The first thing I must establish in my Breville bread maker review is that the Breville Custom Loaf bread maker is one of the most expensive bread makers.
But it’s also one of the smartest. It’s really fantastic. I think you’ll see that for yourself thanks to my Breville bread maker review.
Even so, there are cheaper options. There’s a great cheap Oster bread maker and also the medium-priced Cuisinart machine.
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Breville Bread Maker Review
I hope I don’t end up drooling as I talk about its features. I’m always a sucker for expensive technology and I’m totally attracted by machines that have so many settings and features that make you dream how it would be to have them.
At some point, reality sets in and you buy the medium-priced product because you know it’s the right thing to do and it’s what you can afford. That’s what I did when I ended up buying my Panasonic bread maker.
I must also mention that Breville has also made one of the best countertop ovens for pizza, which makes this Custom Loaf bread machine seem really cheap.
Accessories
Some of the following accessories are common to all bread makers but others not so much, like the collapsible paddle or the automatic fruit and nut dispenser:
- double-ended measuring spoon, one end it’s a teaspoon and the other one is a tablespoon
- measuring cup for liquid and dry ingredients but for the dry ingredients you can use a digital scale for increased measurement precision
- collapsible kneading paddle and fixed kneading paddle, the latter being only for the jam setting
- nonstick bread pan
- viewing window
- automatic fruit and nut dispenser
- really modern and nice looking control panel with LCD screen, if you have no patience with technology and figuring it out, then this is not the bread maker for you
- user manual with instructions on how to use the Breville bread maker and it also includes 46 recipes that work with the 14 programmed settings
- and 1 year warranty but the life span of this unit is going to be much longer
Loaf Size
There are 4 loaf sizes for this Breville bread maker:
- 1 pound
- 1.5 pounds
- 2 pounds
- and 2.5 pounds
Not a lot of machines offer the option of choosing from 4 loaf sizes. It’s more frequent to choose from 3 sizes. This Breville bread maker covers everything.
The loaves are sort of horizontal. They’re not exactly vertical but not exactly horizontal, either because it’s a bit taller than what we would buy in a supermarket. I would label the shape of the loaf as somewhere in between but it leans more towards being horizontal.
However, as the user manual also lets you know, the most delicious loaves will be those of 2 and 2.5 pounds.
If you’re all by yourself, the 1 pound is perfect. And the 1.5-pound loaf can be perfect for 2 people.
There’s also the option of choosing from 3 crusts: light, medium, and dark.
The Control Panel
The control panel is really amazing.
It’s no wonder that the Breville Custom Loaf bread maker is probably the smartest bread machine on the market.
It takes a bit of time getting used to it and all its functions.
Alongside the usual ones, like the Start/Pause button and the delay start button used for the 13-hour delay timer, there are some unusual ones:
- weight/temp button for converting the imperial temp & weight (degrees Fahrenheit and lbs) to metric units (degrees Celsius and kg)
- beeper button, whose purpose is to mute the sound alerts
- light button for illuminating the baking chamber
- the LCD screen for this Breville bread maker is backlit
- modify button for modifying the default temperature and time for the following phases: preheat, knead, rise, punch-down, bake, and keep warm
- and the select push-dial button, which actually has two separate functions: if you turn to scroll, it scrolls through the 14 preprogrammed settings/3 crust colors/4 loaf sizes and if you push it, the select function is activated
It’s an awesome control panel, isn’t it?
I find it to be incredible.
There’s also a Pause feature and the user manual is going to offer you some tips and recipes for this particular function, showing that only our imagination can limit its usage.
Additional Features
Wow, the kneading paddle collapses right before the bake phase so that it minimizes the hole at the base of the loaf.
I’m not that far along in my Breville bread maker review but I’m already drooling.
Collapsible kneading paddle
The collapsible kneading paddle is the cherry on top.
You can let it to automatically collapse or you can remove it altogether if you want an even smaller hole at the base of the loaf.
For someone who eats only toast with everything that big hole at the base of the loaf can sometimes be a bit annoying.
Unfortunately, the collapsible paddle is not so collapsible on every occasion. Sometimes it sticks in the loaf and it becomes a regular paddle.
That’s a major con to be mentioned in my Breville bread maker review.
Anyway, there’s a solution. Read below to discover the alternative.
If you want to remove the kneading paddle altogether, the instructions go something like this:
Before the “rise 3” phase, the “remove paddle” alert will sound.
When that happens, press the Start/Pause button, take your oven mitts, remove the baking pan from the machine, set it on a wire rack, remove the dough and that’s it.
Just remember to have the oven mitts on because the paddle will be hot.
After that, place the round ball shaped dough in the middle of the pan and press the Start/Pause button again.
It’s similar to the Cuisinart bread machine.
There’s also a second paddle, a fixed one, which is included among accessories, mainly for the jam setting.
But it can be used with the custom setting, too.
Nut & fruit dispenser
Well, as the Panasonic SD-YD250 has a yeast dispenser, this one has a nuts/fruits/seeds/chocolate chips etc. dispenser.
You can add a lot of things in that dispenser, herbs included.
No more adding them when the machine beeps.
I really find it to be a great function and a truly helpful one.
It’s really convenient for someone who likes raisins bread or with any other fruits or seeds or nuts or whatever you might think of adding to the dough.
With all the other machines, you lift up the lid and pour these additional ingredients when you hear the beeps.
Just remember: don’t overfill the nut dispenser because it won’t work.
Power failure protection
If the power supply is interrupted, the Power Failure Protection feature kicks in and when the power supply is back on, the machine will automatically resume where it left off. It doesn’t start all over again.
The power must be restored within 60 minutes.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme has a similar feature only that the power must be back on in 10 minutes.
In the case of the Cuisinart CBK 100 you get 15 minutes.
One thing to add in my Breville bread maker review is that this machine is really quiet.
That’s a good thing, especially if you have a smaller home or you live in an apartment and you don’t want to hear the whole process, especially the kneading phase.
The 14 Preprogrammed Settings for the Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker
1. Custom
The setting that offers you complete freedom.
You get to choose which one of the two paddles to use, you can modify the recommended temperature and the times for all the phases.
Under this setting, you can record 9 of your favorite recipes.
You can transform 9 recipes into cycles.
2. Basic
It works with the collapsible kneading paddle.
It’s the setting used for making white bread, whole wheat, and whole grain, any recipe that contains more than 50% flour.
3. Basic rapid
It’s used for the same recipes as the above menu, with the difference that the total time is reduced by an hour.
Don’t forget to use instant yeast in the recipes for this cycle.
4. Whole wheat
For loves that contain more than 50% whole wheat, whole grain, barley or rye.
5. Whole wheat rapid
6. Gluten free
The gluten-free setting definitely makes this model one of the best gluten-free bread makers.
The setting for recipes based on rice/tapioca/potato/buckwheat/arrowroot flours + any other types of flour free of gluten.
Only the 2 and the 2.5 pounds sizes are available.
7. Crusty loaf
It’s a cycle for breads low in fat & sugar, with crisp crust and chewy inner crumb.
These are also known as French, European, Continental, Artisan, Peasant or Country breads.
It takes longer than the basic program.
8. Sweet
For loaves high in sugar, fats, and protein.
9. Yeast free
For those made with baking powder/soda instead of yeast thus, the rise phase is entirely skipped.
10. Dough-bread
For dinner rolls, round loaves, braids, twists, bread sticks, and bagels.
11. Dough-pizza
For pizza crusts and focaccia.
12. Dough-pasta
You can even make your own pasta dough if you’re not into buying Italian pasta brands.
13. Bake only
For cakes and pastry.
14. Jam
Jam is not exactly the most used setting on any bread machine but I’m pretty sure that there are plenty of people who enjoy this cycle as well.
Use active dry yeast
It’s recommended using active dry yeast and bread flour, just like it’s the case with any other bread maker.
For the rapid cycle, you should use instant yeast because the whole process is shortened by an hour.
I’m detailing more on the ingredients for bread makers in my post on how to use a bread maker, in case you want to know more about that.
Is there something that this machine cannot do, that I should mention in my Breville bread maker review?
It seems not because it also has a gluten-free cycle.
Those with gluten-free intolerance or those who choose not to eat food that has gluten as an ingredient, can safely use this fantastic kitchen appliance.
Let the Breville Custom Loaf bread maker rest for 1 hour before using it for a second time in a row.
Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker Recipes
It goes without saying that the recipes book is fantastic. It has 46 recipes.
Under the basic menu, you find the following delicious bread recipes: rosemary olive oil, potato sour cream and chives, bread for stuffing, PB&J bread, cheddar cheese and jalapeño corn bread, milk&honey, and oatmeal.
The whole wheat setting has the following suggestions: honey whole wheat cinnamon raisin, sunflower&flax seed, multigrain, bran bread, pumpernickel, and rye.
The good news is that the gluten-free menu comes with 3 recipes: banana walnut, mock pumpernickel, and chestnut. It’s not much but it’s still something.
Under the crusty loaf cycle, you will find plenty suggestions, like: French bread, olive and roasted garlic, classic sourdough, rustic prosciutto and provolone, sundried tomato & feta cheese, pesto & pine nut.
The dough cycle is the really impressive one for me with recipes like: Corinna’s brioche, hamburger buns, cinnamon buns, pizza dough, focaccia dough, whole wheat pasta dough, egg pasta dough, egg free semolina pasta dough, and spinach pasta dough.
Well, I don’t know about you but I’m already hungry and really salivating right now.
These recipes sound fantastic and they’re so many.
The user manual has even nicely designed custom recipe charts, which are for you to fill with you personal recipes that are going to be memorized under the custom setting.
Those charts look lovely.
If you’re sure that you’re going to use it intensely, for making basic normal loaf, loaf with nuts and fruits, and all the other 40 something recipes are going to be something you want, then buy it.
There are shortcomings, like it happens with most all electronics, no matter what their purpose is. The biggest shortcoming is the collapsible kneading paddle that sometimes sticks in the loaf.
Other than that, what made me write this Breville bread maker review is that I truly believe that the Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker it’s an exciting machine, it’s a good choice for those who can afford it.
