I'm old enough to remember when bread machines were brand new. The brand selections were few and you couldn't buy anything for less than $150. But they've evolved quite a bit in the last 20 years or so.
Now you can get some very highly-rated bread machines in the $45.00-$85.00 range, and the bread machines that are around now do much more than they used to, most coming with a wide span of settings, like these:
- 12 settings include: French, gluten-free, quick bread, sweet, 1.5-lb express, 2-lb express, dough, jam, cake, whole grain and bake.
- Includes 2 kneading paddles.
- Light, medium or dark crust.
- Dishwasher safe bread pan and paddles.
- Audible reminder for fruits and nuts.
- Cool touch body, non-slip feet.
- Includes recipe booklet with Bob's Mill Custom Gluten-Free Recipes.
While this one comes with free in-store pickup, if you raise your order to $50.00, you'll score free shipping, so just as a suggestion, you might want to add
some King Arthur Flour to your order.
- Up to a 2-pound loaf capacity, ideal for larger families
- 9 bread settings and 3 crust settings for variety of breads, dough and jams
- 13-hour programmable baking timer allows for fresh breads anytime
- Large LCD display - easily indicates each stage of the bread making process
- Expressbake® setting bakes bread in under an hour

Last up is on the higher end price-wise, because it can accommodate a larger loaf (up to 3 lbs.). The
Black & Decker Deluxe 3 lb. Breadmaker (model #B6000C) is on Amazon for $85.30 with free shipping. It got
4.3 out of 5 stars over 50 customer reviews. And may I say (even though I don't own this bread machine), that as a small-appliance kitchen brand, Black & Decker has really been impressing me these last few years, with the high-quality and relatively low prices of their appliances.
- Bakes 1.5, 2 or 3lb loaves
- 10 pre-programmed settings
- Traditional horizontal loaf shape
- 13 Hour bake delay setting
- Crust control setting with automatic temperature adjustment for regular or dark crust
So how do you decide which breadmaker you'd like? Decide how big of a bread loaf you'd like to make. Compare the features, see which ones appeal to you the most. Decide which brand you trust the most. Next (and I think this is the most important one) skim through the reviews and read the best ones and the worst ones. I always disregard bad reviews where the item came damaged or broken in its box, because I feel like that is probably not the fault of the sender, and both Amazon and Walmart are very good about assuming responsibility for damage. But read the raves and the pans and let that guide you. Finally. decide how much money you'd like to spend. All other things being equal, I always like to see if the least expensive model will suit me first.
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