Best 5 Bread Makers of 2025, Tested and Reviewed by WIRED Experts

[littlemissmartypants]

Last edited Sat Feb 8, 2025, 02:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Emily Peck
Gear
Feb 6, 2025 8:10 AM

Best 5 Bread Makers of 2025, Tested and Reviewed by WIRED Experts

Swap store-bought bread for a freshly baked homemade loaf with these convenient machines.

Keen to enjoy homemade bread but put off by all the kneading by hand, flouring, and yeast-starting that comes with it? Then using one of our tested bread makers that does the hard graft for you—like the KBS Pro ($150) or Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus ($400)—may just be your ticket to carb heaven. A great way to liven up a club sandwich or add heart to a hot soup, homemade, unprocessed bread not only tastes great but can be easily made in one of the latest bread makers in just a few simple steps.

With a good bread maker, you can produce a generously sized 1-pound basic tin loaf in around four hours from start to finish, which is ideal for slicing up and popping in one of our recommended toasters. Bread makers come with various settings for bread styles beyond your standard loaf too—with French, gluten-free, whole wheat, and sweet options such as banana and date loaf all just a “set and forget it until it’s ready” step away. Some bread machines also have settings for making pizza and pasta dough or fruit jam, which is great if you’re feeling even more adventurous in the kitchen.

“Time and temperature are essential in bread baking, and consistency is one of the biggest variances we face as bakers,” Peter Edris, head baker at New York’s artisan Frenchette Bakery, told WIRED when we asked him how he creates the perfect loaf. “If you want to make good bread, then you need to have the right equipment for the job—invest in a good scale, a good thermometer, and time everything.” Without a team of professional bakery staff on hand, we embraced the shortcut solution to domestic bliss and called in a range of the latest bread makers to test. Here we’ve highlighted our favorite designs, included tips on what to consider before you buy, and shared expert advice on how to get the best from your home bakes.
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https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-bread-makers/

❤️pants

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. About three decades ago I got

a bread machine and just loved it. I finally wore it out, bought another one which I somehow could never get to work right, so I stopped making bread. I did love setting it to bake overnight so we could wake up to fresh bread. I stopped doing that because the smell of bread baking would wake me up an hour or more before I wanted to get up.

[usonian]

2. Hi LMSP

I removed everything after the question mark to get this and it works.

https://www.wired.com/gallery/best-bread-makers/

The rest is some kind of magic referral or tracking code which is undecipherable to ordinary mortals.

Just a tip from a techie.

[littlemissmartypants]

3. I thought about you when I was...

Posting that ish but I am burning through reading today and didn't take the time. Thanks so much.



❤️

[spinbaby]

4. I have a bread machine

I keep it in my magical closet of kitchen gadgets. It comes out from time to time when I want to mix and proof a single loaf, which is a task it excels at. I never bake in it, though, because i don’t like the way it bakes. Here’s a loaf I just made for brunch this morning.

[Postal Grunt]

6. That's a good loking loaf!

I like the braiding work that you did on that one.

[El Mimbreno]

8. Oh Yum!...

Nice!!
We use our bread machine frequently, but have never actually baked a loaf in it. Guess it's a dough machine? Our latest go-to recipe is an overnight sourdough sandwich loaf.

[Postal Grunt]

5. Bread machines are great for convenience

Bread machines are great for convenience but if you are more interested in flavor, there are alternatives.One of the first places any promising bread baker should check out is the King Arthur Flour website. They have recipes for the casual and novice bakers along with recipes for the more experienced. You want sourdough recipes? They've got lots and the information to back up those recipes. If you don't want to go with sourdough and prefer dry yeast, they've got the information and instructions for bread, pizza crusts, and pastries as well. There are also bread baking forums that are helpful to all bakers. "The Perfect Loaf" and "The Fresh Loaf" are worth a serious look. Your local library is another resource especially if gives you access to the "World Cat", an internet based lending service that can help you find books that your local may not have. Go for it!

[True Dough]

7. Checking in here for

a picture of my mom. Apparently she didn't make the list.




I'll tell ya, I can vouch for her bread-making skills! But she has long since departed, so I understand the list omitting her.