Kitchen

[house_cat]

I quickly checked on a couple of those suggested. I viewed the Amazon reviews.

It concerns me that several people said the machines were "very noisy" and that they "jumped around the counter".  Is this the case?

[Sooner]

Well, I have had them make a little noise (you can sometimes hear the bread slapping around) but nothing excessive that I can remember.  Also, they do rock a little sometimes, but I've never had a real problem with that either.  I never sit one right on the edge of the counter, but that's a precaution I think you would take with anything like that where movement inside is concerned.

Like I said, I've had Hitache, Bread Man and two Zo's and no issues with noise or movement.  I would think however, if you have a very stiff dough and maybe have too little water it would maybe be a problem.

Until you learn your machine's actions and know more about the different flours you might have on hand (protein content higher you have more glueten and stiffer dough like bread flour gives, etc.) it pays to measure exactly and then look in the machine after it has kneaded for a couple of minutes to see if you need to add a little more water or flour.  A bread machine can knead a softer dough that you would do by hand, which sometimes makes the loaf lighter than one you might hand make.

I know that when I use King Arthur flour I measure a light fluffy cup, maybe not full to the brim exactly because it results in a stiffer dough.  My ZO machines like a tiny bit less KA bread flour than other brands.  So knowing that, now I hardly ever look in when they are going and everything is a OK!

We would NOT want to be without our bread machine! 

[denisemb]

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@house_cat wrote:

I quickly checked on a couple of those suggested. I viewed the Amazon reviews.

It concerns me that several people said the machines were "very noisy" and that they "jumped around the counter".  Is this the case?

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I have an Oster 2 lb. Express Breadmaker and had it walk off the counter once, LOL.  Thankfully, it still works like a charm.

(I usually put it on the stovetop that has a very slight lip on the edge, but was using the stove that time.)

Noisy?  Maybe a bit when the bread is kneading, but that's not a significant time in the whole scheme of things.  JMHO

[Nightowlz]

I'm still reading some reviews. Have not decided which one to buy yet. For those that have a Zo is it true you can only make a 2 lb loaf with the 2 more expensive machines? I want to be able to make the size I want. I also read the life expectancy on the Zo is 3 yrs.??? I thought what??? I figured for the price it would last a lot longer then that. How long have you been using your Zo? The machine that just quit working is a WestBend. 

[Nightowlz]

DH took the machine apart & found the belt lying loose. He put the belt back on & put the machine back together. Making dough for some bread right now. It seems to be working just fine. No more knocking like it was doing. We will see how long it lasts. The receipt was in the manual that came with it. The machine is over 17 yrs old.

[tkins]

Hi house_cat,

I have had my current Breadman Ultimate Programmable Bread Machine since 2001 and it is a bit noisy in the beginning with the kneading cycle(s), but not much more than say a hand mixer or food processor.  It has only danced off the counter one time and luckily all that happened was a small crack, works good as new.  Now when I use it, I put it on a non slip shelf liner the kind that is bumpy and has kind of open weave (got it at the wmart place).  No more dancing at all.  Hope this helps.

tkins 

[Sooner]

We have had both zo's way longer than 3 years.  The mini one gets used a LOT more because of it's size.  I keep it on the counter all the time and it is a snap to make a loaf.  

The large one will make a 1 1/2 pound loaf and does a good job of that as well as the 2 lb.  We have found that we can slice the bread then freeze in bags and take out a slice at a time and it is great especially for some quick toast.