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My mother taught me to make homemade bread as a child and I have been making it ever since, but a breadmaker certainly is easier. I've had two, a Magic Chef which stopped working after I accidentally left the pan soaking overnight (the mechanism that turns the paddle won't budge), and a Zojirushi, which I now use every week, and don't leave soaking in the sink. (I chose the Zojirushi because it had good reviews and because I have their rice steamer and love it.)
Features I like: Double paddles. This is absolutely the way to go if you want a horizontal loaf, otherwise some of the flour can get stuck in a corner and not get mixed up. You can solve this by scraping the sides during mixing, but having to do that sort of defeats the purpose of a breadmaker.
Another thing I like is the "Homemade" setting, which allows you to customize the cycle times. The default is for French Bread, which, incidentally, comes out very well. One caution, their recipe calls for 3 teaspoons of...
Let Me Save You the Time of Reading all Prior Reviews...
Let me save you the time of reading all prior reviews to this date, as I have gone through them all and can sum them up for you. In fact, I was one of the consumers who raved about this machine after receiving it last Christmas, giving it 5 stars...
Of course, I had only owned it for two months at the time. It IS a fantastic machine at first, producing perfect results every time. It does have some unbeatable features, but it seems that other companies are catching up and now incorporate the same ones. (Such as the horizontal loaf style, automatic preheat cycle, warming cycle, add ingredients cycle, various crust settings, viewing window, etc.) The problem is not with its features, but in lasting quality.
After making an average of a loaf per week for the last year, this machine DOES start to wear rapidly. Generally speaking, Amazon consumer reviews indicate that people begin experiencing trouble anywhere between 6 and 18 months of use. The problems are all the same:...
Zojirushi V20 Home Bakery
After major research of available breadmakers, I chose the Zo a couple of years ago and have never been disappointed. It was my first breadmaker. My final choice was based on features, reviews, and support from both manufacturer and the breadmachine community (web forums, etc.).
In my mind the important features are the size and shape of the loaf, the ability of the machine to produce a properly kneaded loaf, the flexibility to create your own bread making process flow (knead, rise, bake, etc.), and the durability to make any kind of bread (white or whole multi grain). The Zo was the only one that combined all of these in one machine in a way that suited my needs.
The folks who have had problems with this machine either received a bad machine (and should return it) or can't follow directions. There is no margin for error when using a breadmachine. You must follow the recipe EXACTLY (unless you are at higher elevations).
If this is your first breadmachine I also highly recommend...
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