Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Machine

I used to own a Hitachi bread maker and basically ran it to destruction with nearly 700 pounds of flour. It s been a few years now without a bread machine and I had been feeling like I d like to have one again. I saw the Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Maker on sale at Kohl s for $99.00 and bought one.

It has the same basic stainless steel and black plastic styling of my Cuisinart coffee maker and Cuisinart ice cream maker so that was a plus to begin with. It has 16 different pre-programmed functions for making various types of bread, dough, cake and jam. The recipe book included has over 100 bread, dough/pizza dough, sweet cake and jam choices. I especially like the ability to bake the bread with three different crust settings. Light, Medium, and Dark. Being it is a convection oven with a circulation fan, the crusts really turn out like a specialty bakery had made the bread.

There are the usual settings you would expect to see on a bread machine such as a 12-hour delayed start. There is an audible tone that is given when it s time to add your mix-ins when making loaves such as raisin bread. There is even a tone that will allow you to remove the paddle if you are fussy and don t want a hole baked in the bottom of your loaf.

One very important feature is the Power Failure Backup. If the machine accidentally gets unplugged or if you experience a power failure the machine will hold everything in memory for up to 15 minutes. So, if the power gets interrupted and restored within 15 minutes the loaf will be made as normal.

For those that want more healthy choices there are Low Carb and Gluten-Free preset menu options and recipes.

An exclusive feature of the Cuisinart machine is Artisan Dough. A special menu option takes basic dough through several long, slow cool rises for chewier textures and rustic crusts.

The default settings are for a two pound loaf of white bread with medium crust. So, if I put the ingredients in the pan for that particular loaf all I have to do it push the Start button and walk away. Recipes are included for 1, 1.5, and 2 pound loaves so the loaf size can be adjusted according to need. If, for some reason, you want to add a little bit more baking time after the baking cycle has completed you can program it for number 16 on the menu and that will give you 10 minutes additional baking time. I think that will come in handy for the time that the loaf just doesn t look brown enough. Of course you could add 10 minutes and then only use a few of the minutes as needed.

When the baking cycle completes itself the bread maker automatically switches to a keep warm cycle that lasts for 60 minutes. So, you don t have to be there precisely at the time the loaf is done in order to still have nice crispy crust.

So far I ve only used the bread maker for several 2 pound loaves of white bread baked with the medium crust. I have been using what I consider the finest bread flour on the face of the earth which is Dakota Maid flour. It s produced here in Grand Forks, ND in the North Dakota State Mill. Great bakeries all over the country know this flour as the finest available anywhere. The loaves have been turning out perfectly and are everything I expected them to be. My latest loaf was baked with the dark crust setting and I think I will continue that way from now on. A nice golden crispy crust on the outside and a nice fine even grain moist and tender bread inside. It just doesn t get any better than that.

When measuring the ingredients, be very sure to measure them exactly for best results. That means to scrape the ingredient level with the cup or spoon. This will make certain that the loaf doesn t over raise or under raise.

I have not experienced some of the things a few of the other reviewers mentioned such as having the baking pan pop out of the drive socket or having difficulty latching the pan in place. I did notice that it is important to make sure the pan is aligned properly so that the spring steel holders on either side will latch and hold the pan properly. It is possible to have one end latch and the other be out of alignment. That may be the reason why they other reviewers had problems.

I don t think the machine is unusually noisy and I don t think that it heats up enough on the exterior to make any difference at all to me.

Overall, I really like this new bread machine and I look forward to some years of good easy to make home made bread again. I recommend it.