Customer Reviews

West Bend 41077 Just For Dinner Breadmaker

5 star:		(276)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

This was an impulse buy - after reading all of the positive reviews here I decided to give it a try. When it arrived I was surprised at how small the bread pan was and was considering sending it back. But then I did 2 things - I looked at other larger breadmakers and realized they take anywhere from 3-5 hours to make a loaf of bread (this one takes 45 minutes total, including the knead cycle) and I made a loaf of bread and discovered it actually can serve 2-4 people with a total of around 6 decent size slices. My first loaf came out a little small and dense so I read the troubleshooting guide and decided it was too little water, so next time during the mix cycle i knew what the dough looked like when it was too dry, added 1 tablespoon of water and the bread came out perfect. This breadmaker doesnt have a timer feature but since it is done in 45 minutes, you dont need one! Other things I like: prep is easy - about 5 minutes (basic bread requires bread flour, salt, sugar, milk or water, butter or oil and yeast), the pan is non stick and very easy to clean and since the loaf is not big you don't end up pigging out on bread. My only 2 very minor complaints: the bread gets cooked around the kneading blade and can get stuck to the bread making it a little hard to remove the bread from the pan and if you lose power, accidentally unplug it or shut it off during the rise or bake cycle the bread machine has no memory so it starts over from the knead cycle (the book does tell you how to finish baking in a regular oven though and this shouldnt happen too often). Overall, I'm very satisfied.

This machine does an absolutely fantastic job at doing what it does--making a very small loaf of bread. For those reviewers who were unhappy that it makes such a small loaf--that's what it does!

My experience with other breadmakers was so bad (soggy loaves, burned loaves, tough loaves...) that I actually borrowed this unit from a friend to ensure I liked it before I ordered one of my own. But, this machine made such great bread that I was sold. Here is what it does really well:

1) Makes an attractive small loaf that is just the right size for dinner or sandwiches for two people. We get about 6 slices from each loaf.

2) Produces a superior crust that is much better than other bread machines: crisp and flavorful.

3) Creates a loaf in only 45 minutes (instead of 3-4 hours like other machines) and quietly, too!

4) The owner's manual is very clear and has lots of tips and great recipes! (The Black Pepper and Onion Bread is especially good!) The recipes use such interesting ingredients as sun-dried tomatoes or cheese, and one uses prepared onion dip!

5) It doesn't seem to be as persnickety as other bread machines. Every loaf I've made has turned out great without fine-tuning yeast or liquid measurements.

Here is what it doesn't do:

1) Not a lot of fancy features for doing a lot of specialty breads.

2) No timer (but if you start it up when you start cooking dinner, who needs one?)

I personally really like the small size loaf. I can't tell you how much bread I've thrown out in my lifetime, because a standard loaf from the supermarket is just too big for my two-person family and molds before we use half of it. This machine makes a loaf that is just big enough for a single use with no leftovers (OK, sometimes we have a couple of slices left over for breakfast the next morning) and that is just fine with me!

Because each loaf is used for a single meal, I can have lots of variety because I can make a new loaf every day if I want to. So, yesterday we had "Black Pepper and Onion Bread," this morning we had "Cinnamon Honey Wheat Bread" and tomorrow we're having "Tomato Basil Bread."

This unit is much smaller than traditional bread makers, so it fits on my kitchen counter too. And I think the oval shape is kind of cute!

Q: How do they make a loaf in only 45 minutes?
A: They use lots of yeast :)

I have had this bread machine for almost a year, and I've made many loaves of bread with it. Here's my review, based on my experience.

When I first saw this product, my main question was, "How many recipes does it come with?" The instruction book has 28 recipes (including two for white bread). I haven't made them all yet, but my favorites are: Black Pepper, Egg, French, Honey Cinnamon Wheat, Honey Oatmeal, Italian Herb, Potato Bacon, and Sunflower Oat Wheat.

Ingredients can be tricky: I've had good luck with Gold Medal bread flour, no-so-good luck with another brand. I've also had good luck with both Fleischmann's and SAF bread machine yeast.

Your results may vary; be prepared to experiment. West Bend has a toll-free hot-line you can call for advice, something I found helpful.

Speaking of yeast, I've also learned that if you buy it in a jar, you should refrigerate it after opening, or the yeast can lose its potency. I now buy my yeast in packets. There's no storage problem -- you use one entire packet per loaf of bread (I _told_ you they use lots of yeast :)

I love coming home from work and starting a loaf of bread that is ready to eat in the time it takes to prepare the meal. And there is nothing like the smell of fresh bread to warm up a kitchen. The hardest part is waiting for the bread to cool!

Recommended.

West Bend should definitely change the name of this wonderful bread maker to "Not Just for Dinner Anymore". My husband and I use ours most often to make warm breakfast bread, yummy! The aroma makes our house smell wonderful. Add some fruit and breakfast is served. Leftover bread makes great sandwiches, too. The machine comes with easy to read instructions and a good assortment of recipes. It only takes about 55 minutes from start to finish including kneading and baking time to make a loaf. I measure carefully as recommended and have not had a flop in the three months we have had our machine. The Raisin and the Honey/Oatmeal breads are our favorites so far but we haven't as yet tried even half the recipes. We no longer buy store bread at all, I make two or three loaves every couple weeks and that is plenty for the two of us. If you like great homemade bread without much fuss, we highly recommend this breadmaker to you.

Simply put, this breadmaker is easy to use and has directions that are simple to follow. The instructions are easy and very imformative, and the construction while simple, is less likely to break down as a more complicated bread maker may. You can make an almost endless variety of breads on this machine, and I recommend it especially for someone living alone. If there is any one complaint it is that the mixer is difficult to remove for cleaning after use... and dont have anyone wash the pan but yourself, for fear of having the lubricant for the ball bearings removed.

Buy it without reservation UNLESS: you want/need larger loaves of bread AND/OR you plan to feed more than three people on a regular basis using loaves from this unit. You might also consider the appetites of the group you will most often be making bread for -- for the three of us the loaf size is perfect: two slices each, and the slices were normal-size. We were each able to have two good slices of the loaf. All gone, no temptation and no bread going stale. Consider keeping the little jewel in good condition by using a surge protector (recommended on first page, upper-left-hand corner of my Instruction Manual). ALSO: SOME GOOD OVEN MITTS AND/OR POTHOLDERS FOR WHEN YOU TAKE OUT THE BREAD.
This is the FIRST time I could ever compliment an Instruction Manual, yes, it's that good at explaining not only how to use the product but why bread-making is a science. EASE OF USE: I had no problems using the unit, despite being a somewhat clumsy individual. EASY-TO-UNDERSTAND: I found myself doing the first batch of "Old-Fashioned White Bread" in an astonished daze. Of course I wanted to take full credit but knew it was the unit itself combined with a great Instruction Manual. It is unbelievably easy and the ONLY thing that caused me concern was my trying to measure exactly (as is recommended). The loaf came out PERFECT: it had the old-time coarse yet fluffy texture and we like the yeast taste (used fast-rising yeast)and all of us were satisfied. Can't emphasize enough how easy this unit is to use and what a great product it turns out. ALSO: like the size of the unit, not too hard to find a place to store and very lightweight, like the design, no big mess and easy-to-clean. If you like varieties of bread, twenty-seven recipes are included (listed below). ALSO: MANUAL GIVES INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO USE BREAD MACHINE MIXES AS WELL (simple adjustments). (Here are the recipes included in the Instruction Manual, technically each recipe name ends with "...Bread": "Old-Fashioned White", "Classic Rye", "Italian Herb", "French", "Dill", "Garlic", "Potato Bacon", "Swiss Jalapeno", "Tomato Basil Rye", "Egg", "Cheese", "Black Pepper", "Herb", "Honey Oatmeal", "Feta Cheese", "Taco Cheddar", "French Onion", "Sour Cream and Chive", "Raisin", "Onion", "Wheat", "Cottage Dill", "Buttermilk Wheat", "Cracked Wheat", "Sunflower Oat Wheat", "Wheat'n Vegetable" and "Honey Cinnamon Wheat".)

I know it shouldn't, but I am still surprised when a product performs better than I expect. We ordered this little bread machine when our old Hitachi started making bricks instead of bread. We looked at several models and of course read the reviews on them. We liked the idea of a smaller loaf and the short (45 min) cycle time, so we decided to give this machine a try. Yep, it's a little loaf, but it's perfect every time and in the time advertised. It will make 3-4 sandwich's, or enough toast for two or three. It took a day or so to get use to the small size of the bread but now that we have used it for a couple days we can't imagine going back to a full size machine.
We have been using the basic bread recipe that came with the machine and it has come out perfect everytime. The manual is very good and the directions are simple and easy to understand. We were eating the first loaf of bread within an hour and a half of opening the package. We made two more loaves that evening for lunch's the next day. Now we are getting in the habit of fresh hot bread with dinner every evening. No more 41/2 hours for a loaf of bread. Can't say enough good things about this machine. West Bend hit a home run with this little jewel. We are going to get a couple more for gifts. This is the perfect machine for those of us who no longer have a house full of kids.
Update...Nov 2004....Can't say how many loaves of bread this little machine has cranked out in the last two years, but I do know I can't remember when we last bought a loaf of regular bread. This little guy still is making perfect loaves every time, (unless I forget to put the yeast in) and we have expanded our use. Raisin/cinnamon bread is the latest craze around here, you can add up to a 1/4 cup of extra raisin's to the book recipe and it will still come out great. Bananna bread is another popular one.
Still love this machine and highly recommend it.
UPDATE JAN 2007..It's still making perfect loaves every time. If you are on a low carb diet, the cracked wheat bread recipe is for you. Still highly recommend this machine.

After reading the mixed reviews on this nifty kitchen tool, I was a little hesitant. However I bought it anyway since I really dislike store-bought bread, and I am glad I did.

I started with the basic recipe, and like others, I did notice the yeasty flavor. It bothered me a little, and I considered returning the machine. But I really wanted to be free from buying bread at the store, so I decided to try some of the ideas mentioned in these reviews.

The one thing that made all the difference is proofing the yeast before putting everything in the bread maker. Once I started doing that I turned out tasty loaves every time. Proofing the yeast is simple and quick to do. I start by heating the liquid for the bread to 100 - 110 degrees F in a small bowl in the microwave, then I dump in the yeast and a portion of the sweetener. That lets the yeast get started while I measure out the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

By the time the dry ingredients are ready (3-5 mins), the yeast is nice and bubbly. Then I pour the yeast/water mixture into the bread machine pan, dump in the butter and dry ingredients, level it, and press start. It takes one extra step, but it is well worth it for the great loaf this creates. And this method allows me to use either type of yeast - fast rising or active dry.

Recently I began experimenting with some of the other ideas posted here. For example, I use the wheat setting no matter what type of bread I am making. I also have started adding vital wheat gluten to my wheat bread, which seems to help with the height.

One thing I am just starting to experiment with is the idea of running through the knead and rise cycles twice before cooking. The idea being that this is simliar to the more traditional method of making bread. What I do is listen for the beeps at the end of the rise cycle, just before the cooking phase starts. At that point I turn off the breadmaker and unplug it for a second, then plug it back in and start it over again. It takes about 20 minutes longer this way, but my bread does seem to be slightly lighter. Next time I am going to stop the bread machine longer to allow the dough to rise more before I restart the machine.

You may be wondering why I don't just buy a traditional bread machine if I'm going to all the trouble of fussing with the extra rise cycle. I have had bad experiences with traditional machines. E.g., having to throw out bread made of a lot of expensive ingredients when it flopped in those other machines. Plus the loaves were way too big for my small household. What's worse, I had to wait 3-4 hours to discover it was a flop. I hate to waste money, but even worse, I hate to waste time. In contrast, the West Bend is very forgiving. As long as I proof the yeast, I get a great loaf of bread every time, so that even this non-cook feels comfortable experimenting. Besides, I don't mind waiting an extra 22-30 minutes, but I would mind waiting for 3-4 hours. And now I never have to throw out old bread from a large, expensive loaf. Thank you West Bend!

How can I express how much I LOVE this little machine?! It showed up in my gold box one day, and after reading all the reviews, I just had to have it (especially with the gold box price and free shipping!). I have to say that even if this is not gold box priced, it is worth every penny! Everything everyone said is true! The day I got it we had hot french bread with dinner that night! I have had it for a week, and have made that wonderful french bread recipe 3 times! It is foolproof! You dump in all the ingredients, and it turns out perfect every single time! I have even been less careful with measurements once, and it still came out perfect! After it's done baking I dump the loaf out of the container and let it cool about 15 minutes before slicing so it gets a nice crust on the outside! Delicious! I'm very excited to try the wheat bread, the raisin bread, the herb bread...and many of the other 30 recipes it came with.
The fact that it's only 45 minutes from start to finish, all the ingredients can be kept on hand all the time, and it turns out perfect every single time makes this a machine that I will continue to use often!
Who in the world does not like hot, homemade bread with dinner?!?!?!

I've had a few different bread machines, but found that I hardly used them after a while, because by the time I thought about making bread, I didn't want to wait 3 or 4 hours for it to be ready. Also, there are only two of us at home, so a lot of bread got wasted, even when making a 1-lb loaf. I was considering a regular-size machine with a "quick" cycle when I ran across this little gem. I love it! I can wake up, throw some ingredients into it, take a shower and get dressed, and have fresh bread for breakfast! Or start bread when I start dinner, and have fresh bread just when I'm setting the table. While I must admit that bread texture suffers a little from the fact that there is only one short rising period, the tradeoff of having fresh bread almost immediately is worth it to me. Also, the instruction book is really good, and the recipes work! This little baby is a winner.