Breville BBM800XL Custom Loaf Bread Maker

Absolutely great, though best for larger loaves
This is probably one of the best breadmakers out there. I've used it to make whole wheat bread on numerous occasions, and except for one time that I'm assuiming was somehow my fault in not measuring the ingredients correctly, they all turned out great--and I'm usually not one to describe bread machine bread like that (this is not my first machine; I've been known to just use them to mix, knead, and proof the dough, then shape and bake by hand in my own pan in the oven). In addition to a variety of preprogrammed settings, it lets you take any of them and customize the exact time of any of the steps, as well as the temperature for the preheat, rise, and bake phases. The phases, if you're wondering, are: pre-heat, knead 1, knead 2, rise 1, rise 2, their associated punchdowns, rise 3, bake, and the optional post-baking "keep warm" phase, though not all programs include all phases (whole wheat is, in fact, the only one that uses them all). You can also save these custom programs in the...

Great user interface, terrible paddle
Pros:
The LCD screen on this is FANTASTIC. The best of any bread maker I have seen.
Large pan size works well for things like brownies and cornbreads.
Customization is great.

Cons:
The collapsible paddle takes a giant chunk out of most breads, especially yeast-free breads such as cornbread.It also wears away the non-stick coating wherever the collapsing part touches another part on the paddle, thus I have eaten some Teflon.
The nut dispenser could be larger. It did not work when overfilled (leaving the nut door open).

I really wanted to love the Breville. The LCD screen is awesome. But the lame collapsible paddle ruins it. It might be going back. What to buy instead?

Nothing is better than fresh bread
My husband and I had a Cuisinart Bread maker for about 2 years. This past spring, it started behaving strangely and then it started to produce big lumps of really bad bread. Since I had other Breville products, the Smart Grill and the Convection Oven, I decided to give Breville's bread maker a try.

The interface is much easier to use than the Cuisinart. Especially for my parents who have no understanding of technology. The window feature is fantastic and my son LOVES watching the bread knead and mix. The top slips off easily for cleaning, our Cuisinart started to do this on its own when the hinge broke. Breville's was designed to slip off when needed.

I know people have complained about the dent from the collapsable paddle. Compared to the enormous whole from the Cuisinart, the little dent from the Breville was not even an issue for me. Getting the paddle out of baked bread in the Cuisinart was like perfoming major surgery and a surgeon I am not...

Click to Editorial Reviews