Customer Reviews

Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker

5 star:		(141)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(50)
1 star:		(96)

 

 

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.

I've had this machine for about a year now. The learning curve has been gradual but steady. I think that the negative reviews here stem from people having unrealistic expectations. This is not the sort of machine where you put in the ingredients, walk away and come back for a perfect loaf every time. As this is the only breadmaker I have owned, I cannot say if there are other machines that perform ideally. I do know that the user needs to PAY ATTENTION to what is happening with the Cuisinart breadmaker.

1st--mixing: a quick check with a spatula 5-10 minutes into the first knead cycle is advisable. (Yes, it is quite noisy when kneading).

2nd--dough consistency: towards the middle of the first knead cycle check the dough. The ratio of liquid to flour is always variable when making bread. In most recipes I have to add flour to get a stiff enough dough. If you cannot knead the dough by hand, it will not make good bread, I don't care if you have followed the recipe to the milligram.

3rd--take out the paddle when you hear the appropriate beep, if you can. This will give you a nicer loaf. At this point I often like to coat the dough with rolled oats, oat bran or wheat bran before I put it back in for the last rise and the baking.

4th--check how much the loaf has risen before the baking cycle starts. If it has not risen enough, press pause, it will continue to rise "off the clock" for about 15 minutes. Repeat as necessary. There is a chart with timings for every segment of every setting in the booklet.

5th--the crust: look and smell towards the end of the baking cycle (this will be the final countdown on the timer) and take your loaf out BEFORE the crust gets too dark. I never use the "dark" setting, only "medium" and "light." This breadmaker does bake very hot, and recipes with lots of sugar do poorly. The recipe for banana bread is a disaster, so don't try it. I imagine the other recipes for sweetbreads are equally useless.

Finally, it is advisable that you make sure everything is right before you press start--loaf size, crust, cycle, etc., because the machine cannot be reset. You have to leave it unplugged for about a half hour before it "forgets" what it has been told to do. This flaw annoys me. There should be a reset button. Also, I wish I could program my own settings instead of just using the factory presets when I know, for example, that I need a longer 3rd rise on a certain recipe.

These days I am experimenting with the order of adding the ingredients. The manufacturer advises liquid, then salt, then flour, then yeast. Lately I have been doing it this way: adding yeast and liquid, including WARM water, and leaving it for 5-10 minutes in the machine to get the leavening process get well underway, then flour, and then salt. Loaves seem to rise better this way.

In conclusion, I am generally happy with the bread I make with the help of the Cuisinart breadmaker. I would advise potential users who have no experience with making bread by hand to try it a few times. You will see that it is an art more than it is a science, that it's all about adding more flour or liquid to get the right consistency, that it's about seeing how your dough is rising TODAY, and so on. Knowing breadmaking on that most basic level will show the user that putting the ingredients into the machine and not paying any more attention to it until the final beep is a risky proposition. Perhaps other machines produce more consistent results with less attention on the part of the user. I am skeptical about this myself but encourage others to continue the search for their "perfect" machine if the Cuisinart seems more trouble than it's worth.

I have used many bread makers from different manufacturers over the years, with the most significant improvement's being the addition of special cycles for lower gluten breads. As I usually make rye, whole wheat, and pumpernickel loaves, this has resulted in much more predictable and higher quality results.

My penultimate machine was a Williams-Sonoma branded model, made by Salton(Breadman), and until its motor died after two years service, it never produced anything even reminiscent of a dud! I figured I had gotten my money's worth, but I did contact the retailer from whom I had bought the product.

Williams-Sonoma now only carries the Cuisinart which they cheerfully exchanged for free. I accepted it with trepidation, having read the many consistently negative reviews posted on this forum with reference to the Cuisinart.

Although the Cuisinart has essentially the same size/configuration of the pan and paddle, and relatively similar cycle times and sequences as the WS, the loaves came out consistently somewhat flattened and suboptimally risen, although the texture wasn't bad. Although I did not experience the "burning" that has been commented upon in multiple reviews, I did find that the crust was somewhat thicker and brittle in consistency. It was sort of a cross between a Dutch crunch crust and shoe leather! I think this must relate to the temperature at which the unit operates, in association with the unit's convection effect which increases the effective baking temperature at any given setting, since the reflectivity of the pan is identical with the WS. My impression is that the thermostat is set too high in these machines, and, unfortunately is not adjustable in the standard baking cycles.

With respect to the rising problem, I noticed that in addition to the loaves' not rising as high as desired in the final phase, that there was some disturbing contraction of the loaves when the baking heat was applied; exactly the opposite of the "oven spring" that is anticipated in ordinary baking. This suggested to me that the gluten was not sufficiently developed in the kneading process. I did not find that changing the crust control through the range of light through dark made any significant difference in terms of the negatives of this machine's output.

Please note that the comparison of the two machines was made with identical recipes and ingredients, with multiple trials.

I returned the Cuisinart to Williams-Sonoma, and bought another Breadman 2500BC from Amazon, which, to my delight, has allowed me to pick up where I left off, now turning out beautiful rye loaves.

The Cuisinart does not allow custom programming in the way the WS/Breadman does, so that there is no convenient way to build compensatory rise time into an already longer cycle than the Breadman(which, incidentally, has a shorter first rise).

In summary, I think my experience with the Cuisinart breadmaker is that those who ignore history are destined to repeat it! Please pass this one up in favor of better alternatives.

I've had a bread machine already when I had purchased this one. My reason for buying this one was that my husband had recently been diagnosed with a Gluten allergy and he is one major bread lover. It's very hard to find gluten free items by us in the local stores. So I buy my gluten free flours and baking supplies mostly from Amazon.

But this machine works excellent. It has many features and functions and it browns better and makes a better texture loaf than my Welbuilt brand. What really prompted me to purchase this was the price (cheap considering the options) but for the gluten option. Gluten free bread is impossible to make in a standard bread machine unless it has a gluten free option.

This machine makes a perfect loaf time after time. And the shape of the loaf is more attractive-it's horizontal shaped. It looks more like a traditional loaf. And if you wish when the machine prompts you with a quick series of 6 beeps, you can pause it and reach in to take out the paddle and resume the machine. You then will not have to fight with getting that darn paddle out of your baked bread-I had always hated that!!

If your in the market for a bread machine, this one is a must have! You will not go wrong if you purchase this one.

I had been thinking of buying a bread machine for a while, I did a lot of research on the internet. I read all kinds of reviews and came to a conclusion that the Ziroushi (probably spelled wrong) was the best, but cost over $200. I was shopping one day and came across a Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker for only $99. Also it was brushed stainless steel, more attractive in my kitchen. The manual is very easy to read and understand. The machine is beautiful. I couldnt believe how easy it was to make my first loaf of Honey Whole Wheat Bread. Also, the machine is very quiet, other machines I read reviews of the machine being very noisy during the knead cycle, not this one. There are convient beeps to let you know when to add nuts or raisins, also another set of beeps if you want to remove the paddle, so there wont be an unsightly hole in the bottom. The pan is non-stick so the bread comes out very easy. The bread was so delicious that it was gone within 1 hour.

I am really disappointed to see so many bad reviews for this machine. It is without doubt one of the most unattractive appliances I own, but it produces the best quality machine baked bread I have ever produced.

With over 10 years of experience with bread makers, and having owned Panasonic, Sunbeam, and the "Z" brand machines, I can report that the Cuisinart beats them all. It does require some supervision to ensure that the dough mixes completely - a careful scooping of any flour in the corners of the tin early in the mixing cycle is all that is required, but the rising and baking programs are perfectly timed.

While it is possible that some of the negative experiences may have been due to faulty machines, I know from experience that many buyers expect these machines to be totally automatic (hands off) and totally silent (this machine is about average in this regard - the Panasonic is a stealth machine). In reality however no bread machine is very forgiving, and inconsistent measuring of ingredients usually results in "hockey puck" loaves.

It is also interesting that a number of the things that other reviewers list as faults, are merely misunderstandings of the way in which it operates. For example, the red "mix-ins" light is meant to come on at power up - pressing the button next to it turns it off if you don't need to add raisins etc. It is not faulty simply because you can't turn it off after the cycle starts - most machines lock the initial settings after the cycle kicks off.

Buy one of these machines, take the time to read the manual, measure carefully, and prepare for wonderful fresh baked bread.

This is my third bread machine, the first one from Cuisinart.

I bought it last night and made my first loaf this morning. I baked a French bread from the included book. This bread was far and away the best I have ever made in any machine.

I set the crust to medium but it turned out a little lighter than I expected, but it was perfect. Crispy and a little chewy. The consistency of the bread was excellent! It took a bit longer to prepare and cook than my other machines but produced a better result.

I did notice that if the interior container is not fully seated in the machine, it makes a considerable amount of noise and does not mix properly. This may be the reason that other reviewers were not happy with the machine.

I found it easy to use. This time I read and followed the directions from the beginning, something that I don't usually do with a new toy but, since I also read the other posted reviews; I wanted to give the machine a fair test.

I mourned the death, after five years of excellent service, of my lovely little "Just for Dinner" West Bend bread machine that baked a loaf in only 45 minutes. When gifted with the Cuisinart, I eyed it warily. Too complicated, takes too long, etc. Well, I have been pleasantly surprised. This machine has baked many loaves, usually in an hour when I set it on "Last Minute Loaf." It also makes a lovely Artisan Bread and has produced lots of pizza dough (in ten minutes when set on Last Minute Loaf and removed at the beep). I like the feature that tells you when to remove the paddle, so the loaf doesn't have a big hole. I still haven't exhausted all the possibilites. I do wish the booklet had been put together all the same side up. It's hard enough to flip thru pages without having to keep turning it around. All in all, I am very happy with my new Cuisinart Convection Automatic Bread Maker.