The Best Bread Machines

With an easy-to-use interface and multiple bread options (including a “Homemade” option, which lets you customize the kneading, rising, and baking times), this reliable machine impressed us with its picture-perfect loaves. Two kneading paddles ensured a well-integrated dough with an even-crumbed interior that, while light and tender, was also sturdy enough to cut without falling apart. We also liked the traditional, rectangular-shaped loaves the machine produced. The only area the machine struggled in was with crust shade, which often came out a bit lighter than the setting we selected (medium), though the bread still tasted delicious and was perfectly baked.

With a fancy heated lid and dual paddles for kneading, this machine formed and baked beautiful, golden-crusted loaves with even-crumbed interiors. The machine’s heated lid helped it achieve the exact chosen crust shade every time. However, the control panel was slightly confusing to use, and we wished that the display screen showed a timer for how long the bread would take to make rather than the time of day.

This bread machine was very easy to use. It has buttons to start and stop and to select the type of bread, the color of loaf you desire, and the size of loaf you’re baking; and to increase or decrease the time. Most of the time, it produced picture-perfect loaves that had an even crumb and a pleasantly fluffy texture. Beeps indicated when it was time to add mix-ins, if desired. Its bread pan is a bit smaller and more cube-shaped than our top choice’s, leaving less room for larger batches of dough to expand in settings with longer proofing times. (A 2-pound batch of dough rose too much on the whole wheat setting, which has a longer proofing time than other settings, though it baked up perfectly on the shorter white bread setting.) If you don’t mind playing around with the settings for 2-pound loaves, this affordable machine is a great option. 

This model was simple to set up and use, with buttons for selecting the type, size, and shade of your loaf. The loaves the machine produced had a slightly dense, irregular crumb and a craggier, rough-textured exterior, but they were otherwise tasty. When we added mix-ins (cherries and almonds), the cherry color bled into the dough and added an unsightly brown swirl to the loaf.

This bread machine generally made lovely even-crumbed and golden-brown loaves of bread. Sometimes the bread’s top crust was lumpy-looking, but each loaf still had a nice, even crumb inside. We liked the viewing light, which let us see inside the machine, as well as the nut and fruit dispenser, which automatically dispensed mix-ins at the appropriate time and allowed a real “set and forget” experience. On the downside, we found it a bit difficult to remove the bread pan; we really had to wiggle and pull at it to get it out. The collapsible paddle also proved to be more of a pain than an asset; we often had trouble keeping it upright when we first inserted it into the bread pan, and when we finally did get it upright, it didn’t always collapse before baking as it was supposed to.

This machine’s control panel was a bit confusing to use, relying on the same dial for selecting the setting, size, and shade. It has a mix-in dispenser which can only hold a half cup of ingredients, while our 2-pound loaf recipe called for 2 cups. Even when we used just a half cup of mix-ins, a few slivered almonds and cherries remained in the dispenser once the loaf was finished. The white and wheat loaves we baked in this machine were a little dense but still acceptable.

This bread machine sported an easy-to-understand (if a bit dim) display screen, and we also liked the handles on the outside of the machine, which made for easy maneuvering for storage purposes. However, the metal exterior and the lid heated up significantly during baking, making it hot to touch when opening the machine and removing the bread. It was also rather loud when kneading, and the results were inconsistent; sometimes a decent loaf with an even crust emerged, but other times the top of the bread was sunken in and the crumb was too light and feathery, falling apart when cut. We also had issues with the bread pan handle being too close to the top of the bread pan—on more than one occasion, it baked into the crust.

While this machine was easy to use, inconsistent results bogged it down, along with loaves that nearly always had indented, punched-in tops. This could be a result of proofing time and/or temperature, combined with the top of the bread hitting the top of the machine, punching it down. Another con: We found that the removable lid came off a bit too easily; one time when we went to open the machine at the end of the baking cycle, the lid fell off completely. This seemed like a burn opportunity waiting to happen.

We were very impressed by this less expensive option, which made uniform loaves with an even, tight crumb. It was also incredibly easy to use, with a simple manual function panel and straightforward options. While the loaf shape was a bit taller than it was wide, which led to some large sandwiches, we were impressed with how consistently sized each loaf was, from basic white bread to wheat bread to the cherry-almond sweet bread, which emerged from the machine with a beautiful golden crust and evenly distributed mix-ins. The only quibble we had was that the power cord was a bit short, so sometimes we had difficulty getting it to reach an outlet.