West Bend 2 Lb. Breadmaker

Great value for the money!
I've owned, and worn out, several bread machines over the years since I use them almost daily. This West Bend was a great deal! It's quiet but takes a little more room on the counter than I'd like it to. The paddle only turns one way, in the Cuisinart it would go one way and then reverse itself, over and over. However, this doesn't seem to be a problem. The pan only has one paddle, where some of the new ones have two. The settings for a one pound or one and a half pound loaf are the same, the default setting is for the 2 lb. size.

It makes a beautiful loaf of bread, nice and even across the top. The pan is very deep so a recipe for a 1 1/2 pound recipe doesn't even come close to the top. The crust is perfect set at medium.

The instructions say to put the pan in the machine empty, lock it in place and then fill it with the ingredients. I fill it on the counter and then put it in the machine with all the ingredients in it. That way I don't take the chance...

Great Bread Maker
I've had it for two weeks, and I am surprised how much I love this machine. It comes with a good instructions manual, which you don't find sometimes with the less expensive machines. I fell in love with my first loaf of bread.

The book contains a number of recipes, but I used my recipe that I had been using in my Breadman Bread Machine. I like the crumb a lot better. It was more like that of an Artisan bread with holes, and it had a nice, chewy crust. I like that the crumb is not as dense as it is with my old machine. The bread was so good, that I would eat a slice with nothing on it. I can't wait to try making a loaf with buttermilk.

If you have never owned a bread maker, try this one. It is easy to use and quieter than my old one. I have only made a light-whole wheat bread, and I'm anxious to try Italian and French loaves.

You will not be disappointed.

November 25, 2012 Update:

Well, it's been more than 18...

Didn't work for me
I bought this to replace my Breadman Pro breadmaker. I bake all of our bread daily and use my breadmakers to death routinely, usually baking 1 - 2 loaves per day. I was looking for one that was quieter than the Breadman but would do its thing without much fiddling. (I'm not one for tinkering. My goal is to set it up the night before and wake to fresh bread in the morning.)

The bread pan isn't a standard horizontal bread pan. It's much deeper and feels a little more cheaply made than the Toastmaster and Breadman bread pans I've had. The nice thing about its depth though, is that it doesn't fling flour all around the inside of the breadmaker. Also, it locks into place by its base, not by clips on the side. It seemed to have a sturdier connection that way. I don't know if it would hold up to extensive use, since I didn't end up keeping it.

It was very quiet, including the beeps. That's a double edged sword because though it's nice that it isn't intrusive,...

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