Cuisinart CBK-200 Convection Bread Maker, 12" x 16.5" x 10.25"

This bread maker makes bakery-quality bread at home. The convection fan gives a nice crispy crust, and the loaf comes out evenly baked every time. I love the different settings, especially for whole wheat and low-carb. It’s easy to use, and cleanup is quick. Great value for fresh homemade bread!

I'm a bread machine junkie, having owned/tried numerous brands: Oster, WestBend, Hamilton Beach, Panasonic, Zojirushi, Breadman, Dash, DAK, Nictemaw, and now this Cuisinart. I also "need" (that is, want) three bread machines in the house so I can simultaneously make multiple loaves for guests and gatherings. I originally ordered this Cuisinart as a back-up to an aging Panasonic, but, after using it just a few times, I replaced the Panasonic with this as the workhorse in my kitchen. It's powerful, relatively quiet, reliable, and built to last. It has 15 different menu cycles, including rapid bake, gluten-free, and jam. The only missing functions are a pasta dough cycle, customized program cycles, an automatic dispenser for mix-ins, and a yeast dispenser; those features are found in higher-end brands.I like that it bakes a horizontal loaf instead of a cylindrical or vertical one. The main differences among brands usually has to do with the timing (rising and bake) and the strength of the motor. This Cuisinart uses the correct rise and bake times to give a good crumb instead of a too-elongated or too-dense one. The motor doesn't strain, even when kneading a 2-pound dough. If the hole in the bottom of a baked loaf bothers you, you can remove the dough when it beeps a second time, take out the paddle, and put the dough back in. I'm so used to that hole, however, that I never do it. If I'm going to bake the bread inside the machine, I just select the correct menu, select the size (1 lb, 1.5 lb, or 2 lb), the crust color, and push start. My bread comes out perfect every time, although newbies should be aware that not all bread machine recipes are created equal. As long as you start with a good recipe, you will be fine. (More on this later, if you're interested.)Because I'm comfortable baking bread, I mostly use bread machines for the dough cycle so that I can shape and control the rise of my bread. It allows me to make pizza dough, focaccia, sourdough boules, hamburger rolls, Italian bread, cinnamon rolls, and other speciality breads and shapes. I love that the dough cycle only takes 1 hour and 40 minutes from start to finish. Most recipes will require a rise time after shaping, usually 45 minutes. Panasonic and Zojirushi, both premium brands, take close to 2 hours, 30 minutes because they add a 30 minute rest time up front that you cannot change, plus a slightly longer cycle in general. (The Panasonic has a much shorter pizza dough cycle that starts mixing right away but that doesn't rise much in the pan.) If I want a sliceable, regular loaf shape, I let the machine do all the work, including baking. I find that a 1-pound loaf works best for sandwich-size bread, with the 1.5 lb size coming in second. The 2-pound loaf is just too high for my tastes, even though it bakes up beautifully.This bread maker comes with a recipe book that's much better than most. Usually, the included recipes in a given brand are so bad that people give up and junk their bread makers. I always start with my own tried-and-true white bread recipe to make sure that the machine works properly: 1 cup + 2 T water; 3 cups bread flour (all-purpose will do); 2 T butter; 1 tsp salt, 1 T sugar, and 2 tsp bread machine yeast (one packet will do.) For softer bread, I sometimes add 2 T dried milk powder. If that recipe works well, I know the machine is a good one. Any failures after that are the fault of the recipe. All the recipes in the included booklet that I've tried have turned out well, whether baked in the pan or on the dough cycle. In general, when adapting a recipe, 2 cups of flour = 1 lb; 3 cups of flour = 1.5 lb; and 4 cups of flour = 2 lb. When I use the dough cycle, I almost always go for the 2 pound size.The dough paddle is more difficult than most to remove/insert, with a tight fit. I always soak my pan with the paddle inside for easier removal, but this still requires a bit more wiggling than most other machines. To clean, rinse with warm water, wipe to remove all dough residue, and dry. Because of the nonstick interior, everything comes easily clean. Never submerge the pan or put in the dishwasher.For those who are comparison shopping among the brands listed above: Panasonic is a great all-round bread machine with premium features; Zojirushi is the most expensive but also has the sturdiest build (I adore the small 1-lb model for sandwich loaves); Hamilton Beach and Oster are the best among lesser expensive models. This Cuisinart combines premium performance and good build-quality, with a lower price than some of the best models. It might not be as rugged as Panasonic and Zojirushi, but it performs just as well.If you want bread that is indistinguishable from by-hand breads, use the dough cycle to do all the mixing, kneading, and timing for the first rise. Then shape, rise, and bake in your oven. If you want the convenience of a warm, ready-to-slice bread, use the appropriate cycle to bake inside of the machine; it's especially decadent to use the timer to have the bread finished the next day at breakfast time.I find that this Cuisinart bread maker is among the best I've tried in this price point, even though it lacks an automatic dispenser for nuts and fruit, the only feature I truly miss since I have to be around when it beeps to add the mix-ins. It combines a good price with excellent performance.-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

My new breadmaker arrived today. This is a replacement for my Oster Breadmaker that performed so well over the years, before the drive belt decided to disconnect everytime I attempted to make a new loaf. First, the shipping was amazing...I ordered Monday night, late, and it arrived this morning (Wednesday) at 11:00AM, well before the committed 8:00pm time. As I had just attempted a new recipe with my old machine, forced to finish by hand, I was eager to try again using the Cuisinart CBK-200.The controls are quite intuitive, and there are real buttons, not the mylar overlay on my Oster. The handles on the unit are a great advantage, as lifting a fairly heavy appliance to counter level without them is always challenging. The built in handles made the task much easier. Be warned, however, that the unit is much heavier on the control side of the unit. I wasn't quite prepared for that when I first lifted it, but it makes sense as the baking chamber is mostly air when the bread pan is removed. There are separate buttons for Loaf (1lb, 1.5lb, 2lb ), Crust (density), Menu (16 preset choices), timer delay (up to 12 hours), Mix-ins (allows for additions after mixing, kneading, and rising), Start, and Stop/Pause.The pan is rectangular, allowing for a more traditional looking loaf than the taller square pan I was used to. This provides for a more appealing finished product, while also supporting larger loaves. I was concerned that the kneading/mixing paddle would be able to perform as it doesn't reach into the corners of the pan, but my worry was unnecessary - the movement of the dough ball around the pan does aa good job of picking up any stray bits.My first effort was a Rosemary bread that I only altered with the addition of Poppy Seeds, and the use of Thrive culinary algae oil vs olive oil. This recipe requires starting the yeast going before adding any ingredients...despite most bread machines advising to add the yeast last, avoiding any contact with water until the cycle begins. The Cuisinart handled it all in stride. The yeast bubbled up to a creamy foam, as called for in the recipe, and I added everything else in a flash - salt, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, poppy seeds, Thrive culinary algae oil, and white bread flour. Since the machine does all work, all I had to do was watch excitedly through the viewing window, and wonder how I would eat my first slice of warm bread.Once thing that I missed doing was turning off the Mix-ins button and light. Consequently, the machine beeped at every cycle change, which was a bit unfortunate as I was working from my dining room table. The background beeps would always come when I was deep in concentration...so I need to verify this setting is off, unless I really want to add something prior to the final kneading. Some may find the Mix-ins alert comforting, knowing that your bread is on its way, and only has 2 cycles left prior to baking. In any event, it is a nice feature for those recipes that call for adding ingredients, whether nuts, berries, additional spices, or even crust toppings to stand out in the finished loaf.In the end result, the crust was a bit more done than I'd expected, which is amazing. I like a heavier crust in my bread, as I almost always crushed the loaves from my previous maker. There was no chance of this...in fact, my first slice, while the bread was still warm, came out perfectly. I am not generally a fan of the end piece of a bread loaf....but this was too good a crust to pass up. I spread some soft butter on it, and ate it right down. I'd thought to wait for my wife to come home and see the complete product....but my nose betrayed me, and I had to eat a piece right out of the "oven".I had not planned to buy this particular machine. In fact, a review site advised that the CBK-100 was the best "bang for the buck" in new bread machines. But the appeal of a convection component to this maker tipped the decision to the CBK-200. With my first successful loaf sitting on the counter, I have to declare this unit a solid winner. It does cost a bit more than its little brother, but I believe the added feature will be well worth the price.