Cheap ✔️ Cuisinart Bread Maker, Up To 2lb Loaf, New Compact Automatic 🔔

2 reviews for Cheap ✔️ Cuisinart Bread Maker, Up To 2lb Loaf, New Compact Automatic 🔔

1. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Mahat McCain – January 10, 2009

   Bread machines seem to be out of fashion the past 5+ years. Many brands don’t even make them anymore. They are also rare to find in retail stores. Many stores don’t carry any and those that do have maybe one or two to choose from. Walmart, for example, only has the Sunbeam 5891 and even that isn’t carried in all their stores. So, when my old Oster developed a leaking pan and I needed to replace it I found my choices somewhat limited. I started out wanting the cheapest one I could get which right now is the Sunbeam 5891. Then I had a change of heart and wanted something I thought would last. The thing that led me to the Cuisinart CBK-200 was the warranty and mid-range price. My experience has been that bread machine pans just don’t last. I felt if Cuisinart was backing their product for 3 years it had to be well built.Upon unpacking I was pleased to find a solid, heavy and well constructed machine. There were none of the stripped screws or misaligned plates that one reviewer noted. After reading the instructions I set about making my first loaf. I went with a French bread recipe I love from my old Oster manual. The Cuisinart was easy to program (simply select size and crust color then press start). The unit was fairly quiet during kneading and didn’t creep/crawl on the counter. When it got to the remove paddle beep (another reason I selected this machine) I removed the paddle. It did it’s last 55 minute rise then started the bake cycle. This is where I listened for the convection fan noise. I had to hold my ear right up to the unit to hear an almost imperceptible fan noise. This is not a loud unit during the bake cycle. After the 70 minute bake I removed the finished loaf to cool on a wire rack. The pan mixing spindle did hold onto about 3/4 inch of loaf but it was acceptable and better than digging out the paddle. The loaf was perfect in color…not at all burned. After an hour to cool I cut into the masterpiece and it was perfect. The crust was crunchy and exploded with flavor. The bread was just the right density and even. A 5 star loaf on my first attempt.Since then I’ve made a 1 lb batch of pizza dough. The unit handled the 1 lb dough remarkably well. With the shape of the pan I was worried it wouldn’t get all the ingredients mixed in; however, the paddle cycled between periods of clockwise and counter-clockwise action to fling the dough all around the rectangular pan to get everything well mixed in. When I made my 2 lb french loaf the paddle only went clockwise so I think the unit may be programmed to alternate direction for smaller loafs. Ingenious. The unit did creep a little and got a bit loud on the counter-clockwise action but that was due to the violent action going on in the pan.I tried the Cuisinart recipe for cinnammon swirl loaf and that was delicious. Came out perfect (ie, not burned, great crust and texture). Today I made my 2nd French loaf. As perfect as the first. I’m not sure I like the look of all the recipes but it does have quite a few. I like the fact that the manual and recipe book is spiral bound: another thing Cuisinart did not ‘cheap’ out on.If you read the reviews for this bread maker it seems to be either a 5 star winner or 1 star loser. There’s not much in between. Well, count me in the 5 star column. Maybe I’m lucky in the unit I received? All I can say is I feel this was a real bargain at $100. The build quality of my unit is excellent and the perfect loaves I’m getting out of it are heavenly.UPDATE, 1/26/09: I experienced the bread pan popping out on several 1 LB loaves even though I made sure it was securely in place at the outset. On 1 and 1.5 LB loaves the unit gets real violent during the kneading cycle. When the dough hits the inside of the pan with the proper angle and force it pops out. I found the side wall clips and the clips on the pan itself interact to keep the pan in place. The more important clips to adjust are those on the pan itself. If the pan clips are out too far at a horizontal angle it makes it difficult to seat the pan in the machine…this is because it makes the pan wider and they don’t want to clear the side clips of the machine. If the pan clips are too far down (ie, angled beyond 30 degrees) the pan becomes too narrow and, while easy to seat in the machine, doesn’t receive enough side pressure from the side clips to hold the pan in place. I think I have my pan clips at the right adjustment. It needs to be somewhat hard to snap in place to provide enough side tension to keep the pan in place. I have the pan clips pretty far up. To seat the pan I use my left thumb to place a bit of pressure on the left inside wall of the bread maker while I push the pan into place. The pan seems much more solidly seated now. I will continue to monitor on 1 LB loaves until I feel all is wellI do believe there’s a bit of an engineering issue here. The pan itself if constructed of pretty thin metal leading to the clips on the pan gradually bending out of adjustment during repeated cycles of inserting and removal of the pan. This is a design flaw but I think easy enough to compensate for if you know the proper angle of the clips.UPDATE 1/29/09: So far so good on my pan clip adjustment. With the pan being hard/tight to seat and requiring a bit of help/pressure from my left thumb to the side wall of the unit, the pan is rock solid in place.UPDATE, 2/1/09: Pan rock solid in place (good). Finding screw and lock washer under unit after making latest loaf (bad). Yes, a screw and lock washer from the underside of the unit fell off during the last loaf I made. All the rocking and kneading of the 1.5 lb loafs I’ve been making must be the cause. It was simple enough to screw back in place –tightly I might add– but should it have come loose in the first place? There were two other screws on the underside with lock washers: I made sure all three are nice and tight. Starting to wonder…..3/7/09 UPDATE: If I had to do all over I would purchase another unit. The pan pop and clip adjustment usually work but the thing can’t be trusted to stay in place even with that. I made whole wheat pizza dough last week and the pan popped three (3) times. Now I’ve got the clips on the oven wall bent up and then the longer piece down and in just enough to insert the pan. As far as the pan goes the metal is just too thin for the pan to retain it’s shape. This is definitely the cause of the pan pop. I’m also starting to see some black on loafs from the pan spindle…a sign it will leak and fail before too long. This is for a pan I treated like a fragile egg: only ever hand washed the inside and avoided getting the outside wet. Amazon won’t let reviewers change ratings: I would now give this unit only 2 stars.5/29/09 UPDATE — I had to get a replacement pan under warranty from Cuisinart last week. The original pan started leaking grease/oil onto loaves/doughs….so much so that a pizza dough I was making was streaked throughout on the 2nd knead cycle (yuck!). When the new pan arrived it didn’t fit the machine properly (It was way too loose). It was then that I discovered all my pan and clip adjustments with the old pan had led to the left side wall of the baking chamber being bent outward essentially widening the chamber. I managed to bend it back into shape which led to further clip adjustments needed. Now the new pan is rock solid. Cuisinart was pretty good on the pan exchange: I only had to pay return shipping which was about $6.25 from PA to NJ via FedEx Ground.I read somewhere that the bread pan should be allowed to cool before cleaning –something to do with expansion and contraction of metal– and that may help reduce pan seal failure. I’ll let it cool before cleaning with the new pan and see if it helps.I do like this unit but am glad it has a 3 year warranty. I have a feeling I’m going to using the warranty quite often.10/26/09 — UPDATE. The pan pop problem has disappeared since I got the left side wall back in shape as described in my 5/29/09 update 5 months ago. I make about 1 or two loaves a week and a pizza dough weekly. The new pan is lasting longer…probably due to it being under less stress now that it is centered better in the baking chamber. I’m liking the machine again.1/9/10 — UPDATE. I just got my 2nd replacment pan under warranty from Cuisinart. They are good about replacing but the pan is obviously a weak link. Also, I’m noticing loaves getting more well done than desired. I have to remove them from the machine before the cycle is finished. I may have to warranty claim the entire unit soon — Good thing it’s 3 years.

2. 

   Rated 4 out of 5

   Gej – May 26, 2017

   QUESTION….1.IS THERE 2 VERSIONS OF THIS MACHINE? I THINK THERE IS A STAINLESS STEEL MODEL & A BLACK AND STAINLESS MODEL…ONE BEING MORE ELECTRONIC WITHOUT BUTTONS, WHICH I OWNED AND TRYING TO FIND AGAIN2. HOW tO USE THE BAKE ONLY FUNCTION….DOES IT BAKE FOR ONLY 10 MINUES!I have owned both machines but the black and STAINLESS seems to be different, especially the BAKE functionConvection baking has a crisper crust. I did not know this….drier climates may want to consider this for your recipe to bake on a lighter setting.Buttermilk whole-wheat bread, needs to have some oil put in it. Look on page 11 and you will see the difference between these two recipes; an omission of 2 tablespoons of oil or butter should be added . Every time I’ve made this piecrust is so hard and the bread is dry. I really like the honey whole wheat recipe though.Here are bread machine helps from King Arthur. Hope these help:We hope you enjoy this beginners’ exploration of bread machines, and feel confident that you can produce a good loaf of bread in your machine. Once you feel comfortable with how your machine works, begin to think about using it for all kinds of yeast baking: it’s an incredibly versatile tool, if you use your imagination. We’ve used our bread machine to make the dough for wonderful pizza, sticky buns, kolache, bread sticks, baguettes, focaccia, doughnuts, coffee cakes…you get the picture.Helpful Hints:Hint #1:Don’t be afraid to open your machine to look at and poke the dough as it kneads. This is the only way you’ll be able to tell if the combination of ingredients you’ve used has made a good dough. We don’t recommend poking the dough as it rises, and you shouldn’t open the top when your machine is in its second rise or baking cycle, but before that, feel free to get familiar with your dough, and how your machine works with it; that’s how you’ll learn.Hint #2:If you’re using your machine’s delayed cycle, where the machine won’t start for several hours, don’t use fresh ingredients such as milk, eggs, cheese, etc. Bacteria likes to grow in these ingredients, and there’s a risk of food poisoning in keeping them at room temperature.Hint #3:Too little yeast, your bread won’t rise sufficiently; too much, and it will rise and collapse. It’s important to watch your dough as it rises and bakes; dough that has risen and collapsed may look just like dough that never rose at all, once it’s baked. In order to correct the problem, you need to know what went wrong.Hint #4:Bread that is undercooked and gummy inside is bread that didn’t rise sufficientlyHint #5:We’ve found that one or more of the following will increase the chances of your getting a successful loaf of sweet bread: doubling the amount of yeast; cutting back the amount of salt; using 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid; using the longest cycle on your machine (the one with the longest rising period); or taking the dough out of the machine, and forming and baking it by hand.Hint #6:Match the flour to the desired result. A high-protein all-purpose or bread flour will yield high-rising bread. Whole-grain flours will yield denser, heavier, more substantial breads. A combination of flours will yield something in between.Hint #7:The basic ratio of salt to flour in bread is 1/2 teaspoon salt per cup of flour. Recipes that call for less salt than this may seem “blah”; try increasing the amount of salt to the recommended ratio.Hint #8:The basic all-purpose flour/liquid ratio is 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour to 1 1/4 cups liquid, depending on the time of year — more flour in the summer, less in the winter.Hint #9:Bread that rises, then collapses in the middle as it bakes — the infamous “crater bread” — contains too much liquid. Adjust your formula.Hint #10:Adding a couple of teaspoons of flour along with the raisins/nuts helps the dough in the machine to “open up” and accept whatever you’re adding more easily. If “additives” haven’t kneaded into the dough by the time it goes into its first rise, simply remove the dough from the machine, scoop out the raisins/nuts, knead them in by hand, and return the dough to the machine.Hint #11:We often recommend letting the dough rest for 20 minutes between mixing and kneading, especially if the dough feels especially sticky. This gives the flour a chance to absorb the water and lose its stickiness.Most Frequently Asked Questions:We continue to receive inquiries regarding modifying “regular” bread recipes to work in the bread machine, and using bread machine recipes to make a “regular” loaf of bread.A 1-pound bread machine, in general, can handle 2 to 3 cups of flour, while a 1 1/2-lb. machine can handle 3 to 4 cups of flour.Many recipes ask for a range of flour. For example, if a recipe asks for 3 to 4 cups of flour, it is because flour changes with the weather, absorbing moisture when the humidity is high (generally, in the summer), and becoming dry when the humidity is low (usually during the winter months). To put it simply, you’ll need to use more flour in the summer and less in the winter.Q. Can I use regular bread recipes in my new bread machine?A. Yes, you can probably use many of the same recipes you’ve always used. Just be sure to use a flour with a high protein content. King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, with its high gluten, is an excellent flour for bread machines. Numerous people have told us that their recipes worked in the bread machine using King Arthur, when they didn’t work with other all-purpose flours. Another tip: don’t try to make whole-grain breads, such as rye or whole wheat, using only whole-grain flours. Their minimal gluten content will produce loaves which are flat and hard. Mix them with unbleached all-purpose flour for best results.As we continue to work with the bread machines, we find that they’re extremely versatile and flexible, as long as you use the manual or dough setting. It’s convenient (and tempting) to take a regular 3-cup-of-flour bread recipe, throw it all in the machine, press Start, and hope you have a nicely risen loaf of baked bread 4 hours later. Well, usually this won’t work; the dough is too stiff, too slack, the rising time in the machine is too short (or too long), etc. etc. etc.Save yourself the hassle of trying to modify recipes by simply placing all of the ingredients into the machine, programming for manual or dough, then taking the dough out at the end of the cycle and proceeding with the recipe from the point where it tells you to “punch down the dough”. What the machine’s dough cycle gives you is a thorough knead and initial rise. From then on, you’re on your own. But, hey; the mixing and kneading is the only part that takes even a modicum of effort. From then on you’re just shaping the dough, putting it in a pan, and putting it in a hot oven to bake. You can do that — honest! We find our 1 1/2-pound Zojirushi will handle up to 5 cups of flour in the dough mode.In some respects, bread machine dough is better than hand-kneaded. Very slack doughs, those with a lot of liquid, are virtually unkneadable by hand; you always have to add more flour. In the bread machine, however, slack doughs knead very nicely, and the resulting loaf is full of coarse holes and light as a feather.Sometimes you can take a regular bread recipe, reduce the flour to 3 cups and amend all the remaining ingredients correspondingly, make it in the bread machine, and get a good loaf on the very first attempt. But most often, you’ll have several failures while you’re in the trial and error process. A more fail-safe method is to just make dough, and go from there.Q. Can I make a bread machine recipe by hand?A. You can easily convert bread machine recipes to “manual” recipes by reading the ingredients, then combining them the way you usually do. Dissolve the yeast in the liquid, add other “wet” ingredients (e.g., eggs, honey, butter), add the flour and other dry ingredients, knead, then knead in any “extras” (raisins, nuts, chocolate chips, etc.). Let the bread rise once in the bowl, then transfer it to a pan and let it rise again. Bake for about 30 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven. A bread machine recipe for a “large” machine, calling for 3 cups of all-purpose or bread flour or 4 cups of a whole-grain/all-purpose flour mix, will make a 1-lb. (8 1/2” x 4 1/2”) loaf. A bread machine recipe for a “small” loaf, calling for 2 cups of all-purpose or bread flour or 3 cups of a whole-grain/all-purpose flour mix, will make a 10- to 11-ounce loaf (a 7 3/8” x 3 5/8” pan).Q. How can I convert a 1 1/2-lb. bread machine recipe to a 1-lb. machine?A. Your 1-lb. bread machine will probably be happy with a ratio of 2 cups flour to 1 teaspoon each yeast, sugar and salt, and 2/3 cup liquid. Let’s say the bread recipe you want to use calls for 6 cups of flour (a typical two-loaf recipe). Simply divide the amount of each ingredient by three, and use one-third (6 cups flour becomes 2 cups, 1 tablespoon yeast becomes 1 teaspoon, etc.). If any of the ingredients seem way out of whack, be aware of adjustments you can make (i.e., the amount of sugar seems high, so increase the amount of yeast). This may seem complicated at first, but by keeping the ratio in mind, as well as the relationship of the ingredients to one another, you can convert just about any bread recipe to the bread machine.Q. What qualifies as a liquid?A. Liquids include obvious things, such as water or milk, as well as anything which becomes liquid or semi-liquid when heated. Typical bread machine liquids include water, milk, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, and soft cheese (cream cheese, cottage cheese, feta, etc.); soft fruits (applesauce and other fruit purees, bananas, etc.); liquid sweeteners, such as honey or molasses; eggs; butter and margarine; and vegetable oils, in either their liquid or solid form. Relatively soft cheese, such as mozzarella, grated Cheddar or Swiss, etc. are on the border between liquid and solid, as far as your machine is concerned; don’t figure them into the flour/liquid ratio, but keep in mind that they’ll tip that ratio a bit toward the liquid side. Hard cheeses, such as Parmesan and Romano, won’t affect the flour/liquid ratio.Q. Why did my loaf sink in the bread machine?A. You may have used too much liquid in the dough. The dough should be smooth and soft. Or, you may need to adjust the amount of yeast; instant yeasts are stronger than active dry yeasts, so less is needed.Q. My crust is always soft. How can I make a crispier crust?A. If your bread machine has a french bread setting, try using that. If you reduce the oil or butter in your recipe you may get crispier results. Also, if the recipe calls for milk, try using water instead.Q. My bread didn’t rise. Why?A. You might try using chlorine-free water. Also, check the expiration date of the yeast. If you determine that your yeast is good, make sure that you keep the yeast separate from the salt. If yeast and salt are directly on top of one another, the high concentration of salt can kill the yeast.Q. My crust was crisp but I wanted it to be soft. What can I do?A. You may try increasing the oil or butter in your recipe. Also, try using milk instead of water.Q. Why do I have raw, doughy spots in my finished loaf?A. The cycle could be too short for the recipe causing it to be baked prematurely. If that’s not the case, maybe too much heat may have escaped from the bread machine as it was baking. You should never open the cover of your machine while it is on the bake cycle. Also, too many rich or heavy ingredients may cause the bread to underbake.Q. Why do I get coarse, crumbly loaves?A. Perhaps the dough is too dry. Try increasing the liquid if the dough appears dry during kneading. Or, your recipe may not call for enough oil in the dough. If dry whole grains were added, which takes moisture away from the dough, try soaking The Cuisinart is one of the only bread machines offering the convection oven feature, which makes your bread 25% faster.