Bread maker which is best

This automatic bread maker can make basic, whole wheat, rapid, gluten-free, crusty loaf, yeast-free and sweet bread, and it also has programs for pizza and pasta dough, jam and bake-only. It has three crust color options, a hour delay timer and a pause button, but one of the most innovative bread making features is its collapsible kneading paddle, which minimizes the indent you often find on machine-baked bread.

Basically, whatever type of bread you want to make, this machine has you covered. Most bread machines take around three hours to mix, knead and bake a loaf of bread, but if you want a faster option, the Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Breadmaker is the best bread machine for you. As its name implies, this model churns out 2-pound loaves of bread in under an hour with its Expressbake setting. It can also be used to create a variety of other types of bread, however, such as white, whole wheat, sweet and French bread.

This express bake bread machine model comes with 12 bread and three crust settings, and it features a large LCD screen, glass viewing window and hour delay timer.

It even has a warming setting to keep your bread loaf toasty until you're ready to eat. The Oster Expressbake comes with a measuring cup and spoon, and reviewers say it's a solid basic bread machine for people who don't want to spend too much money. Convection ovens are a baker's best friend, so it's no surprise that bread makers love the Cuisinart 2-Pound Convection Bread Maker. When you bake with this unique bread making machine, the convection feature circulates hot air around your loaf for superior crust color and texture.

Plus, this bread baking appliance is packed with features, including three loaf sizes, three crust colors and 16 settings, including low-carb and gluten-free recipe options. Other noteworthy features of the Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker include its hour delay start, audible tone for mix-ins and glass viewing window.

Reviewers say this bread machine is aesthetically pleasing thanks to its sleek stainless steel exterior, and most agree it's easy to use and yields delicious loaves of fresh bread. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. CNET editors pick the products and services we write about.

When you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Chowhound Staff. Top overall pick Zojirushi Supreme 2-pound-loaf breadmaker. Jump to details. Best bread machine for different types of bread Cuisinart Bread Maker. Best budget bread machine for quick baking Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Breadmaker. Delivered Tuesdays and Thursdays. The bigger you go, the more space the machine will take up, so you could end up storing more than necessary. If you want an idea for size — a one-pound loaf should provide eight slices, and an extra half pound will give you another four slices.

Warranties for bread machines vary from one to three years, though how long your machine lasts will depend on how often you use it. You may be offered an extended warranty but we don't recommend them, as the cost of lifetime repairs are likely to be less than the cost of the warranty itself. If all of a sudden your bread is not coming out correctly, the problem may be related to the recipe, the ingredients, or even the temperature and humidity.

An acrid smell could be caused by burnt bits in the bottom of the machine, so be sure to clean under the loaf pan after every bake.

The first thing to consider is the overall size of the bread machine. Smaller machines will take up less countertop space and will be easier to store, but this will limit the size of your loaves. That said, there are some bread machines which can produce larger loaves without taking up too much space, so pay attention to the dimensions and loaf size.

If you want the largest the market has to offer, some bread machines can produce a whopping 3lb loaf. Alternative settings are also growing in popularity, including sourdough, pizza dough and sweet loaves. This versatility is great if you want to be more adventurous with your bread machine.

This means you can better control the resulting loaf and bake exactly as much as you want. Another useful feature which has started to appear on more premium models is an automatic fruit and nut dispenser. Best refrigerators Best gas ranges Best electric ranges Best dishwashers Best washing machines Best clothes dryers Best vacuum cleaners Best microwaves Best grills Best blenders Best stand mixers Best coffee makers Best espresso machines Best food processors Best juicers Best air fryers Best Cuisinart coffee makers Best patio heaters Best solar lights Best coolers Best inflatable hot tubs.

Katie looks after everything homes-related, from kitchen appliances to gardening tools. She also covers smart home products too, so is the best point of contact for any household advice!

She has tested and reviewed kitchen appliances for over 6 years, so she knows what to look for when finding the best. Her favorite thing to test has to be stand mixers as she loves to bake in her spare time.

Included in this guide: 1. The best bread machines will make baking a breeze. Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus. Specifications Loaf Size: 2 pounds. Though they typically only produce rectangular shaped loaves, the quality and convenience can certainly outweigh aesthetics once you chow down.

Even if you are a serious bread baker, investing in a machine can help you achieve consistency and cut down on the process time considerably. Whatever your reasoning, there are plenty of options to choose from. All the following picks provide crust setting options, delayed timing, express buttons for speed and one has a button to make jam.

It has the performance of a high-end model without the hefty size or price tag. With 12 straightforward settings, three loaf sizes and three crust shade options, you can make anything from a simple packaged mix to a fancier artisan loaf.

Customize with a few simple clicks to suit your taste and it takes care of the rest. It also has an interior light and an ample viewing window to watch all the action, a minute warming cycle and easy-to-clean parts. Overall, the Cuisinart gives the best bang or should I say bread for your buck.

With 15 settings, it offers so much to play around with. For starters, it has a substantial selection for those with dietary restrictions, like gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free and vegan.

This bread maker has a viewing window so you can check the loaf, an easy-to-read LCD control panel, and a programmable timer that can delay baking for up to 13 hours. The crust can be set for regular or light, and the quick baking setting produces a loaf of bread in less than two hours. Our tester notes that the kneading blade tends to get stuck in the bottom of the bread, making removing it from the machine a little tricky—but she thinks it's a minor inconvenience, considering the consistently tasty bread that comes out and how compact the bread maker is.

Dimensions: 8. The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus is our top recommendation for its consistent and nearly flawless results. For a more affordable and compact option, look to the Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Bread Machine , which is easy to use with simple and reliable recipes.

Think about how many people you want to feed with your newly made loaf and consider the amount of bread that you can finish before it goes stale. Many bread machines have settings for multiple loaf sizes, but the maximum size varies from machine to machine. In theory, you can add more or less flour and water to any bread machine to make a larger or smaller loaf, but if you try to bake a 2-pound loaf in a machine designed for 1-pound loaves, it might be pale, underdone, or rise too far out of the pan.

And baking a small batch loaf in a machine designed for larger loaves might result in a very short loaf with a dry texture and crust that is too dark and thick. Keep in mind that larger, heavier loaves of bread will require more power to bake. Most bread machines have somewhere between to watts of power.

If you plan to bake denser breads or loaves with lots of add-ins, like nuts, seeds, or dried fruit, you'll want to look for a bread machine on the higher end of that wattage range to ensure it can efficiently bake heavier loaves.

Larger machines are less convenient to move around and store, but they tend to come loaded with more options for bread making. Smaller machines are easier to store out of sight when not in use, but they may have fewer settings and not be able to make large loaves of bread. When you bake in a bread machine, all of your bread will be the same basic shape since there is only one loaf pan that can be used. Budget bread makers will include at least one kneading paddle, but higher-end machines usually come with two paddles.

Multiple paddles are preferable for the best kneading results. If the kneading paddle s remain in place during baking, bread loaves will have one or two holes where the paddle was located. Most users accept this aesthetic flaw in the final product as a trade-off for the ease and convenience of enjoying freshly baked bread.

However, if you'd prefer loaves without these holes, look for a bread machine that has collapsible or removable paddles. Machines with removable paddles will beep after kneading so you can take the dough out, remove the paddles, and then place the dough back into the pan for the final rise and bake. Are you interested in trying different styles of bread, or will you just be making sandwich loaves every week? The simplest machines offer few variations, but some machines include settings for sweet loaves , whole-grain bread, sourdough, French bread, pizza dough, and more.

Each of these settings adjusts the kneading, rising, and baking times to produce the best loaf possible for those types of bread. Extra settings are handy for people who want to experiment with different types of grains and bread styles , but a simple bread maker will suffice if your goal is to make basic sandwich bread to replace store-bought bread. You'll also find express bread settings for mixing, kneading, and baking a loaf of dough in under an hour, which may be a convenient feature if you'd like to turn out a quick loaf to serve with dinner.

Most bread machines include the option to knead dough without baking it so you can bake your bread machine dough in a standard oven if you prefer. There's also the option to bake without mixing or kneading if you want to bake cake or muffins in a bread machine. You might come across bread machines with options for making jam or yogurt, but these settings are only useful if you'll actually use them. Some bread machines have automatic fruit and nut dispensers built into the lid so you don't have to be nearby or remember to add them to the dough before baking.

You can fill these dispensers with nuts, seeds, or dried fruit like raisins or chopped apricots at the same time you add the bread ingredients to the loaf pan. Most machines with these automatic dispensers are programmed to release the add-ins into the dough toward the end of the kneading period so the ingredients aren't crushed or chopped by the kneading paddles. Most bread machines have settings to choose the desired darkness of your crust, from light to medium to dark.

Sweet loaves can brown very quickly, while other doughs might need a little extra bake time to move beyond a pale crust color. How dark you like your crust is also a personal preference, so it can be nice to choose exactly the result you want each time.

If you want to keep an eye on your crust as it browns, consider a bread machine with a viewing window built into the lid that lets you observe the bread-making process from kneading to baking. Some machines have just a single setting for gluten-free bread, and others have multiple options for different styles of gluten-free loaves. Of course, results will vary depending on the type of flour you're using, so it's best to consult gluten-free recipes adapted for a bread machine.

No matter which machine you choose, the best quality breads take about four hours or more to mix, knead, rise, and bake. A delayed start option lets you have your fresh-baked bread ready whenever you want it, whether you want to wake up to the smell of baking bread or want to have the bread ready when you come home from work to serve with dinner.

The typical warranty for bread machines is one year, usually covering manufacturing defects rather than wear-and-tear or misuse. Additional warranties are available upon purchase from vendors like Amazon. When bread machines were first sold, they produced bread loaves that were tall and rectangular in shape.

The bread pans were square or slightly rectangular, but the finished loaves tended to be overly tall and vertical-shaped compared to standard bread, resulting in a loaf that was an unusual shape. These vertical bread machines are still popular today. They tend to have a smaller footprint so they take less space on the counter and are easier to store.

They are also less expensive and make smaller loaves of bread, so they're a good option for small households or for anyone who doesn't eat that much bread. The downside to the vertical loaves is that the shape can be odd for making sandwiches and you might need to cut the slices to make them fit neatly into your toaster. Also, because the heating element is located on the bottom of these machines, very tall loaves can bake unevenly with darker browning on the bottom and a very pale top crust.

If tall loaves are too awkwardly shaped for you, look for a bread machine that produces horizontal, rectangular-shaped loaves that look more like bread that was baked in a standard loaf pan. These machines have a longer bread pan and larger baking chamber and tend to be able to bake larger loaves of bread than vertical bread machines. However, the increased baking capacity means this style of break maker tends to be larger overall and will take up more space in your kitchen.

Because there's more room for the dough to move around in a horizontal, rectangular bread pan, machines equipped with just a single paddle may be less efficient at kneading the dough.