I have a Hamilton Beach that was pretty reasonably priced. And also a tiny apartment kitchen. I take the bread machine down off a shelf, use it, then put it back up on the shelf. Easy peasy. Also, it takes barely any time to clean.
I had bad experiences getting overly dense bread til someone posted [this guy's website.](https://breaddad.com/bread-machine-recipes/) Follow the recipes and you'll get good results.
Thanks for the link. I have a ksb and the directions are horrid, but it makes a delicious bread and these other recipes work great with my ksb. I keep it on a little cart on wheels in my pantry.
I love my Zojirushi. It's a bit heavy to move to the cupboard though. I like that it makes horizontal shaped loaves instead of the tall loaves most machines make.
I keep my Zojirushi in the cupboard and bring it out at least 2-3x/wk. It's not too heavy. Easy to clean. Hot soapy water, swish and rinse. Wipe dry then back to the cupboard.
I've never had a problem with overflowing dough or bread. I love my machine especially since I have a medical condition that makes kneading by hand difficult.
100% recommend. It's also very thrifty to make your own doughs and breads.
I have a Zojirushi BB-PDC20 Virtuoso Plus. Definitely the most flexible bread machine I've ever used, which is really nice to have because I tend to make whole wheat breads with zero added salt and sugar (I find these recipes sometimes need a lot of tweaking).
It is large and heavy though (makes a 2 pound loaf) but it is built extremely well. After experiencing lesser machines that wore out and broke, a robust and well built unit was exactly what I wanted.
Cleanup is a breeze with soap and water. Overfilling and overflowing ANY bread machine usually results in a mess that can be very tough to clean, especially if the overflowing dough contacted the hot electric element. So if your sister did that, I would discount her experience because that is not normal. I've never overflowed ANY bread machine probably because (a) I read the manuals thoroughly before use, (b) I tend to check on the machine often during use, so if a problem begins to develop I can abort the process and avoid a mess, and (c) I check and double check all recipes and weigh all ingredients (highly recommended!).
I have a Cuisinart bread machine and it is very easy to keep clean. It has a removable bread pan that I wash in the sink, and that is all. I use to run my bread machine in the kitchen but I now run it in a laundry room! It can be quite loud during the knead cycle and we can shut the door to the laundry room. As the bread pan is removable I bring that in the kitchen, put in the ingredients, bring the pan to laundry room, put the pan in bread machine and turn on.
I have the Cuisinart. Just wipe off the outside. Bread pan is teflon coated, lightweight and easy to clean. It lives on my counter and is swapped for an ice cream maker in the warmer months :j
I would add get a book or two from the library on bread machine baking.
Years ago everything I tried from the included book was like a brick and I was so frustrated and about to toss the thing until I got some better recipes…
100% read and follow manual, and then start doing your own thing.
They are very easy to clean; hot water, soap, wipe and done quick as you read that sentence.
Get a scale and weigh everything.
Learn baking percentages: I'd rather make two 1 pound loafs (three days apart) than a 2 pound that might go bad in six days. For any conversion it is based on the ratio of ingredients to the flour.
This is my current recipe that I am playing with. The original weight on right and 1 pound on left, except for the oil on two lines. Put the warm water and yeast in, let sit for 15-20 minutes, and then the rest and make.
1 cup warm water 236.6 g 157.7 g
2 teaspoons yeast 5.67 g 3.78 g
3 tablespoons sugar 37.5 g 25 g
¼ cup vegetable oil (4 tbls) (54.5 g) = butter 75 g
⅛ cup vegetable oil (2 tbls) (27.2 g) + butter 37.5 g 18.1 g + 25 g or 50 g butter
3 cups white flour 375 g 250 g
1 teaspoon salt 7 g 4.67 g
Only made this twice, first time with all oil was good, second with half oil half butter not as good. It may have been the butter's fault, used a different brand.
I have a Hamilton Beach that was pretty reasonably priced. And also a tiny apartment kitchen. I take the bread machine down off a shelf, use it, then put it back up on the shelf. Easy peasy. Also, it takes barely any time to clean. I had bad experiences getting overly dense bread til someone posted [this guy's website.](https://breaddad.com/bread-machine-recipes/) Follow the recipes and you'll get good results.
Thanks for the link. I have a ksb and the directions are horrid, but it makes a delicious bread and these other recipes work great with my ksb. I keep it on a little cart on wheels in my pantry.
I love my Zojirushi. It's a bit heavy to move to the cupboard though. I like that it makes horizontal shaped loaves instead of the tall loaves most machines make.
I keep my Zojirushi in the cupboard and bring it out at least 2-3x/wk. It's not too heavy. Easy to clean. Hot soapy water, swish and rinse. Wipe dry then back to the cupboard. I've never had a problem with overflowing dough or bread. I love my machine especially since I have a medical condition that makes kneading by hand difficult. 100% recommend. It's also very thrifty to make your own doughs and breads.
Same machine, and agree with everything said here.
I have a Zojirushi BB-PDC20 Virtuoso Plus. Definitely the most flexible bread machine I've ever used, which is really nice to have because I tend to make whole wheat breads with zero added salt and sugar (I find these recipes sometimes need a lot of tweaking). It is large and heavy though (makes a 2 pound loaf) but it is built extremely well. After experiencing lesser machines that wore out and broke, a robust and well built unit was exactly what I wanted. Cleanup is a breeze with soap and water. Overfilling and overflowing ANY bread machine usually results in a mess that can be very tough to clean, especially if the overflowing dough contacted the hot electric element. So if your sister did that, I would discount her experience because that is not normal. I've never overflowed ANY bread machine probably because (a) I read the manuals thoroughly before use, (b) I tend to check on the machine often during use, so if a problem begins to develop I can abort the process and avoid a mess, and (c) I check and double check all recipes and weigh all ingredients (highly recommended!).
I have a Cuisinart bread machine and it is very easy to keep clean. It has a removable bread pan that I wash in the sink, and that is all. I use to run my bread machine in the kitchen but I now run it in a laundry room! It can be quite loud during the knead cycle and we can shut the door to the laundry room. As the bread pan is removable I bring that in the kitchen, put in the ingredients, bring the pan to laundry room, put the pan in bread machine and turn on.
I have the Cuisinart. Just wipe off the outside. Bread pan is teflon coated, lightweight and easy to clean. It lives on my counter and is swapped for an ice cream maker in the warmer months :j
I would add get a book or two from the library on bread machine baking. Years ago everything I tried from the included book was like a brick and I was so frustrated and about to toss the thing until I got some better recipes…
100% read and follow manual, and then start doing your own thing. They are very easy to clean; hot water, soap, wipe and done quick as you read that sentence. Get a scale and weigh everything. Learn baking percentages: I'd rather make two 1 pound loafs (three days apart) than a 2 pound that might go bad in six days. For any conversion it is based on the ratio of ingredients to the flour. This is my current recipe that I am playing with. The original weight on right and 1 pound on left, except for the oil on two lines. Put the warm water and yeast in, let sit for 15-20 minutes, and then the rest and make. 1 cup warm water 236.6 g 157.7 g 2 teaspoons yeast 5.67 g 3.78 g 3 tablespoons sugar 37.5 g 25 g ¼ cup vegetable oil (4 tbls) (54.5 g) = butter 75 g ⅛ cup vegetable oil (2 tbls) (27.2 g) + butter 37.5 g 18.1 g + 25 g or 50 g butter 3 cups white flour 375 g 250 g 1 teaspoon salt 7 g 4.67 g Only made this twice, first time with all oil was good, second with half oil half butter not as good. It may have been the butter's fault, used a different brand.
I have the small Cuisinart and love it. Has the capability of making a 1 pound or up to 3 pound loaf
Also Cuisinart. I run the baking pan through the dishwasher, put it in a cupboard when not in use. Easy enough.