The Absolute Best Bread Machines For Your Kitchen
SashaMagic/Shutterstock By Taylor Murray/Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 3:08 pm EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Now more than ever, people are trying their hand at homemade bread. Considering some types of bread can take over 70 hours to produce, increased time at home is the only way most home cooks could even possibly pull a recipe like this off. Now that everyone is returning to work and the outside world, no one has time to babysit a delicate ball of dough. But what’s a bread lover to do? Enter the bread machine. Bread machines can mix, knead, proof, and bake a great loaf of bread completely hands-free. All you have to do is add the ingredients and adjust the settings.
Homemade bread is healthier than store-bought due to the lack of preservatives, and some experts say that sourdough bread may be healthier than white bread due to probiotics. Many modern bread machines can make many different types of bread, from sourdough to cinnamon raisin. Don’t fret gluten-free bakers — great gluten-free loaves can be made in most bread machines. Some models can even knead pasta dough and make jam. Depending on your goals, budget, and experience level, there is a bread machine out there for you. We’ve rounded up the best machines on the market for every kind of baker.
How We Chose
LumenSt/Shutterstock
It may seem like a simple task, but we used a variety of different tactics to choose the best bread machines from the rest. First, we analyzed the most popular models across different retailers in terms of most-purchased and highest-reviewed. When it comes to reviews, one person’s ’easy’ may be another person’s ‘difficult’, so it’s important to take that into account, too.
Another factor we analyze is the range of functions, features, and specific specialties. Certain bread machines, for example, are designed with a wide array of features (such as delayed start or automatic mix-in dispensing), and priced accordingly. Other models come with a more basic set of functions but might be better for a beginner baker. Sometimes, certain machines can get press, good or bad, that brings them to our attention. Bottom line, we assess every model or machine on the market and determine which are worth recommending and which are just more of the same.
The Absolute Best Bread Machines For Your Kitchen
SashaMagic/Shutterstock
By Taylor Murray/Updated: Feb. 2, 2023 3:08 pm EST
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Now more than ever, people are trying their hand at homemade bread. Considering some types of bread can take over 70 hours to produce, increased time at home is the only way most home cooks could even possibly pull a recipe like this off. Now that everyone is returning to work and the outside world, no one has time to babysit a delicate ball of dough. But what’s a bread lover to do? Enter the bread machine. Bread machines can mix, knead, proof, and bake a great loaf of bread completely hands-free. All you have to do is add the ingredients and adjust the settings.
Homemade bread is healthier than store-bought due to the lack of preservatives, and some experts say that sourdough bread may be healthier than white bread due to probiotics. Many modern bread machines can make many different types of bread, from sourdough to cinnamon raisin. Don’t fret gluten-free bakers — great gluten-free loaves can be made in most bread machines. Some models can even knead pasta dough and make jam. Depending on your goals, budget, and experience level, there is a bread machine out there for you. We’ve rounded up the best machines on the market for every kind of baker.
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Homemade bread is healthier than store-bought due to the lack of preservatives, and some experts say that sourdough bread may be healthier than white bread due to probiotics. Many modern bread machines can make many different types of bread, from sourdough to cinnamon raisin. Don’t fret gluten-free bakers — great gluten-free loaves can be made in most bread machines. Some models can even knead pasta dough and make jam. Depending on your goals, budget, and experience level, there is a bread machine out there for you. We’ve rounded up the best machines on the market for every kind of baker.
How We Chose
LumenSt/Shutterstock
It may seem like a simple task, but we used a variety of different tactics to choose the best bread machines from the rest. First, we analyzed the most popular models across different retailers in terms of most-purchased and highest-reviewed. When it comes to reviews, one person’s ’easy’ may be another person’s ‘difficult’, so it’s important to take that into account, too.
Another factor we analyze is the range of functions, features, and specific specialties. Certain bread machines, for example, are designed with a wide array of features (such as delayed start or automatic mix-in dispensing), and priced accordingly. Other models come with a more basic set of functions but might be better for a beginner baker. Sometimes, certain machines can get press, good or bad, that brings them to our attention. Bottom line, we assess every model or machine on the market and determine which are worth recommending and which are just more of the same.
Another factor we analyze is the range of functions, features, and specific specialties. Certain bread machines, for example, are designed with a wide array of features (such as delayed start or automatic mix-in dispensing), and priced accordingly. Other models come with a more basic set of functions but might be better for a beginner baker. Sometimes, certain machines can get press, good or bad, that brings them to our attention.
Bottom line, we assess every model or machine on the market and determine which are worth recommending and which are just more of the same.
Best overall bread machine
The versatility of this machine makes it a favorite among reviewers, who say they can make evenly browned loaves with a great texture time and again.
Best budget bread machine
Best splurge bread machine
Breville
Even if you only have three minutes to put the ingredients together, you can still expect a beautiful loaf that no one would believe wasn’t handmade. This machine not only produces great bread in the short term, but it can go the distance as well. One reviewer states that even after two years of consistent use, it still works as well as ever.
Best large-capacity bread machine
West Bend
While not as commonly purchased as some other models, reviewers appreciate the wide, traditional size and shape of the loaf (as compared to some bread machines that produce a tall vertical loaf). The wide shape accommodates two paddles, and produces a more evenly mixed dough that doesn’t need to be shaped by hand.
Best express bread machine
The Oster comes with the standard range of features such as multiple bread type settings and crust color choices. This bread maker also has a handy signal at the end of mixing to let you know when it’s time to add things like nuts or dried fruit, if your recipe requires it.
Best machine for gluten-free breads
While it is right in the middle of the road in terms of price affordability can be an issue for some, so look around for special deals, which pop up frequently.
Best bread proofing machine
Brod & Taylor
Unfortunately, one major downside of bread machine is each model can only make one shape of bread, usually a loaf. For boules or oval-shaped loaves, you have to shape and bake yourself. This proofer lets you do that, while still giving you some of the ease of an automatic machine, and at a fraction of the cost of most bread machines. It’s the perfect addition to any baker’s kitchen, as hundreds of great reviews say. It has a good range of other functions, such as yogurt making and chocolate tempering. It can even slow cook pots of stew and soup, simply by placing the 8-quart pot into the machine and letting it go to work.
Best multi-function bread machine
It can even be used to simply proof the dough, if you want to bake in your own oven for more control. This can be a particularly useful tool for bakers who wish to create custom shaped loaves of bread. We love a kitchen appliance that can truly do it all.
Best space-saving bread machine
Dash
For its small size and weight, the Dash packs a surprising amount of features, including a mix-in chamber that automatically dispenses ingredients like dried fruit and nuts right into your dough at the optimal time. It comes with 12 pre-loaded settings for easy set-up, and options to customize loaves in ways like size and color. Like some other models, the Dash is capable of just mixing and proofing dough, for bakers that prefer a more hands-on approach when it comes to shaping and baking, like one reviewer did to make great pizza dough. This model is by far the smallest in our roundup, so if size is a huge factor in your decision making process, this may be the right selection for you.
Best aesthetic bread machine
Just because this machine has great style, doesn’t mean that’s its only trick. The Neretva comes standard with 20 preprogrammed options that take the guesswork out of baking anything from white bread to jam. A bright LCD display and a crystal clear viewing window are welcome features that just add to the ease and usability of this model. The recipes included in the manual will make you a confident baker, no matter how inexperienced, as one reviewer noted. Neretva also has a whole line of other matching countertop appliances, everything from espresso machines to air fryers, if you want to have the complete set.
