Dear All,
I have seen two requests for ABM info. in the Breadbaking list. My own
machine is failing, so I have done a little research. Here I present
some of what I've found.
Some Reviews:
http://www.sonic.net/webpub/bread-machine/breadmachine.html
http://www.sonic.net/webpub/bread-machine/reviews/comparison.html
http://members.iex.net/~dahasher/Bread_Machine.html
While interesting, I found that some of these reviews (especially
Consumer Reports) were out of date, and dealt with machines that are no
longer available. These reviews and the sites on which they reside can
serve as a springboard to go to the actual sites of any of the companies
in which you may be interested, and see the current product line.
Links to actual sites may be found at:
http://www.sonic.net/webpub/bread-machine/links.html
The Regal site:
http://www.regalware.com/breadmakers.html
The Breadman site:
http://www.breadman.com/
This is home to the fanciest, most expensive machine I could find. The
Breadman TR3000 has programable features, and seems like it is trying to
blow Zojirushi off the map. However, the loaf is vertical. The TR2200C
is horizontal and has many fine features and some programability, but
don't take my word, you must do your own comparison to the Zo and other
machines.
Panasonic, Westbend, and Zojirushi all have websites too--pretty
straightforward for a search engine to find.
Some letters I found from owners having problems suggested that the
Panasonics have "more" mechanical problems. For this reason, I am
rejecting Panasonic as my next machine.
Williams-Sonoma has a site but no explicit bread machine information.
They want to send a catalog rather than display it on line. I
understand that W-S machines are either made by Seiko or Zojirushi, but
could find no confirmation about which is true.
I could not locate a Seiko, or MK Seiko bread machine site.
I could not locate a Hitachi bread machine site.
I could not locate an Aroma bread machine site.
This suggests to me that service for these products might be difficult
to get.
The Oster machine I have been using has been merely OK, but it wears out
quickly with daily use. I've replaced it once and now, only a year
later, it is on its "last legs." It no longer bakes a full cycle. The
last time I replaced it because the paddle quit turning one day. I
could hear the motor, but the mechanism was broken. The Hamilton Beach
URL does not respond so I can't verify their site. I think the Oster
4812 machine is fine, but not for use as often as every other day. It
has a 2 year warranty but who wants to spend 3-4 months of down-time
every year, waiting for paperwork to finish and a new machine to be
shipped?
Here is a cool site for a Bread machine and Bread recipe web-ring. It
has a lot of product links and is a good starting point to find more
product (machine) reviews.
http://members.tripod.com/~wquinn/bread.html
I bake frequently, and lately I've been demanding more of my recipes and
my baking techniques. I believe my own next purchase will probably be
the Breadman TR3000 Ultimate Pro "Dream Machine." This will cost me
$229. plus taxes, shipping, and all the rest. It's programmable and it
appears to be a better value than the Zojirushi V-20...I will keep you
all advised.
I hope this letter and the URL's I've embedded will be of use to those
of you who are shopping for machines.
Regards,
Chris Olmstead