CategoryZojirushi

Best Bread Machine Brands

Food is a very cultural experience.  You go to one part of the world and they have their own specialties or delicacies.  However, there are some types of food that simply envelopes all cultures and all countries.  One of the few types is bread.

True, there is no universal way to cook bread.  There is wheat bread, white bread, garlic bread, baguette and the list goes on. In fact, depending on where you go, the taste of bread can be slightly different depending on the ingredients added for extra flavor.  Even the texture differs from hard to super soft.

bread machine brandsThere is one thing that bread has in common though.  Aside from the basic process of baking, there is nothing like eating freshly baked bread.  Sure, you can keep bread for several days or even put it inside the refrigerator but nothing beats eating it straight from the oven.  Its texture is simply perfect and the aroma is like no other.

Surprisingly, many people are deprived of eating freshly baked bread.  More often than not, we pass by a bakery or the grocery, grabbed our bread and go.  That is because there is a misconception that baking your own bread is difficult and requires a lot of time and effort. But what if that is not the case?  Maybe all that you need is a trusty bread machine so you can make your own bread just the way you want it.

When you go to the department store or look online, there are so many types and brands of bread machines that it is difficult to tell which one is worth buying.  These are the certified best bread machine brands that simply would not let you down and will give your palette a thrill with every bite that you take.

The Panasonic is one of the best bread machine brands.  Panasonic is a well-known and trusted brand all over the world.  However, there is a bigger reason why it is one of the best bread machine brands.  Did you know that they are the very first to manufacture such an amazing invention? The other brands simply followed suit so you can expect that they know exactly what they are doing.  One specific model, the SD-RD250 has 5 baking modes and enables the baker to choose the kind of bread crust that he or she wants.  Some want it light and others want it dark.  Whatever your preference is, this Panasonic bread maker can surely make it for you.

If price is a main concern for you, then one of the best bread machine brands that will not cost you an arm and a leg is Oster,  for example the CKSTBRTW20 2-Pound Express Bake Bread Maker.  For its price, you get an amazing array of features including the capacity to bake huge loaves of bread plus its ability to bake bread, real quick.  If you are always on the go but still want freshly baked bread, this is probably one of the best bread machine brands for you.

Another top brand is Zojirushi, these Japanese bread makers are extremely high tech and durable and have made a very reputable name for the manufacturer. A little more pricey than some of the others but Zojirushi’s really do provide a luxury kitchen appliance.

Notable Mention Brands

Other brand names that need to be mentioned when it comes to the top bread machines on the market are:

Cuisinart – a wide range offering good quality and features.

West Bend – a more budget but still good quality brand.

Bread Man – another lower budget bread machine brand.

Breville – manufacturers of loads of kitchen appliances, Breville also make bread machines.

Bread Maker Prices – How Much is a Bread Maker?

Bread makers aren’t the cheapest item you can buy for your kitchen, and as with any appliance the price you can pay for your bread machine might well vary quite a lot from the cheapest model on the market to the most expensive. This post has been created as a guide to the prices of bread machines and makers and how much you should be paying for the best fresh loaf in the comfort of your own home.

The Budget End Of the Market

There are always going to be a few models on the market designed for those of us shopping on a budget, the lowest end of bread maker prices offers some decent options with good loaves available at around the $100 mark down to $50 at the absolute cheapest. Don’t expect a bread maker you buy for this kind of price to be all singing and dancing, but it certainly will do the job, and lets not forget that if you’re spending a lot of money on supermarket and bakery bread then you might well be saving money by buying a bread machine and using your own ingredients to home bake your bread.

Recommended at this pricing point:

This Oster Bread Machine has many abilities you would probably expect to pay a lot more money for, and is available at a bargain price (at the time of writing it is around $70 on Amazon!) With up to a 2 lb capacity this can even feed large families and definitely gets the seal of approval on our bread machine reviews site.

Mid Range Bread Machines

The Mid-Range of bread machines offering more features than the absolute basic but still not the most amazing bread maker will probably cost between $100 and $175 – for this, expect to get more in the way of settings and options to add more interest and convenience to your bread baking experience, but don’t expect to get a machine that offers to do your laundry as well as cook your bread.

High End Bread Machines

We’re talking the best of the best on the market at around $175+ up to roughly $300 (you don’t see a great deal of bread makers over the 300 buck mark). These should definitely be of an extreme high quality and if you’re parting with this sort of cash you should expect an awful lot of features.

If you’re parting with this sort of cash for your bread machine, you should think about…

The Zojirushi virtuoso. A bread machine to make your jaw drop. Offers twin kneading blades, a quick bake cycle, loads of options for different kinds of breads, additional heater for browning your crust and loads of different modes for cooking jams and other baked goods too. You’ll even get the exceptional build quality of the Zojirushi brand.

Best Low Carb Bread Machine Recipes

Low Carb diets are extremely popular in this day and age, whether you’re trying to shake off a few pounds or it is doctor advised. Traditionally, bread is very high in carbohydrates and quite starchy, which makes it pretty bad for a diet of this nature, fortunately you don’t have to use your bread machine to make a carb-packed loaf, you can suit your eating habits with the best low carb bread machine recipes as discussed in this article.

2 lb low carb bread recipe

This has been designed for those of us making larger loaves (2 lb) but can be adapted to the smaller settings on your bread machine too.

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 medium sized eggs
2 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons of sweetener (not sugar, this will not help low carb diets!)
1/2 cup ground Flax seeds
1.5 Cups gluten wheat flour (Bran and Starch removed)
2 tablespoons dried yeast
salt to taste

Preparation Instructions:

Depending largely on your bread machine, simply choose the most suitable setting, combine the ingredients and hit go! If you have one of the better bread makers this will be a really simple process. If you have a crust setting I’d suggest putting it on light for the best taste, though this is of course down to preference. Cooking outside of a bread machine? Add the ingredients in the following order; Water – Eggs – Marge – Sweetener – Flax Seeds – Vital Wheat Gluten and don’t forget to make a well for your yeast before adding it.

A Little Variation?

As with a lot of breads there is a lot you can do to add variation, try adding some granary seeds for an interesting flavor and texture or go more adventurous with some jalapenos for a bit of spice.

Recommended Bread Machine

The make of Bread machine I recommend for this particular type of bread is the Zojirushi, they’re so versatile and have a couple of settings that will bake this bread perfectly, plus a lot of their models have those really clever “fruit and nut compartments” so you can add interesting extras to your bread.

Benefits of this Recipe?

Well it wont send your blood sugars through the roof for one, which is good not only for diabetics or people with other ailments but for everyone. Many people have also had great success with low carb diets so this can be a way to aid your weight loss without having to give up the bread we all crave!

Top Rated Bread Machines on Online Retailers

As you probably already know, buying a bread machine can be a difficult business, and knowing where to invest your hard earned cash in order to end up with the best loaf isn’t easy, fortunately online retailers such as Amazon usually provide a rating system, which we have delved into and explored so that you don’t have to. Here, we list the top rated bread machines based on their rating systems (Amazon’s 5 stars etc.) So you can get some idea of the most popular and well received makers on the market today.

West Bend 2 lb Bread Maker

The West Bend that makes the list is one straight from the cheaper end of the market, but clearly represents good value for money with a near top rating online, this machine is retailing at around $80 at the time of writing and is described as versatile, high quality and of course excellent value for money. Features include 12 bread modes, timer function for fresh bread whenever you want it and crust selection. Nothing particularly outlandish about this machine but a good quality loaf every time and a simple to use interface.

Panasonic SD-YD 250 Bread Machine

I have already reviewed the SD-YD250 here on the site, it is a high quality bread machine and one of the most talked about models on the market. It stands to reason as this excellent machine with tons of features is one of Amazon’s best sellers, and highest rating machines. Features include settings for a large variety of breads, recipe book for 40 different loaves, three different sizes available to the user and a delay timer for the perfect meal timing. It is a little more expensive than the previous model but it does still represent value as it has a huge amount of features and is extremely well reviewed.

Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Mini Breadmaker

This is a cross between gadget and bread machine! A mini maker made by Zojirushi to add to their extensive and brilliant range. At the time of writing it is amazon’s top rated bread machine and it also does a whole range of other stuff including helping you making jams, breads (of course), cakes and other types of dough. It only makes up to a 1 lb loaf, as you may expect from a mini machine. It may seem a little on the expensive side considering the size but its extra features more than make up for that! A top machine from the ever reliable Zojirushi.

Oster CKSTBRTW20 Expressbake Breadmaker

The Expressbake from Oster is probably one of the greatest bread machines purely based on the ease of use! It makes bread in no time and has 9 modes as well as three crust types, not to mention it even bakes up to a two pound loaf which means bread for all the family, not bad for one of the cheapest models of bread machine mentioned here on the site. It is programmable and has a super easy LCD screen to make things even easier. This truly is a highly recommended machine with ratings from consumers to match. I give the Oster a 10/10.

The Best Gluten Free Bread Machine

Gluten restricted diets shouldn’t mean you can’t enjoy beautiful bread straight out of the bread machine, and fortunately bread maker manufacturers have tagged on to this and made machines either specifically for, or with a capacity for, gluten free bread. We’re going to talk about the best gluten free bread machine models here.

What to consider when buying?

Mixing

The process of mixing a gluten free bread will be very different, and more difficult than a bread containing gluten, which will be far more elastic and easy to mix, and can be handled with a single paddle. Sometimes a single paddle will be enough for your recipe and depending on the build quality it might be designed with gluten free in mind, but in general the double paddled models of Bread makers will do a thorough job in the mixing process and provide the best loaf.

Custom Cycles Help

Lots of bread machines now come with the ability to customize the cycles, and as your bread recipes will vary from loaf to loaf you may well be looking for more control, as well as knowing the differences in the texture, consistency and cooking time in your recipes. A custom cycle will be immensely helpful when picking your bread machine.

Single Rise

Other, gluten-containing breads will rise a few times in the process, but the bread we’re going to be making only needs to rise once. This means that a Gluten cycle on the machine will account for this in terms of the time needed, and so should you if you are creating custom cycles or baking your own bread recipes.

Makes and Models

Cuisinart CBK-100

This Cuisinart model is exceptional for the price and although only single paddle, it is a quality maker for those looking to bake bread with no gluten. Their gluten mode is one of the key features and selling points of this appliance, their product description reads; “One in approximately 100 people has an allergy or sensitivity to gluten. Since gluten is found in most flours used in traditional bread making, the ingredients to create gluten free breads are unique. While they are “yeast breads”, the doughs are generally wet and have a batter-like consistency. It is also important not over-mix or over-knead gluten free doughs. There is only one rise, and due to the high moisture content, baking time is increased. Mix-ins must be added at the very beginning of the cycle with other basic ingredients.” Which shows you how excellently this machine caters for those of us with sensitivities or allergies.

Zojirushi BBCCX20

The other model I recommend quite strongly is the Zojirushi BBCCX20 – a brilliant, deluxe bread machine with loads of great features, this also has a great gluten free mode and caters for your needs as an allergy sufferer excellently. The advantage this has over the model already mentioned is that the machine has two paddles which will greatly improve the mixing process that single paddles can often struggle with.

Check out my recommended gluten free bread recipes here.

Zojirushi bb-cec20 Review – How Good is This Bread Machine?

Zojirushi have grown to be one of the biggest suppliers of kitchen goods around the world since their inception in Japan around 100 years ago. They offer top quality appliances and innovative kitchen gear, which has turned them into a key player in many appliance markets, including Bread Machines as we plan to talk about here. Their bb-cec20 machine is one that has been met with quite a lot of acclaim since it’s release, so just what can the Zojirushi bb-cec20 offer your kitchen, and is this bread machine all it is talked up to be?

Features:

The features of this bread machine include:

  • Dual-blade helping to make rectangular two lb loaf of bread
  • 10 settings; 3 types of crust; LCD control panel; 13-hour time setting for bread any time
  • Large window to view your bread as it cooks; removable nonstick and easy to clean bread pan
  • Manual with lots of delicious recipes included

Types of Bread (and more)

In the words of the manufacturer: “Choose from three crust shades — light, medium, or dark — and from 10 pre-programmed settings that consist of Basic, Basic Wheat, Basic Dough, Quick, Quick Wheat, Quick Dough, Jam, Cake, Sour Dough Starter, and Home Made.” – you can see that they have many bases covered, ensuring that you get exactly the bread you are looking for. Recipes you can make with the bb-cec20 include things as far fetched as chocolate cake and meatloaf, so this isn’t just your ordinary bread maker! A versatile model that will see your kitchen exploits made a lot easier straight away if you happen to purchase one.

My Verdict on the bb-cec20

There is a reason the Japanese are famed for their design and manufacturing abilities, and this Zojirushi model is certainly a top example of that. As well as the features already talked about, it has some amazing added extras, with its designers really having thought of everything, such as:

  • Recipes included in the book
  • 10 minute power backup (in case your power cuts out it can keep going!)
  • Instructional DVD
  • Automatic shut off feature for added safety

 What the people think

You don’t have to take my word for it on this one,k it is an exceptional machine. Almost 600 reviews on Amazon with an average rating of around 4.5 out of 5 represent exactly how great this model of bread maker is. People are singing the praises of the Zojirushi’s durability, versatility and the perfection of the loaf it produces over and over again. Why buy bread from the supermarket when you can have one of these doing the work for you?

Value for Money

This is not one of the cheaper models of Bread Machine, but not one of the most expensive either, with around $250 being the standard price paid for one. It’s huge amount of features makes it worth the cost for those who want to experiment with their bread and other baking needs (no pun intended) It’s also sturdily built and will last a long time, making the extra investment worth it.

All in all, an exceptional bread machine with a huge range of features and abilities, perfect for every family kitchen.