Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsGeat deal in an automatic bread machine
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2008
I'm by no means an expert at baking bread, although for a number of years I owned a Zojirushi bread machine with a vertical pan (their entry level model at the time). Unfortunately, that machine never produced consistent results for me, so when it broke I disposed of it and took a hiatus from bread baking. However, when I spotted this reconditioned Cuisinart priced at $59.99 on Amazon, plus a $10 discount for paying with a Buy It Now account and free shipping, I couldn't resist. My final cost was under $50, and for that price this is a deal you simply can't beat. New ones go for around $130, and as this unit was reconditioned by Cuisinart, only real difference is the length of the warranty (90 days vs. 3 years).
This bread machine is on the large size for a small kitchen appliance and is not convenient to move in and out of cabinets; you really have to leave this one on the counter at all time. Fortunately the Cuisinart features a beautiful stainless and black retro design, so it looks great in my transitional style kitchen. It fits neatly under my standard height cabinets, and is easy to move around on the countertop.
I have baked at least half a dozen loaves so far, and made a similar number of doughs for pizza and bagels. While every result hasn't been perfect, part of the reason is learning the idiosyncrasies of this machine and figuring out how to modify recipes to get the results I want. For me, who is inquisitive and experimental in the kitchen, it's not a drawback, but rather a challenge that I enjoy. And once I have both factors down for a particular bread, the Cuisinart produces beautiful well risen loafs. It just requires a learning curve to get the machine to make what you want.
There are something like 16 different programs and each one can be further modified for light, medium, or dark crust, and for 1, 1.5, and 2 pound loaves. There are warnings buzzers for adding mix-ins before the first rise, and for removing the kneading paddle before the final rise (which also allows you to shape the loaf and apply desired toppings). The only feature lacking is the ability to program and save custom cycles. However, the manual includes a detailed table that specifies exactly which cycles are included in each program, and how many minutes each cycle takes for the combination of program number, loaf size, and crust setting. The information is really valuable in figuring out what's going on, and for modifying recipes, especially since I have been trying out a number of different flours in my baking to achieve high fiber low carbohydrate breads that taste great. It also tells you at exactly what time the warning buzzers ring for each cycle, so you don't have stand around
Generally my experience has been that the crust setting works best at the light; even on medium I found it burned the bottom half of the loaf. There's a small window on top that lets you check on the progress of your bread; unfortunately there's no light so it can be difficult to see the inside. The bread pan shape is a taller than a standard loaf, but still shaped more horizontal than vertical; I personally like the shape of the finished loaf. There's only one kneading paddle, but I haven't had any problems with ingredients failing to mix in, although I monitored the process fairly closely at first until I was sure that I had the right ratio of water to flour. Also, it's best to remove the baking pan from the machine before adding the ingredients, and then snap it back in place when ready to bake; this minimizes the chance of spilling ingredients into some of the nooks and crannies of the machine, which can be hard to clean.
Overall, this machine was an incredible deal for $50; it's a slam dunk in that price range. Considering all of the functions, the beautiful design, and the good performance, I would say the Cuisinart bread machine is probably superior to any machine priced under $100. Even with a street price of $130 for a new unit, I think this Cuisinart is fairly priced and probably compares favorably to most competitors.
