I have one of these, and love it. It does 1, 1.5 or 2 pound loaves; the 2 pound ones come out more cube shaped. The only real problem I’ve had with it is that the 2 pound ones will often rise so much that they touch the top window and the center of the loaf collapses, and the timer mode is not well thought out. (When you mix flour and water and let it sit for six hours, you get a brick. It’s actually jammed the paddle…but the machine survived.)
Very simplistic controls. Choose the bread cycle (List next to the LCD display, push ‘menu’ till you get the number you want), loaf size, how dark you want the crust and push ‘go’.
Edit: Ok, this one is a little different. Mine is somewhat older, but otherwise the same; mine has three more menu options and a ‘mix in’ button (You can choose whether to have it beep at you to put in fruit or something that would get rekt by the kneading if you put it in at the beginning) with actual clicky buttons, and this one has a membrane ‘am I pushing it?’ keyboard, but seems otherwise identical.
I used to love using my bread machine until I found out just how easy it is to make a no-knead bread with just a mixing bowl, a spoon, and measuring cups.
I have this one and enjoy it. We’ve made at least one loaf a week with it over the last year and a half. The recipe book is okay but I haven’t had success following the recipes exactly, I usually need to add between 1/8 and 1/4 cup of “extra” water to the basic white bread recipe or the dough gets too dry and tough and doesn’t mix well. I only wish there was a silent mode that muted the cycle beeps.
I also have one of these. It’s been reliable and consistent. I am lazy and usually buy boxed mixes from the grocery store or Amazon (they run $3-4 on average depending on brand and where you buy), but I have a good cookbook with better recipes than the ones in the booklet. I appreciate that I can set a timer in the morning and have the bread done just before I get home from work. I have had no issues with the delay timer causing dough problems. I admit that I go through phases in which I make lots of bread or none, but I appreciate the ability to make it without heating up the whole apartment (we live on the 3rd floor right now, so using the oven is undesirable for most of the year).
I have had this breadmaker for several years now. It’s served us well. It is really good at mixing and proofing. Baking results seems to vary, at times, and depending on the recipes. However, for set’n’forget convenience, you can’t beat it. This is a really great price for this particular breadmaker. I wouldn’t hesitate buying.
My very first purchase from woot! was exactly 12 years before this one (back when woot still only sold 1 item a day), and it was also a bread machine - Beyond Smart Bread Maker. That one is on its last legs, but still working. This one didn’t last nearly as long - it was DOA. When plugged in, it beeped and displayed “EEE”. Cuisinart support said that meant it was defective. I’ve already contacted woot support and I’m sending it back for a refund, but I’m kind of disappointed.
