I bought this breadmaker for my wife for Christmas. She uses it at least twice a week, and so far has truly loved it. She likes making beer bread and cinnamon raisin bread, and every loaf she's made has been big, aromatic, and absolutely delicious. Have you ever looked for Texas toast to make that killer French Toast for breakfast? This machine - which makes some substantial 2-pound loaves, is the perfect thing for 'em.
Personally, I might add that if you buy one of these machines, you may never need another air freshener. I love the smell of baking bread!
I chose the Cuisinart CBK-200 because I've purchased several Cuisinart products and I've been very impressed with all of them. It's a solidly constructed piece, wieghty, and good-looking on the counter. After looking at so many of the other breadmakers in local stores, I got the feeling of plasticky engineering, and envisioned them lasting an amount of time not worth the $50 or $60-something dollars they were asking. I also envisioned smaller loaves, noisy breadmakers which shifted around on the counter. I admit this is all speculation, but these are real concerns we all have, and we speculate because we want to make the best decision we can. In the end, I feel very satisfied with the choice I made, and more importantly, my wife is thrilled with it.
A previous reviewer mentioned the only downfall to the machine is that you can't change some of the options mid-cycle. This is true, but I got the feeling that reviewer was as expert a bread-maker as one could be! My wife loves baking, but I think even at two or three loaves a week for the next five years, she's not going to have that reviewer's expertise to make those mid-cycle decisions. Actually, if my wife is accustomed to this machine, then I think those decisions might be made before the process even begins, knowing how the machine operates. That said, I think the reviewer was probably correct for upper-echelon bread chefs, and those with that kind of experience might want to go with a $300+ machine.
For the price, which was just under $100 at the time of my purchase, my wife and I are thrilled with what we've gotten back. We're both convinced that the convection oven aspect of the machine only adds to the thoroughness of the baking. She reports that the crusts come out exactly how you want them to, and I know that's important to her! And the bread is scrumptious. The only thing I wish it would do is cut the bread, too!
In summation, we're very satisfied with this purchase, and most of my satisfaction comes from my wife's happiness with it. The Cuisinart CBK-200 may be $30 or so more than other bread makers, but with that investment, you get repeated satisfaction that those dollars were very, very well spent.
I am an experienced bread baker (with and without machines) and this is my third bread machine. It kneads better than others I have had BY FAR. This machine makes excellent bread, but there is one big problem. You cannot cancel mid-cycle to start a different process if you like. As an experienced baker, I like to tweak my loaves by using various different risings, etc., but I can't do that with this machine because once you start a cycle you are committed. Even if you turn the blasted thing off, it does not reset. Other machines allow more flexibility for experienced bakers. This machine does come with an excellent cookbook, and seems easy to operate. I can't explain the negative reviews, except to say perhaps they got a defective machine. This one does not budge on the counter like other machines I've had, either. I have used the dough cycle and have baked in the machine - each time with excellent results. I do recommend that those who are having trouble make sure they are using the proper flour and yeast - see King Arthur Flour company web site for lots of info!
I spent many hours reading the reviews on the Cuisinart, the Breadman and the Zoji. I was hesitant to buy this machine because of all the negativity, but in the end I wanted 1)the low carb cycle, 2)the beep to remove paddle, 3)the horizontal loaf, 4)the jam cycle, 4) the pause option, 5)the power failure backup and 6)I really like the convection fan idea. I bought the machine at Amazon knowing their exchange policy was good, and waited before sending the warranty card.
Now I have 4 weeks of busy holiday baking to report and the results are wonderful! I am so happy! I love being able to remove the paddle and lose that hole. I can only assume that Cuisinart's quality control has not been up to par and that I was lucky enough to get a one of a good batch.
There have been some disappointments. The LowCarb cycle was a total failure with my own recipes and the Cuisinart recipes didn't meet MY definition of low carb. However my own recipes (from Dana Carpender's 500 Low Carb Recipes)come out perfectly on the whole wheat light or medium settings. The Pumpernickel was to-die-for.
I also use the Jam setting frequently to make sugar-free jam and cranberry sauce. The first batch was a hit as far as taste and consistency of the sauce, but a disaster in terms of cleaning up the machine afterwards. Cranberries had flown all over in the first 10 minutes or so and burned on the heating elements. The second time, I covered the pan with a 10 inch square hot pad of silicone able to withstand 550 degrees, held in place by the handle. It worked perfectly. I leave it on until the second phase when the paddle goes more slowly and berries aren't flying anymore.
I was also helped enormously by the Bread Machine Magic books, which recommend checking on the bread at the early stages and adding more flour or liquid as needed to get a nice loaf. I have used this several times, and it has definitely reduced my failures to zero.
I'm looking forward to trying the artisan bread cycles, and to many more loaves of Pumpernickel and Whole Wheat low carb bread.
I have heard no clunking noises, had no burned bread. I would give it 5 stars after 6 months of trouble free operation. - Gluten Free Bread - Bread Baking - Gluten Free - Cuisinart Bread Machine - Bread - Cuisinart'
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