Updated April 2011

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Best Bread Machines for Gluten-Free Homemade Bread

Bette Hagman’s book “The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread” was published before bread machines with gluten-free programs were on the market. However, Hagman has found that you can still make excellent gluten-free bread in a bread maker without this built-in setting. In her book, she has a small Q&A section on bread machines where she lists several things you’ll want to look for in a machine that you’ll be using to make gluten-free bread. I decided to do a little research on some of the newer bread machines on the market, keeping these points (and a few others) in mind. Below I list nine bread machines that meet some or most of these important features. Obviously this list may not be complete and it was difficult to get information on all the features of all the breadmakers. Use your best judgement. Don’t miss the explanations of these features (and why they are important to gluten-free bread making) at the bottom of this page

Breadman BK2000B Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Gluten-Free Setting – Yes Programmable – Not sure Pause Feature – Not sure Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – Yes Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – Not sure

Breadman TR875 Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – Yes Programmable – No Pause Feature – Not sure Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – Yes (for wheat program only)

Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – Yes (also able to advance to next cycle after program has begun) Pause Feature – No Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes (via programmable feature) Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – Yes Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – Yes

Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – No Pause Feature – Not sure Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – No Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – Not that I can tell Pause Feature – No Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – Yes Programmable – No Pause Feature – Yes (also conveniently signals before last rise to remove paddle) Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – Yes

Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – No Pause Feature – No Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise™ Electronic Dual-Blade Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – Yes Pause Feature – Yes Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double paddle – Yes Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

West Bend 41200 Stainless Bread Maker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – No Pause Feature – Yes Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

Oster 5838 ExpressBake Breadmaker

Amazon Reviews Official Site Product Manual Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – No Pause Feature – No Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – No Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – No

T-Fal OW5005002 Emerilware Bread-and-Baguette Maker

Amazon Reviews Gluten-Free Setting – No Programmable – Not that I can tell Pause Feature – No Dough Mode – Yes Bake Only Mode – Yes Rapid Bake Mode – Yes Double Paddle – Yes Keep Warm Setting – Yes Warms Liquids Before Mixing – Not sure

Feature Explanations

Gluten-Free Setting – I was able to identify two bread machines on the market that have a separate gluten-free mode. I have listed these first. These modes eliminates the extra rise and knead cycles from the program.

Programmable – A lot of the bread machines call themselves “programmable.” But generally this just means that the machine has a number of programs to choose from. When Hagman talks about “programmable,” she instead means a machine that will essentially let you determine your own program. Of most importance is the ability to skip the second and sometimes third kneading and/or rising cycles, as gluten-free bread does not react well to over-kneading or over-rising. If the bread rises too much, it may eventually collapse. I only found one bread machine that is programmable in this sense. It even lets you adjust the program after it has already begun, which is useful if you see that your bread has risen enough and you want to go straight to baking.

Pause feature – This is helpful because it will let you remove the paddle if necessary to prevent over-kneading (though it can still be a messy experience). I wasn’t always able to tell from the specs if the machine had a pause feature (in some instances, the manual just said to hold the start/stop button down for 1 second to reset the machine, but didn’t say what would happen if you just pressed the button normally). So for these, I just put “not sure” next to “pause feature.”

Dough Mode – All of the bread machines below have a dough mode. This is handy in case you want to have more control over the rising and baking process yourself.

Bake Only Mode – A bake only mode is handy because, if the machine is not programmable, you can theoretically stop the process when you need to and reprogram to start baking. At least, this seems sensible to me. I don’t have a bread machine with this option but have often thought it would be handy!

Rapid Bake Mode – My bread machine (the Breadman TR900s) is not programmable and does not have a gluten-free mode, a pause mode, or a bake only mode. However, I have still been able to make excellent gluten-free bread by using the rapid setting. On my machine, it essentially just reduces the rise time, but this is the setting the manufacturer (upon calling them) suggested I use for gluten-free breads. So far I have been 95% successful using this mode, so for me this has been a very important feature.

Double Paddle – Helps ensure the ingredients get mixed in fully and the dough gets beaten thoroughly. Note: A large paddle is good too, but the manuals/specs don’t seem to mention the size of their paddle.

Hopefully this information has been useful to you. Here is a good site dedicated to gluten free bread machine news and reviews.