Bread—we all love it and especially appreciate it when it’s fresh from the oven. But other than fresh made loaves at a local bakery, most of us settled for the plastic wrapped loaves at the grocery store. The truth is,making your own bread at homeis easier than you think, thanks to high-tech bread machines.
While I don’t typically make bread with a bread maker, I found that using one of these nifty machines actually took the guesswork out of the equation.Breville Custom Loaf BBM800XL(available at Amazon)was the best bread machine we tested because it consistently produced a nicely shaped loaf with a crunchy crust and soft, pillowy inside. Plus, the machine was so easy to use.
And those on a budget will be pleased with results from theOster Expressbake CKSTBRTW20(available at Amazon) , our choice for Best Value.
Here are the best bread machines we tested, ranked in order:
After making five impressive loaves and a perfectly pliable pizza dough, Breville Custom Loaf was the clear winner amongst the tested machines. From crunchy crust on white and whole wheat bread loaves to a super soft interior in a gluten-free version, this machine surely impressed.
There are nine custom settings, which makes it a no-brainer for users to make a variety of bread types without much effort. I also found that the kneading blade seemed to be the most durable of all the bread makers with one paddle. It also has a smart feature that collapses the blade before baking, so it doesn’t get stuck in the loaf as it cooks.
Another feature that bread lovers will find useful is the automatic fruit and nut dispenser. Of course, you can put other mix-ins inside this compartment, but it dispenses your added ingredients at the best time to be evenly distributed throughout the dough.
What really set this apart from the other machines is the result of the gluten-free loaf. Most of the machines struggled in this department, but the Breville was practically perfect and developed a crusty exterior and a super soft interior.
The other downside is the size of the machine. Living in a one bedroom apartment with a galley kitchen, there isn’t much space in my house to store it. However, if you plan to make bread once or twice a week, you could store it in a cupboard or closet until you’re ready.
One of the inconveniences of breadmaking is the amount of time it takes to make the dough, proof it (sometimes twice), and bake it. It can take a few hours just to get fresh bread on the table, which requires a lot of planning ahead.
If you aren’t quite a planner, or you just have limited patience, this Expressbake is the one for you. You can have a freshly baked loaf of bread in less than an hour.
更不用说,更低的价格标签. In fact, this express machine is less than half the price of some of the other machines we tested.
The loaves I made with the Expressbake weren’t the prettiest amongst the bunch, but they were still edible and had a proper crunchy crust and fluffy middle. Instead of a rectangle-shaped loaf, expect a rounded, artisan-like shape from this maker.
Personally, I didn’t consider this a concern, but it did come to mind that it may be an issue for someone hoping to feed a large family. This machine also did not have a gluten-free setting, so if you are avoiding gluten, this may not be the machine for you.
I'm Andrea Jordan, a lifestyle writer who loves to write about all things beauty, home, food and family. My love for homemade bread comes from my mother-in-law. She is a mom to seven children and made a loaf of bread at least once a day. Her trick to feeding many mouths and using a bread maker is to let the machine do the work with mixing, kneading, and rising the dough, and then take the dough out of the machine and allow it to bake in a bread pan. A bit more complicated, but it’s a solid option for someone feeding a multitude.
I’m no bread expert, but I have been making bread for a few years now. Although I have used bread makers in the past, my go-to machine for whipping up a fresh loaf is my handy-dandyKitchenAid mixer.
Before the testing began, we did thorough research to see which bread machines have won over the hearts of reviewers and notable editorial websites. Once we narrowed down the top machines, we made five loaves of bread in each varying in type, size, and crust color. We wanted to make sure that each machine could perform in a variety of categories including white bread, whole-wheat bread, gluten-free bread, and sweet breads. Once these loaves were complete, we put the top three machines to the test with creating a pizza dough.
In addition to the actual bread, we looked at how each machine functioned, the ease of cleaning, and additional features that make it more user-friendly.
What You Should Know About Bread Machines
Bread makers aren’t new inventions. The first machine was invented in Japan in 1986 and quickly became one of the most popular kitchen appliances over the next few years, making bread baking more convenient and self-explanatory than ever before.
On average, you can expect to pay $100 to $300 dollars for a bread maker. While this is a large investment up front, if you find yourself making and consuming bread regularly it can help to save you money in the long run.
On average, a loaf of bread at the grocery store costs about $4, but making a loaf of bread in the bread machine can cost less than $1, if using basic ingredients.
在家烤面包会更健康吗?
The other benefit of using a bread machine is controlling what ingredients go into your bread. Since you’re making this at home, you can eliminate preservatives, added sugar, and processed ingredients. Of course, this means your bread won’t have as long of a shelf life as store-bought bread, but the nutrition and flavor can be much more impressive.
Other Breadmakers We Tested
Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus BB-PDC20
Even though this machine didn’t earn top marks, it was still one of the most impressive units we tested. The best feature is the double kneading blades that thoroughly mixed ingredients and made a soft, pliable, and stretchy dough.
The major downside is that this machine has a rest mode that allows all the ingredients to be warmed to the right temperature before mixing and kneading begins. On one hand, this is a nice feature and surely impacts the final results of the bread, but it did take about 45-60 minutes longer than the other machines to get the end of the cycle. This means you’ll have to plan ahead even more if working on a specific time frame or schedule.
This bread machine had an impressive variety of features that can come in handy for a baker that likes to experiment with different recipes. Of course, it includes the basic white and whole wheat modes, but there are also modes for French bread, low-carb bread, and even artisan dough.
Another great feature is the automatic fruit and nut dispenser that adds mix-in ingredients at the perfect time to be evenly dispersed throughout the dough before baking.
这台机器是公司最大的垮台onsistency in the shape. One white loaf had a slightly sunken top, while the whole wheat top was scraggly and uneven.
有一些关于放松of this bread maker that made it super simple to program and bake a loaf of bread. We also found this machine to be perfectly sized and sleek enough to sit on the counter top without looking fussy.
The audible tone that alerts users to remove the paddle before bread baking begins is one of the most helpful features. This helps to avoid that paddle getting baked into the middle of the loaf or allows users to remove the dough and shape into their very own loaf pan to bake in the oven.
Unfortunately, this machine underperformed on the gluten-free setting. The dough turned into a bubbling liquid that completely overflowed the baking pan and caused smoke and an unpleasant burning smell that didn’t occur during other bakes.
The downfall of this machine is every loaf tested was baked with a sunken top. For someone who wants to serve bread to family or guests, that’s not exactly the end goal.
The other issue with this bread maker is the crust color was the same no matter which setting was programmed. Overall, it was relatively disappointing, but could be a good option for someone who wants to test out a bread maker without breaking the bank.
We use standardized and scientific testing methods to scrutinize every product and provide you with objectively accurate results. If you’ve found different results in your own research, email us and we’ll compare notes. If it looks substantial, we’ll gladly re-test a product to try and reproduce these results. After all, peer reviews are a critical part of any scientific process.