There isn’t any easier way to bake homemade bread than using a bread machine, and although the time involved is just about as long as it would take to bake bread manually, the bread machine takes away the hard work of kneading, and most importantly there are fewer items to wash up afterwards.
A bread machine also lets you walk away and come back to a gratifying aroma of freshly baked bread, and even wake up to the exciting prospect of fresh, warm bread baked during the night with a delay timer. If you still haven’t started baking your own bread, here are some of the best bread machines of the year to consider.
1. Panasonic SD-YD250
This large bread maker is simply great for baking bread for the whole family. If you think that it is too big, think again, because everyone will want more after eating such delicious bread you have baked with this bread machine. As long as you use fresh ingredients and bread flour (all-purpose flour is different and won’t do to give the best results), you can easily bake any kind of bread from recipes you can find online nowadays. I have shared some of my favorite bread machine recipes too.
This bread machine makes good tasting bread consistently and it operates very silently. Cleaning up is really easy as the pan is non stick. The loaf looks beautiful and there is only a small gash left by the kneading blade. Remember that you will need quite a lot of counter space for this machine though!
2. Cuisinart CBK-100
If you are on a gluten free diet, this might be the best choice for you. This bread machine makes the tastiest gluten free bread ever. If you are gluten intolerant, you must know how difficult it is to buy gluten free bread that tastes as good as normal bread. So bake your own with a bread machine! It is simple to use; just buy prepackaged gluten free bread mix and add the necessary ingredients.
This is also a bread machine for horizontal loaves if you prefer that. Some bread machines produce squarish or tall loaves that may seem peculiar to people who are used to store-bought bread. One thing that might be a deal-breaker is the extremely loud beep that notifies you to add in fruits and to signify the end of the cycle.
3. Zojirushi BB-PAC20
While $250 may seem like A LOT to pay for a bread machine, some of us just can’t be bothered to fine-tune all the details for a perfect loaf of bread. We just want our lives to be as fuss-free as possible and time is too precious to waste on figuring out how to make that crust and texture just right. It’s “just bread”, but even so we want flawless and delicious bread. So we pay $250 for this bread machine. It’s worth it, really. Whatever type of bread or cake or dough you make with this machine is perfect.
4. Sunbeam 5891
If you don’t have $100 to spare, get this very affordable bread machine to enjoy all the advantages of homemade bread without breaking your bank. This is a decent bread maker although the book of recipes included is not great.
For bread machine recipes you can use your own or pick one up anywhere else. Once you have found a recipe that works, you will be enjoying fresh bread without all the mess with mixing bowls and oven pans in the kitchen.
5. Breadman TR520
This is another inexpensive bread machine that works well in baking delicious loaves of bread. It’s no fancy machine, of course – doesn’t have all the frills and trills, but it has all the necessary basics and the loaves always come out good.
A few things about the design may seem awkward, like the pale-on-pale writing on the machine that is hard to read. Not really a deal breaker for a bread machine at this price, I feel.