Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Machine

Our old 2 lb Black and Decker finally died after 10 years (yes 10) and 100’s of loaves. We liked the look of the Cuisinart and thought the convection feature would be interesting. We have only had it for a month (approximately 6 to 7 loaves) and so far so good, with a few caveats.

Right out of the box, the first impression you get is that they couldn’t get it out of the factory and on to the truck fast enough; that or the quality inspector had gone for lunch. During the manufacturing process, I’m assuming that to protect the stainless they cover it with a white plastic film. I spent the better part of half an hour removing all the little pieces they forgot, knowing that if I didn’t, they would likely be baked on during the first cycle. 3 of the 8 screws that hold the baking pan to the frame were stripped in their holes—not a good sign. It was also, well, dirty—not garden dirt dirty, but that ubiquitous factory grime that you would assume should have be removed before they shipped.

Now to the performance. Loads of program features, only a few of which I expect we will use, but still nice to have. Easy enough to program, however, after only a month, the select program key is already starting to stick, and if you overshoot your cycle, you have to scroll through all 14…again. You can turn off the add ingredients beeper, but not the remove paddle and end of cycle beeper—this eliminates any overnight baking as the beeper is LOUD. The convection fan does produce nice uniform loaves, but it is a bit noisy, and if some flour has been tossed out of the pan during mixing the fan tends to blow the flour into the element so you can get a burn flour smell during baking.

Being reminded to remove the paddle before baking was a brilliant idea. No more loaves with a huge hole in the middle. One suggestion, after you remove the paddle, but before you return the dough, give the little shaft a quick squirt with vegetable oil—makes removing the loaf from the pan after baking much easier.

The baking pan I fear may be the bread machines Achilles heel. It is made from very thin steel, which dents quite easily. I have also found that the pan is very difficult to remove from the machine at the end of the baking cycle (it must expand in the brackets). I fear that it won’t be long before the loop handle breaks away from the pan.

The manual is thorough—the minute by minute breakdown of the baking cycle for every cycle is very handy. Lots of recipes, however we tend to use the recipes in “Canadian Bread Machine Baking”, by Roxanne McQuilkin”—great book

One feature that is lacking is a preheat cycle (whole wheat being the exception). Our previous B&D preheated everything so you didn’t need to remember to heat your water/milk/egg, etc., like I do now. This really becomes an issue with the delayed start. If I prepare the ingredients in the morning before work (to have a loaf ready when I come home in the evening), by the time the mixing/proofing cycle begins all the ingredients will be quite cool, resulting in unhappy yeast.

It’s still early in the game, so I will post new information as time, and loaves, march on.

Update-March 21-2008. More than two years on it's still working. A few things though, I have noticed that the shaft in the base of the pan is showing increasing amounts of side to side play. As well the snap ring that holds the shaft is place is beginning to corrode. Although the manual says the pan is dishwasher safe, I never have. I always hand wash and avoid getting the exterior of the shaft assembly wet. The inside of a dishwasher is a really nasty place; extreme temperature and lots of chlorine. I'm sure if I had used the dishwasher it would not have lasted this long. If it gets worse, I'm still under warranty, so I will give them a call--perhaps the beginning of a new adventure...

One other thing, I too was frustrated with inconsistent results, until I made a fundamental change to how I measured my ingredients. I bought a good digital scale and now measure my flour an other dry ingredients by weight. What a difference! Every loaf is now exactly consistent. As a rule of thumb, 1 cup of all purpose flour is 140 grams while 1 cup of whole wheat is 130 grams.


Update December 17, 2008.  Well, as I guessed might happen, the shaft has finally given away and has decided that it no longer wants anything to do with the pan.  I'm not surprised, the last dozen or so loaves had nasty rust stains were the loaf gets baked around the paddle.  I called Cuisinart: I need to ship the pan to them ($10) and include a cheque for $5 to cover return postage.  So for $15 I get a new pan...I will keep you posted.

Update Feb 2009.  It took two months for the new pan to arrive, but it did come.  BTW, the old pan died 6 days before the end of three year warranty!  I got it to them just in time...