost every recipe in the book uses. Pizza dough recipe was good, but I cut down the sugar and yeast to get a thinner crust. If you like it doughy, follow the recipe as stated.

The only caveat is the crust colour control...never set it higher than LIGHT. On my machine at least, the MEDIUM setting caused the sides to almost burn...and I've never tried the DARK setting because of this.

I have had this machine for about a month, and have made seven or 8 loves in it. All I can say is that to it makes incredible bread. Perfect horizontal loves in three hours. My only complaint is that the initial burn off, and the first loaf of bread - made an intense plastics smell while cooking. This ceased to to be a problem after the second loaf. Otherwise, a truly wonderful machine. I highly recommend it.

After reading a recent review of bread machines which stated that they basically all function the same, I purchased one of these at a local department store. It is out of the box and almost done baking its first loaf (3 hrs). So far, no complaints other than the noise (its louder than I expected, but for $40 can't complain). My friend, who has a 'fancier' (and much more expensive) brand of machine, is very intrigued with this little guy. I look forward to trying out its first loaf of bread tonight and proving that $$$ don't necessarily buy you a better loaf of bread.

This was an impulse buy - after reading all of the positive reviews here I decided to give it a try. When it arrived I was surprised at how small the bread pan was and was considering sending it back. But then I did 2 things - I looked at other larger breadmakers and realized they take anywhere from 3-5 hours to make a loaf of bread (this one takes 45 minutes total, including the knead cycle) and I made a loaf of bread and discovered it actually can serve 2-4 people with a total of around 6 decent size slices. My first loaf came out a little small and dense so I read the troubleshooting guide and decided it was too little water, so next time during the mix cycle i knew what the dough looked like when it was too dry, added 1 tablespoon of water and the bread came out perfect. This breadmaker doesnt have a timer feature but since it is done in 45 minutes, you dont need one! Other things I like: prep is easy - about 5 minutes (basic bread requires bread flour, salt, sugar, milk or water, butter or oil and yeast), the pan is non stick and very easy to clean and since the loaf is not big you don't end up pigging out on bread. My only 2 very minor complaints: the bread gets cooked around the kneading blade and can get stuck to the bread making it a little hard to remove the bread from the pan and if you lose power, accidentally unplug it or shut it off during the rise or bake cycle the bread machine has no memory so it starts over from the knead cycle (the book does tell you how to finish baking in a regular oven though and this shouldnt happen too often). Overall, I'm very satisfied.

I bought this breadmachine from Amazon last October. Since then, it has already baked about 75 breads and used 6.5 bags of 5-lb all purpose flours for me. I decided to write a review after I really tried this machine long enough. That's why I wrote this review now.

Usually I put brown sugar, olive oil, sesame seeds, wheat germs, raisins, hot-cocoa powder with all-purpose flour. Without a measuring cup, I never measured the ingredients precisely. So, sometimes the loaf will turn out to be huge. But unless I put too much water, otherwise, most breads turned out pretty reasonably tasted. If I used too much water, the center of the baked loaf will remain sticky (just like dough).

Recently, I also discovered a way to guarantee making perfect loaves. It is simple. During the first 3 minutes of the 10 minutes' kneading time, I open the cover and use a spatula to help the kneading bar to knead the dough really hard. My conlusion is, the success in mixing the ingredients throughly with as little water as possible is the key to a successful bread.

Pros: small size breadmachine, only 45 minutes to make a bread, easy to operate, bread size is ideal for my lunch, extremely easy to clean the kneading bowl, printed manual is very helpful, mechanism seems very reliable, fresh breads made within two hours have very tasty brownish outer crust.

Cons: the signaling beep is too loud for me, only two differnt bread settings so I cannot extend kneading time, cannot pause after I start to make bread, no time display of how long it has been started, the kneading bowl is not high enough so sometimes ingredients will overflow out of the bowl when I put too much ingredients.

Also, I am glad that I bought bulk quick-rise yeast from King Arthur's flour online. It makes the basic cost of making a bread less than USD 10 cents (flour + yeast).

Anyway, in conclusion, I like this breadmachine very much...
And, thank you Amazon for the great deal and great selections.

I know it shouldn't, but I am still surprised when a product performs better than I expect. We ordered this little bread machine when our old Hitachi started making bricks instead of bread. We looked at several models and of course read the reviews on them. We liked the idea of a smaller loaf and the short (45 min) cycle time, so we decided to give this machine a try. Yep, it's a little loaf, but it's perfect every time and in the time advertised. It will make 3-4 sandwich's, or enough toast for two or three. It took a day or so to get use to the small size of the bread but now that we have used it for a couple days we can't imagine going back to a full size machine.
We have been using the basic bread recipe that came with the machine and it has come out perfect everytime. The manual is very good and the directions are simple and easy to understand. We were eating the first loaf of bread within an hour and a half of opening the package. We made two more loaves that evening for lunch's the next day. Now we are getting in the habit of fresh hot bread with dinner every evening. No more 41/2 hours for a loaf of bread. Can't say enough good things about this machine. West Bend hit a home run with this little jewel. We are going to get a couple more for gifts. This is the perfect machine for those of us who no longer have a house full of kids.

This is the third bread machine I've had so far and after several weeks I've had good results. My main criteria in a machine was a 2-pound capacity. The machine has a good, heavy-duty pan that is deep, even for a 2-pound capacity, that reduces the mess that flies out and collects in the bottom of the chamber during mixing. It's been very easy to clean and is quiet while operating. My only complaint is the extremely long basic bread cycle (3 hours, 40 minutes) which produces a nicely textured loaf but required much experimenting to find the right amounts of yeast and flour to make a loaf that wouldn't fall. However, the dough cycle is short (1 hour, 3 minutes) and the extra features such as a setting to make your own butter are appealing, though I haven't tried them yet. Not a bad machine--the best I've used yet.

While there are a lot of good bread machines, one feature of this model made it stand out to me: It bakes one, one-and-a-half and two pound loaves equally well. I prefer to make small loaves more often so that it's always fresh. It's practical to do so with this machine because it's simple to use and easy to clean. Also, sometimes when my husband gets especially creative, one pound is plenty. I cannot recommend, for instance, augmenting a bread mix with canned tuna, and grapes are not simply "fresher than raisins". For satisfying, fresh bread just toss a package of mix into The Breadman TR888. It knows how to make good bread every time so you don't have to.

You get what you pay for in this world and the Panasonic SD-YD250 is a perfect example. Quiet as a mouse. No jumping around the counter and whining and improperly mixing as a Breadman we purchased (and returned) did. Had another Panasonic for 8 years. Decided to replace it when the pan seal failed and we checked out the cost of a replacemtnt pan (not realizing we could replace just the paddle mechanism/seal.) Thought we could get by on the cheap with the Breadman. Wrong. If you are looking for a rock solid, flexible unit that turns out a perfect loaf time after time (up to 2.5 lbs), this is your bread machine. The automatic yeast dispenser is a great feature, particulary if you use the timer. Spend the [money].

I am a first-time bread machine owner, and I selected the Panasonic after reading many customer reviews and mostly great comments. I have been thrilled with my machine! The yeast dispenser is a great feature, and the machine is so quiet!

I've owned it for about a month and made several different recipes from the Panasonic book --- every single one has turned out great! I was concerned about the oz/cup problem, but found an easy solution. Using simple math and the label from a Gold Medal bread flour package, I determined the conversion factor to change dry ounces to cups. Just multiply the flour amount given in ounces by .2184 (use a calculator)For example, in the basic white recipe, XL loaf 21.75 oz X .2184 = 4.75 (4 3/4)cups. A Large loaf takes 4 cups, and Medium loaf takes 3 1/4 cups.
NOTE: Whole wheat or other flour is slightly different. Just read how many cups are in a 5 lb bag, and divide them to get the right factor. It took me about 5 minutes to convert every recipe in the book.

This has produced perfect loaves for me every time. My family is enjoying wonderful hot bread several times a week. Our favorite loaf so far is the Egg Bread... try it! I am amazed at how the different settings produce such a variety of loaf textures from a soft Sandwich loaf to a crusty, chewy French bread. This machine is a winner!

This breadmaker is incredible! It bakes a perfect loaf everytime! It is easy to use. Cleans up like a dream.
The only drawback is the bread tastes so good, you may gain weight! Yummmmmmm!

I love my Breadman Ultimate. It makes perfect, fluffy 100% whole wheat bread from the recipe in the book -- so perfect that even people who don't like whole wheat bread like this. This is no small thing, as whole grain bread (the only kind I want to eat) tends to be dense and sometimes a chore to eat. I like to make my own bread so that I know what is in it and so I can eat healthier. I love the dispenser for seeds, as I don't want to hang around and try not to miss the beep. I like that I can choose the loaf size, so when I have company I can make a larger loaf, instead of having to make two, and can make smaller loaves the rest of the itme so the bread is always fresh. I read some other reviews that say they have had problems with the bread pan and with ambient temperatures affecting the bread. All I can say is I have had none of those. I have had the machine for about three years and lived in a drafty house on the Canadian border and in a tight modern apartment in Michigan and have used it weekly for much of that time and see no problems. It is a little workhorse that gives consistent results. I recommned this machine highly.

I've had this bread machine for about a year and a half. It really does a nice job and is quite easy to use. We use it fairly often, especially with colder weather coming on, whenever a hot, fresh loaf of bread is desired! We've tried several of the recipes in the instruction manual and have enjoyed them all. I noticed one reviewer complained about not being able to order replacement parts. I accidentally tossed my kneading paddle in the trash and was able to quickly reorder one using the number in the manual for $8. The customer service rep was very kind and helpful. I'm planning on buying one of these machines for my parents for Christmas this year and would recommend the Breadman to anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced, quality machine.

I really did like this product. I bought my first one at a department store and had to return it since the corner of it was shattered. I do not think Amazon is causing the damage to these machines. I noticed the next one I got had better packing materials from the manufacturer, so hopefully the damaged ones are a thing of the past.

The machine itself is great. I'm not a cook and even I could make really good bread.

I just bought this breadmaker 2 days ago and now Amazon states that it is discontinued? Well, at least many of the retail stores continue to stock it. I've used the Breadmaker once. The 24hr timer is quite useful, but I don't like the shape of the bread that the machine produces. The loaves are too short and too high. Also, the paddle creates a "pit" in the bread that tears when the bread is sliced. The french bread feature is a joke - - who wants a loaf of french bread shaped like a regular loaf? I'll continue to play with the machine, but will probably only use it to mix and proof the dough. I'll shape it and bake it myself!

This bread machine is the best...have had a bread machine before and wore it out, but it never was as good as this is.
I received the machine 48 hours ago and my husband and I have made 2 batches of pizza dough, 1 white 2 lb loaf (good), 1 cinnamon raisin 2lb loaf(MMMMMmmm), 1 two cheese 2 lb loaf (great)and now we are discussing the next one to try.
The recipes included with the Breadman so far have worked perfectly, and we really expect that our other recipes will work just as well. I would DEFINITELY recommend this machine.
Happy Baking!!

I love my Breadman Ultimate! I got mine about three months ago, and have made at least two loaves a week since. The instructions are easy to follow, the resulting loaves of bread are beautiful and delicious, and clean-up is a real snap. Although the manual and other sources have mentioned that the paddle can get stuck in the loaf, that has happened only once to me, and that was one of the three times that I set up the machine to delay bake overnight. (My mother's older Breadman, on the other hand, always bakes the paddle into the bread--I took a look at hers, and they've changed the shape & the fit of the paddle somewhat since.) I've made tasty white, whole wheat, yoghurt, oatmeal, flaxseed, multigrain, cinnamon-raisin, and soy milk breads. I haven't tried doing coffee cake or quick breads in it, yet, nor have I tried making jam in it. I was sceptical of the "French bread" setting, but aside from the shape, the machine produced a tasty, crusty and quite adequate French bread (I used the Breadman French bread recipe that does not call for oil). In addition to the delay timer, I have tried out the programmable settings, and while they are easy to use, the preprogrammed cycles are perfectly sufficient for just about everything I'd do with the machine. One of the other reviewers stated that his breadpan & its replacements leak after just months of use, and I wonder if that is because he soaks it (a no-no) or puts it in the dishwasher (another no-no), since I haven't experienced that problem. My mother's machine, the predecessor of the Ultimate, hasn't had a leak in 4 yrs of 2 or 3x weekly use, and mine hasn't a sign of a leak, either. I haven't bought a loaf of bread since getting the Ultimate, and in addition to the freshness, taste, and nutrition of homemade bread (and knowing the ingredients!), I'm sure it's saving me money. I used to make bread by hand several years ago--for about 3 or 4 years--but I've become too busy to do it on a regular basis any more; I love my Breadman Ultimate! (The "silver" stainless steel looks good on my counter, too, and I prefer the look-and-feel of the metal to the plastic.) I'd definitely recommend the Breadman Ultimate--in silver or not--to anyone looking for a good, reliable bread machine.

THIS BREAD MAKER IS THE WORST AND ONLY ONE I HAVE OWNED THAT WILL NOT MIX BREAD EVENLY.
THE DOUBLE PADDLES PUT DISAPPORTIONED AMOUNTS OF FLOOR AND YEAST INTO BOTHSIDES OF THE PAND RESULTING IN A TORPEADO SHAPED LOAF OF BREAD. HIGH SIDE TO LOW SIDE, NOT EVEN ON TOP
DONT BUY

After major research of available breadmakers, I chose the Zo a couple of years ago and have never been disappointed. It was my first breadmaker. My final choice was based on features, reviews, and support from both manufacturer and the breadmachine community (web forums, etc.).

In my mind the important features are the size and shape of the loaf, the ability of the machine to produce a properly kneaded loaf, the flexibility to create your own bread making process flow (knead, rise, bake, etc.), and the durability to make any kind of bread (white or whole multi grain). The Zo was the only one that combined all of these in one machine in a way that suited my needs.

The folks who have had problems with this machine either received a bad machine (and should return it) or can't follow directions. There is no margin for error when using a breadmachine. You must follow the recipe EXACTLY (unless you are at higher elevations).

If this is your first breadmachine I also highly recommend the books Bread Machine Magic and More Bread Machine Magic. These are well written books with a nice variety of recipes that always worked the first time for me. The machine comes with a good manual with a few recipes that are also good but is a little short on bread making theory (which is nice to have when things go wrong).

Is it perfect? Nearly, but my wish list includes more flexibility with some of the settings (sometimes there is no need for the preheat cycle) and more programs (create your own bradmaking process). The window leaves a lot to be desired as well, but that applies to almost all of the machines. Don't expect those little windows to work like they do in a regular oven!

At our house this machine gets used not only to make bread, but for bread dough for baking in the oven and fresh made pizza dough (one of life's important little treats).

All of our recipes are made from scratch, but in the beginning I also used mixes from King Arthur Flour---highly recommended! The premade mixes are great in the beginning of your breadmachine adventures as they eliminate one source of error (measuring ingredients).

All things considered, when the time comes, my next machine will be a Zo 20 as well.

My mother taught me to make homemade bread as a child and I have been making it ever since, but a breadmaker certainly is easier. I've had two, a Magic Chef which stopped working after I accidentally left the pan soaking overnight (the mechanism that turns the paddle won't budge), and a Zojirushi, which I now use every week, and don't leave soaking in the sink. (I chose the Zojirushi because it had good reviews and because I have their rice steamer and love it.)

Features I like: Double paddles. This is absolutely the way to go if you want a horizontal loaf, otherwise some of the flour can get stuck in a corner and not get mixed up. You can solve this by scraping the sides during mixing, but having to do that sort of defeats the purpose of a breadmaker.
Another thing I like is the "Homemade" setting, which allows you to customize the cycle times. The default is for French Bread, which, incidentally, comes out very well. One caution, their recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of yeast, which caused it to overrise. I now use 2 teaspoons and get great results. Also, the "default" setting for Homemade/French Bread wasn't set correctly on mine at first, but the instruction manual listed the correct settings and it was easy to reprogram. Good instruction manual, by the way.
One other nice feature is the preheat cycle. The trickiest part with bread machines is getting the right amount of yeast for the machine's timed rise cycles. Cold liqueds slow down yeast action, warm ones speed it up. I've found that the preheat cycle helps give more uniform results. (Age and amount of yeast affects it too, but the breadmachine can't compensate for that.)
Most of the other features, like jam and cake settings, I never use.

Disappointments: The window gets steamed up during processing and opening the cover causes it to pause so you can't really watch what it is doing. Also, the delay timer only works with the "Basic" bread setting. I wanted to set it to have French bread ready when I came home, and couldn't.

The thing I use most: The "Dough" setting. I prefer to let the breadmaker mix everything up for me and do all the initial risings, and then throw it in a pan for the last rising and bake it myself. This way the paddles don't get baked into the bottom of the loaf, and I don't have to worry about over or under rising. Honestly, it is the yeast that causes most problems people have with breadmakers. Old yeast, or not enough, and your bread comes out like a brick. Too much and it either overrises and sticks to the top, as it did the first time I made French bread with 3 tsp. of yeast, or it caves in during baking and you have a U-shaped top. (If it rises but the top is flat, rather than rounded, it's not the yeast. You probably have too much liqued or too little flour - adjust accordingly.)

I don't use mixes, so I can't comment on that, but I have an electric wheat grinder and often use fresh ground whole wheat (which they don't recommend), and this breadmachine handles it beautifully. I like being able to use all healthy ingredients, like whole wheat instead of white flour, and honey instead of refined sugar. In this case though it does need extra yeast, since the whole wheat flour is heavier.

I recommended this breadmaker to both my step-mother and my best friend, so I guess that's a pretty high recommendation. (My mother still does it by hand. Maybe someday I'll get her to try a machine.)

I had an old WellBilt bread machine, probably ten years old, that made perfect bread nearly every time. The only thing I really disliked about it was the round loaf pan, so this Oster caught my attention.

I've only had it a week, but in that time I've attempted to bake four loaves of bread, and none of the four have turned out well. Two collapsed, and one never really got off the ground since so much of the flour stuck in the corners of the rectangular pan.

I plan to return it this week and hopefully find something that will work better.

I'm sorry I can't recommend this machine. It simply doesn't mix the ingredients well. For raisin bread, most of the raisins wound up stuck to the outside bottom of the loaf, and several raisins were simply lying loose and burnt in the bottom of the pan. When making whole wheat bread, I had to continually scrape the flour from the side of the pan while the machine was mixing so that it would be included in the dough ball. Even then, not all the flower was picked up in the dough ball. I've used a bread machine for several years, so I'm pretty experienced at this. I would pass this one by, folks.

I have only one complaint about this machine: the bread is so good that I am averaging about one loaf every day during the week and about 3-4 loaves every weekend because we go through it so quickly, and there are only two of us! (Of course, we have guests who also eat it!) I have a suggestion, though: make up the dry ingredients (except for the yeast) ahead of time by measuring out the flour, salt and sugar and put into a zipper bag, labelling it as to which kind of bread it is. (We make about 3-4 varieties every week.) That way, you only have to grab the bag after putting in the liquid ingredients; and then, of course, there's the yeast. (Don't forget to keep room temperature water, butter, oil and eggs out on your counter as well.)

I also invested into a bread slicer and slice the bread when it's still a bit warm and put into a bag immediately so then you can just grab and go when you need it, which also cuts down on crumbs throughout the week.