Wife and I want to purchase an all-in-one bread maker. What we mean by this is we would like to be able to dump all ingredients into the machine, set it for whatever type bread we are making, hit start, and a loaf is ready sometime later. We have ZERO knowledge about these machines on the market and wanted to ask for some help in identifying a good machine. We think the “2 pound” loaf size is what we want but again we are not sure.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Plan is to buy one during Black Friday time frame if the one we select goes on sale. Thanks Mark

I've used Oster beadmakers for over 15 years. The first tub had a seal failure around the spindle after the "e" clip rusted out and ruined the silicone bushing. After pricing a replacement from Oster (~$45 as I recall) I bought a whole unit at Goodwill for under $10, and then a couple more to have spare tubs on hand. The first machine, minus the original tub, is still going strong after one loaf a week for those 15 years. Occasionally spraying cooking oil on the bearing top and bottom should prevent rusting - at any rate I've not had a problem with the second tub.

It seems lots of people get one as a gift or on a whim and after a short while they end up at Goodwill - the ones I've picked up looked brand new. If you're not sure you'll use it you might try that route.

It is expensive however my wife and I have been using the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus 2 Lb Breadmaker.
We purchased it back in March of 2022 and we have probly made a couple hundred loafs of bread. I have made a lot of pizza dough and we have made several cakes. My wife also made either jelly or jam with it.

Before that we were using a inexpensive bread maker we bought at a department store just to make sure we wanted to get back into making homemade bread.

The Zojirushi has several settings on it for different kinds/styles of bread and the book that came with it has several recipes for you to get started.
It makes long loaf style bread as apposed to round style. The pan uses 2 mixing paddles that I think does a better job at kneading the dough, however depending on the style of bread, I sometimes end up with a lopsided loaf (one side is higher then the other after baking)

It has a notification beep near the end of the needing cycle to let me know when to add additional ingredients like cheese for cheese bread.

It was recommended to us by friends who make a lot of bread to the point they buy whole grain and started grinding their own flour.

There are several good videos on Youtube explaining the machine and people making bread with it.

Have you tried making bread the old fashioned way?

There are plenty of basic bread recipes out there that don't require any specialized equipment, significant kneading/physical labor, or serious baking skills.

Just yeast, flour, salt, water, a loaf pan/baking sheet/dutch oven, heat and time.

Not quite "dump it in and push a button", but not that far off.

Look up some recipes for "simple no knead bread" or "basic artisan bread" or similar to get started.

Zojirushi all the way.

We made a loaf in it every week for years, only had to replace the pan once or twice, and paddles once in a while.

Still working - just not making bread in it right now.

We have had the same Panasonic Bread Maker for at least 15 years now. Pretty simple to use: put ingredients in set it and walk away. It mixes, kneads, rests, and bakes all in one. Takes about 4 hours for a plain white or whole wheat loaf.

If you can overlook the odd shape of the bread when it's done, you're all set. (Looks like a standard loaf turned on its end.)

Noticed they have changed the color, but the current machine looks quite similar to ours.

GJG has a good suggestion about going to Goodwill. Mrs. mr kablammo spotted a NIB Hamilton Beach machine for $26.00, unopened, it works. Later we bought an unused Cuisinart for $13.99. Then I bought a second like new Cuisinart for $8.99! Then a third unused Cuisinart for $6.99!! I tease her about using all four at the same time. The spares may someday be gifted to her siblings in Taiwan.

We use the HB for 2 lb cinnamon raisin bread. The C'art is used for 1.5 lb white bread. Our use is occasional. I do like to bake bread by hand. The machines are definitely more convenient, especially for cleanup. Mrs. mr kablammo prefers the machine made loafs which hurts my feelings only a little bit. We have not tried fancy stuff like brioche nor Pan de Muerte in the machines. Nor Barm Brak, nor ryes.

If you want a low cost tryout machine then circulate at the GW, Salvation Army, and the church thrift shops. From the comments here it seems that Zujiroshi is a good option for new.

What Rogue said.

It doesn't get much easier than making bread, and it's good for the soul.

Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus here as well. Couldn’t be happier. We’ve had/used cheaper ones, and now wouldn’t go back. Buy once cry once.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Have you tried making bread the old fashioned way?

There are plenty of basic bread recipes out there that don't require any specialized equipment, significant kneading/physical labor, or serious baking skills.

Just yeast, flour, salt, water, a loaf pan/baking sheet/dutch oven, heat and time.

Not quite "dump it in and push a button", but not that far off.

Look up some recipes for "simple no knead bread" or "basic artisan bread" or similar to get started.

Used to make a simple rustic bread like this. 3-4 ingredients. Always turned out great. Even if it was a little dense sometimes. Warm better and fresh bread is just good.

I've made bread by hand for years and never had to replace any parts.

Ok, I do have a kitchen-aid mixer that I use time to time, but it knows I'm not totally happy w/ it. Dough climbing the hook and all. It knows its not doing something I can do better. It's lucky I keep it for other things.

Hope you can find a machine for your situation.

quote:

Originally posted by eyrich:
Zojirushi all the way.

For an all-in-one bread maker, Zojirushi is what we used for at least 25 years or more. While it's easy and makes a pretty good loaf, Mrs.'Hook has moved up to making her own bread the traditional way.

Had an early Zojirushi for years until the tub gave up the ghost. Wrote to them about a replacement. I think they laughed. Quit supporting that bread maker a while ago. It was a great bread maker. Switched to a Kitchen Aid and hand-making bread after that. The machines just give you the same looking loaf every time vs. traditional loaves, batards, Dutch oven breads, etc.

I've gone through 2 over the years. One of the failure points is the gasket/seal at the bottom of the tub where the kneading paddle penetrates the tub. You will start seeing black or dark streaks in the dough as bearing grease leaks in.

I'm on my 2nd KitchenAid mixer and am going to experiment with using a Cuisinart food processor to mix pizza and bread dough.

I've had a couple over the years. Since all I ever make is white bread, it doesn't seem to matter which one I used.

What IS important is the yeast. I buy it in a bulk package of about a pint(?), and it takes so long to use it all up that it starts to fail and you get flat loaves. So, I keep the yeast in the freezer, to keep it active.