Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker BBM800XL

The Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker BBM800XL is the ultimate tool for the baker who demands control and flexibility. While other machines offer a set-it-and-forget-it experience, the Breville invites tinkering. It features 13 pre-programmed settings for various bread types and, most impressively, 9 custom memory slots that allow users to save their own programs. Every aspect of the bread-making cycle can be adjusted, including kneading time, rise time, and baking temperature. This makes the Breville an exceptional choice for bakers in challenging environments, such as high altitudes or humid climates, where standard recipes often fail. The user interface, with its full LCD screen and intuitive dial, makes navigating these complex options surprisingly simple.

Two innovative features set the Breville apart from the competition. The first is the collapsible mixing paddle. Unlike standard paddles that remain upright during baking, leaving a large, ugly hole in the bottom of the loaf, the Breville's paddle automatically flattens itself against the bottom of the pan after the kneading and rising cycles are complete. This results in a virtually hole-free loaf. The second is the built-in fruit and nut dispenser. This compartment holds mix-ins and automatically releases them at the perfect moment during the kneading cycle. This eliminates the need to open the machine's lid to add ingredients, which can cause heat loss and affect the final result, and it allows for the use of the delay timer with recipes that include mix-ins.

Despite its impressive feature set, the Breville has some notable performance shortcomings. Its single bottom heating element, without a top element or convection fan, leads to uneven browning. In tests, loaves frequently had darker bottoms and paler tops and sides, with sporadic dark spots. The loaf shape also tends to be rustic and somewhat irregular, with folds and creases on the crust, lacking the clean, symmetrical dome of the Zojirushi. The interior texture can be inconsistent, with a mix of fine and large air bubbles. For its high price, the Breville's baking performance does not match the consistency of the Zojirushi, but for bakers who value customization above all else, it remains a uniquely powerful and versatile machine.