There aren’t many Oster bread makers on the market, in fact they’re only two models from this manufacturer.
And, to be honest, I really like and totally recommend only one of those two.
If you’re going to read my review on those two, you’re going to discover that there exists a much cheaper replacement for the second Oster machine in the form of the Hmilton Beach 29882.
Well,
It’s a common thing in the bread machines niche: most manufacturers only have 2-3 bread maker models among all the other kitchen appliances that they’re producing.
Oster Bread Makers: The Two Machines
The questions is,
What differentiates the Oster bread makers, one in particular Oster bread machine (the one I like and recommend), from all the others?
It’s a very obvious thing that it can be noticed immediately when you put all the best bread makers side by side: affordable price.
Better said, cheap price.
However,
I couldn’t possibly consider a product just because it’s cheap.
It has to be good, to perform reliably, and to endure the test of time.
Those conditions have indeed been met, let’s find out more.
1. Oster CKSTBRTW20 Bread Maker
The Oster CKSTBRTW20 is the cheapest best bread machine.
If you want a brand new kitchen appliance that does delicious good loaves every time, can also make very good dough, and even jam, but you don’t want to spend too much money on it, then you should check out the Oster CKSTBRTW20.
It’s not only cheap but also one of the lightest bread machines – it only weighs 8 pounds.
If you’re looking for a small bread machine but you want something a lot more expensive, you should check out the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf.
It can be easily stored away if you don’t have space in the kitchen.
For example,
If you only plan on using it for dough making from time to time, you might prefer oven baking over machine baking, then you can take it out when you need it and, in two hours, you can put it away again.
The shape prevents it from becoming unstable or moving around on the kitchen counter during the kneading phase.
- some might consider the design to be a con for this Oster bread machine but I like it – it’s completely white with clean lines, no weird shape or anything
- has glass viewing window
- comes with measuring cup and spoon, for dry ingredients it’s best to use a digital scale for perfect accuracy
- the control panel is incredibly simple and intuitive – it doesn’t get more basic than that – you don’t even need to read the user manual to understand how the control panel works but you still need to read it and pay attention to everything it says if you want successful loaves every time
- makes delicious loaves
- bakes horizontal loaves – some people are bothered by this unusual shape, it takes the shape of the baking pan – it’s not the usual round or rectangular shape that we’re used to
- very good dough
- you just add the ingredients and the machine does all the work from mixing ingredients to kneading and rising the dough to baking the dough
- it has a 13-hour delay timer – you add the ingredients now and the bread can be ready anytime withing that 13 hours time frame – you can add the ingredients in the pan in the evening, select the course, and, by using the Delay Time buttons, you get freshly baked bread/dough in the morning
- I wouldn’t advise it for recipes that involve eggs, milk, or butter
- there are 12 settings: basic, whole wheat, sweet, French, Expressbake 1.5 and Expressbake 2.0, quick for breads with no yeast, European, dough/pasta, bagel dough, jam, and bake
- they’re basic settings but cover everything one might want to do – there’s no gluten-free setting, you can still try making gluten free breads using a recipe for bread machines – some have succeeded
- I’m only surprised by the bagel dough setting
- under the Expressbake 1.5 and Expressbake 2.0 settings, the Oster CKSTBRTW20 can make and bake a basic white bread (1.5 pounds or 2 pounds) in 58 minutes, which is incredible if you think about it but it becomes less incredible because the result is not as delicious and the water needs to have a certain temperature so, you’re better off using the basic setting – these two cycles are not popular and I can definitely understand why
- 3 loaf sizes: 1 pound, 1.5 pounds, and 2 pounds – these 3 choices make it a perfect bread maker whether you are single or you have a large family
- 3 crust options: light, medium, and dark
- the recipes that come with the user manual are not that many, a few for each setting, but they’re a good starting point
- there are bread machine cookbooks if you want to explore more – like the The No-Fuss Bread Machine Cookbook by Michelle Anderson – the recipes have measurements for all the 3 bread sizes that the Oster CKSTBRTW20 has
2. Oster CKSTBR9050 Bread Maker
There are just a few things that set apart the Oster CKSTBR9050 from the first reviewed Oster bread maker just above.
Firstly,
The design is different but not good different – I like the look of the above one better. There’s a slightly smaller viewing window, too.
It’s just as light as the above Oster bread maker – the Oster CKSTBR9050 weighs only 8 pounds, too. This one can be just as easily stored away.
Secondly,
There’s an additional cycle.
The Oster CKSTBR9050 has a gluten-free setting.
Even so,
The Hamilton Beach 29882 is the best cheapest gluten-free bread machine.
In my opinion, it’s a better alternative to this Oster CKSTBR9050, but that’s just what I’m thinking.
Therefore,
Let’s see what more it has to offer.
- comes with measuring cup and spoon but use a digital scale for measuring flour, for every recipe it’s important to follow the measurements to precision
- when making other bread machine recipes from the Internet or cookbooks, you just have to remember one thing: add the ingredients in the order specified by the user manual (the rule is that the yeast doesn’t come in contact with the liquids)
- the order for the Oster bread makers is: liquid ingredients, dry ingredients, and last yeast
- 3 loaf sizes: 1, 1.5, and 2 pounds
- 3 crusts: light, medium, dark
- there are 13 settings: basic, French, whole wheat, sweet, quick, Express Bake 1.0 lb, Express Bake 1.5 lb, gluten free, dough, pasta dough, jam, bake, and cake
- the gluteen free loaves will be done in 2 hrs and 10 min, that’s really fast
- the pasta dough only takes 14 min, while the regular dough cycle will be complete in 1 hr and 30 min
- there’s only one gluten-free recipe in the user manual, you’ll definitely have to look for more if this is the setting that interests you – a good resource is the The Gluten-Free Bread Machine Cookbook by Jane Bonacci
So,
What do you think of these two Oster bread makers, are you thinking the same as me, that you prefer the Oster CKSTBRTW20 as the best Oster bread machine?
