This Cuisinart CBK-200 convection bread machine is probably one of the most controversial, with heaps of rave reviews on one end and not lacking bad comments on the other.
The Good Side:
This bread machine kneads really well, so says J. Hrametz, an experienced bread baker with or without machines, at Amazon. This could be due to the solid construction of the bread machine and its weight. It is good looking on the counter too, and the convection helps with the thoroughness of the baking. Another reviewer says that the crust comes out exactly as you want it, and that is important to some.
This Cuisinart bread machine has a combination of the following good features, which the Breadman or Zojirushi bread machine may not have:
- a low carb cycle
- a beep to remove paddle
- horizontal loaf
- jam cycle
- pause option
- power failure backup
- convection fan
The Bad Side:
Some experienced bakers like J. Hrametz would like to use different risings and so on to tweak their loaves, but this bread machine doesn’t allow that. Once you start a cycle you cannot stop it. Even if you turn it off, the program does not reset. So if you are the kind of baker who want flexibility, this is not a good bread machine for you.
Another reviewer said that this machine is not the kind where you put in the ingredients, then go away and come back for a perfect loaf of bread every time. The user needs to check what’s happening with the bread maker.
Many of the negative reviews could have stemmed from getting faulty machines, but they may also have been due to high expectations such as wanting the bread machine to be totally hands off automatic or expecting it to be as quiet as a whisper. This bread machine is only averagely silent, as a reviewer said.
Conclusion?
I would say that the Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker is a great bread machine, and it actually does have a pause option if you read the manual carefully. Obviously you have to come back to it to add fruit and nuts if you like, and remove the paddle to avoid that big hole in the bread. So what’s the fuss about it not being fully automatic if it produces really good bread? Plus, it only costs around $100, which is a great buy. Recommended!