From: karen@angelo.amd.com (Karen Black)
Newsgroups: rec.food.sourdough
Subject: Re: Bread machines
Date: 19 Aug 92 08:34:04 GMT
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Santa Clara, CA

Bread machines come in a variety of sizes and shapes, with prices to
match.  Here's some of the makes:

Welbilt
DAK
Panasonic/National
Maxim
Hitachi
Zojirushi
Sanyo

In general, these fall into three categories:

Large (1.5 lb) cylindrical loaves (DAK and Welbilt ABM100 are identical)
Small (1 lb) cylindrical loaves (Welbilt ABM600)
Small (1 lb) rectangular loaves (all other models)

(Note that the weights given above are for the largest size white 
bread recipe.  Whole wheat or non-wheat flours don't rise as much,
so more flour can be used.  DAK claims that its machine will make up to
a 4.5 lb loaf "compared to those [other machines'] wimpy 1-lb 
loaves" but this is comparing a whole-wheat bread with fruits, nuts,
or other additions to a plain white bread; the fact is that the
same recipe scaled to the smaller machines would weigh 3 lbs.  And
be very heavy!) [By the way, DAK seems to have gone bankrupt, so don't
count on getting a bread machine there...]

I looked at as many machines as I could (the best selection I found
in the Bay Area was at Macy's), borrowed a friend's DAK, and finally
bought a Panasonic (used).  Most machines have a timer (12-14 hrs
max), several loaf types (such as white, French, or whole wheat), and 
a way to adjust the brownness of the crust.  A "turbo" setting bakes
a loaf in 2.5-3 hours, while the regular setting takes about 4.

Advantages:

DAK: large loaf, cookbook, 30-day money back guarantee, smallest
     footprint, low price ($129 or $149 for "turbo" model, 
     which bakes a loaf in 3 hours).

Welbilt ABM100: same as DAK, but priced higher ($170-190).  Available
     at most department stores, Sears & Montgomery Wards.

Welbilt ABM600: lowest price ($99-140).  The whole pan lifts 
     out, so you don't spill flour on the heating element.  Available 
     almost everywhere home appliances are sold.
  
Panasonic/National: medium price ($270 "special"), pan lifts out,
     separate yeast container for more-consistant results, dough paddle/
     kneader folds flat against bottom of pan, so loaf comes out more 
     easily. The basic model (mine) gives good results; a fancier one 
     has whole wheat and turbo options.  Comes with measuring cup and
     spoon, and a place to put them!  (Smart move, Matsushita!)

Maxim: timer, lowest price for a rectangular-loaf machine ($199 special),
     turbo, whole wheat/rye setting.  

Zojirushi: pan lifts out, has the most options (including jam and cake),
     highest price ($350 list)

Hitachi: pan lifts out, turbo, rice steamer, medium price.

Sanyo: bare-bones machine like Maxim without whole wheat/rye setting.

Disadvantages:

DAK and ABM100: bread pan must be assembled and filled in the machine
     (pan has mixing paddle in bottom and kneading hook on side), 
     circular slices of loaf don't fit many toasters, machine "walks"
     during kneading, glass top loses heat, and cause sunken top
     on bread.  [I've since heard that the newer version does not
     have the mixing hook.]

All others: machine takes up a lot of space (about 1'x2'x1.5').

(If you're looking to "buy American," you're out of luck; as far as I
can tell, these are all made in Japan.  I've heard that the Japanese
love gimmickry like this, and after seeing all the household junk
on sale last Christmas, I'm inclined to agree.  Americans, too :-)

If you're interested in a bread machine, I suggest the first thing you
do is buy _Bread Machine Cookbook_, by Donna Rathnell German.  It has
lots of recipes, all scaled to and tested in real bread machines.  It
also has a table relating the various models' features.  I've found
it invaluable.

The second thing I suggest is that you talk to your friends, and watch 
the classified ads for a while.  These things can cost as much as a 
major appliance, and often are bought, used for a while and then 
shoved in a closet and forgotten.  (I was surprised to find that
several of my aquaintances had bread machines they weren't using --
all DAK-types though, so I wasn't interested.)

If you've still got questions, email me.

Karen Black