Look, this is not the best bread machine. That’s the Breville. But for a bread maker that was a third the price of our top pick (at publish time) the Oster ExpressBake did a decent job—we didn’t get evenly risen loaves, but we did get evenly browned ones with a nice crumb. This one has an automatic fruit-and-nut dispenser for add-ins, an unexpected upgrade in the budget category. It also has settings for 1.5- (small) or 2-lb. (large) loaves and the interface is simple and easy to navigate. It has a number of presets, though some are different than the Breville. For example, the Oster has one for French bread but doesn’t have a gluten-free setting.
What we didn’t like about the Oster ExperssBake Bread Maker
The loaves the Oster produced are the upright, cylindrical shape that dominated my childhood bread maker experiences. The pan and the handle are both noticeably flimsy—the nonstick lining feels thin, likely to scratch off easily. There’s also no pre-heat function, so you’ll need to be extra certain that your ingredients are at the right temperature when you add them.
How we tested the bread makers
We baked bread! Sure, you can also make jam and pasta dough, or use a bread maker for dough prep—kneading and rising in the machine, and then shaping the bread yourself and baking it in your oven. But a bread maker’s main purpose is to quickly and effortlessly make a loaf of bread. In each machine we made two 2-lb. loaves of bread using the same recipe, with weighed ingredients. The first time we let the machines do their thing uninterrupted, simply evaluating the finished loaves. The second time, we added nuts and seeds to the dough and paused to evaluate the progress at each phase, removing the paddle and reshaping the dough. This was our attempt to use the bread machine as more of a tool to enhance rather than automate our bread.
While testing, we kept the following criteria in mind:
How did the bread come out?
Was it attractively domed? Was it evenly browned? Did it have a nice crumb? We knew these were not crusty, long-rise, naturally leavened loaves—the goal here was something that could make a nice PB&J sandwich or piece of toast.
How was the ease of use?
Was the control panel intuitive and easy to navigate? If anything was unclear, was the user manual a quick and helpful resource?
How flexible were its settings?
Could we customize kneading, rising, and baking times? Was there a delay start option? Were there setting options for different-size loaves of bread and different darkness settings for crust color?
Did it feel sturdy and durable?
Was the pan easy to snap in and out of the machine, even with oven mitts on? Did the nonstick lining seem thick and durable? Note that while some machines may say these pans are dishwasher-safe, as they are nonstick, we recommend hand-washing, as we do with nonstick pans, to extend their lives.
Other bread makers we tried
Specs
- Dimensions: 10.5″ x 18″ x 12.88″
- Weight: 24 lbs
- Material: Stainless steel
- Power: 700 watts
- Capacity: 2-pound loaves
- Presets: multigrain, whole wheat, rapid whole wheat, gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free, and vegan.
- Warranty: Six months