The Best Bread Machines for 2026: Zojirushi, Panasonic, Cuisinart and More
By Claire Whitmore. Last updated October 2026.
Disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links, including Amazon links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It doesn’t change what we recommend. Details are in our affiliate disclosure.
A bread machine is a small, self-contained oven with a pan and kneading paddles: add ingredients, choose a program, and a few hours later you have a warm loaf. The good ones also make pizza and pasta dough, jam and even cake, and a delay timer means you can wake up to fresh bread.
This guide is built from two independent test kitchens. Serious Eats tested 20 bread machines, baking white, cinnamon-raisin and rye loaves (more than 60 sandwich loaves in all) and scoring ease of use and cleanup. Good Housekeeping’s Kitchen Appliances Lab baked about 30 loaves across seven popular machines, including its own white bread recipe, a cranberry-walnut loaf and gluten-free recipes. We haven’t tested these machines ourselves.
Quick answer: the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus is Serious Eats’ winner and was a top performer for Good Housekeeping too (GH only passed it over for best overall because it was hard to find in stock). Good Housekeeping’s best overall is the Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker, though Serious Eats’ Panasonic loaf disappointed. For value, look at the Cuisinart CBK-110 or Hamilton Beach.
Our picks at a glance
| Machine | Max loaf | Pan shape | Who recommends it | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus | 2 lb | Horizontal, 2 paddles | Serious Eats: best overall; GH: top performer | Bakery-quality sandwich loaves |
| Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker | About 2.5 lb (XL) | Horizontal | Good Housekeeping: best overall | Variety and automatic mix-ins |
| Cuisinart CBK-110 Compact | 2 lb | Vertical (square) | Serious Eats: best under $200 | Small counters, value |
| Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro | 1 lb | Vertical | Good Housekeeping: best for small loaves | One- or two-person households |
| Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Mini | 1 lb | Vertical | Serious Eats: best for small kitchens | Tiny kitchens |
| Cuisinart Custom Convection | 2 lb | Horizontal | Good Housekeeping: best for add-ins | Fruit and nut breads |
| Hamilton Beach Digital | 2 lb | Vertical | Good Housekeeping: best value | Trying bread-making on a budget |
| Breville Custom Loaf | 2.5 lb | Horizontal | Serious Eats: best for full control | Tinkerers who want four loaf sizes |
Loaf sizes and shapes are from the testers’ spec notes. Prices change often; check before you buy.
How we chose
We favored machines that baked well in at least one of the two labs and checked where the labs agreed or disagreed. The factors that mattered most were loaf quality (rise, crumb, even browning) using the machine’s default recipes, mixing performance, loaf shape, useful programs and timers, ease of cleaning and value. Where only one lab tested a model, we say so.
What the testers learned
Two paddles and a horizontal pan make better sandwich bread. Serious Eats found most machines have tall pans with one central paddle, producing almost cartoonishly tall slices. The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus’s long pan and dual paddles produced a textbook dome and soft crumb. Good Housekeeping agrees that horizontal loaves look like store-bought bread, while vertical pans save counter space.
Proofing temperature matters. Serious Eats’ kitchen was 66°F, yet the best machines held dough between 82 and 92°F through about two hours of rises.
Ingredient order matters, especially on delay timers. Both labs stress adding ingredients in the order the manual specifies, usually liquids first, then flour, then yeast and salt, so the yeast doesn’t activate early.
Even great machines bake an occasional dud. Serious Eats says old yeast, recipe quirks and ingredient order account for most failures, and Good Housekeeping found its Cuisinart results improved with bread flour instead of all-purpose.
Gluten-free is hard. Good Housekeeping baked two gluten-free recipes in most machines and says none turned out very well.
The best bread machines
1. Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus: best overall
Best for: anyone who bakes weekly and wants sandwich-shaped loaves.
Serious Eats’ winner baked exceptional white bread with a tender, pillowy, open crumb in the ideal sandwich shape. It was the only machine there with a rectangular pan worked by dual paddles, and an extra heating element in the lid browns the top evenly. Serious Eats also liked its rest cycle, detailed recipes in volume and weight, and settings for salt-free, sugar-free and vegan loaves.
Good Housekeeping says it was a top performer, with bread that tasted straight out of the bakery, and only left it off the top spot because it was out of stock at most retailers. The downsides: it’s big (about 20 pounds per Serious Eats), heavy and expensive.
Pros
- Best loaf quality in testing
- Dual paddles, horizontal pan
- Lid heater for even browning
Cons
- Expensive
- Large and heavy
- Often out of stock
2. Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker: best for variety
Best for: bakers who want hands-off mix-ins and lots of programs.
Good Housekeeping’s best overall has 20 preprogrammed functions, including brioche and sourdough bread, plus the ability to run knead, rise or bake individually. Its automatic dispenser distributed cranberries and walnuts evenly, and its white loaf was one of the fluffiest in the Lab while holding its shape. A 1-pound loaf came out misshapen in the large pan, so GH suggests reshaping small loaves after kneading.
Results elsewhere were mixed: Serious Eats’ Panasonic baked a loaf with burnt patches and a dense crumb, so this is a pick where the labs disagree.
Pros
- 20 programs
- Automatic mix-in dispenser
- Delay timer
Cons
- Large footprint
- Mixed results between labs
3. Cuisinart CBK-110 Compact Automatic Bread Maker: best value
Best for: small kitchens and budget-minded bakers.
Serious Eats’ best under $200 baked neat, nicely browned bread in every test, helped by pauses between kneading cycles that let the dough hydrate and build gluten. Its interface is intuitive. Larger loaves were very tall and awkward to slice, and the white bread was a little dry, which Serious Eats thinks more water could fix. Good Housekeeping found it good but slightly outperformed by the Zojirushi Maestro.
Pros
- Reliable results
- Compact, stainless body
- Intuitive controls
Cons
- Tall loaves
- Slightly dry crumb
4. Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro: best for small loaves
Best for: one- and two-person households.
Good Housekeeping’s pick makes a 1-pound loaf so bread doesn’t go stale, with 12 programs and three memory settings for custom knead, rise and bake times. Both white loaves were soft and light, though browning varied by recipe. The automatic add-in works, but holds a small amount, and there’s no viewing window. (Serious Eats liked it but preferred its other Zojirushi picks, including the BB-HAC10 Mini.)
Pros
- Right-sized loaves
- Custom memory programs
- Small footprint
Cons
- No window
- Small add-in compartment
5. Cuisinart Custom Convection Bread Maker: best for fruit and nut breads
Best for: bakers who love mix-ins.
Good Housekeeping found it distributed mix-ins most evenly top to bottom, and its cranberry-walnut bread was a Lab favorite. It has 16 programs, three crust colors and tones that tell you when to add mix-ins or remove the paddle. Its booklet recipe with all-purpose flour made dense bread; bread flour fixed it. Serious Eats, by contrast, found its convection model struggled to incorporate dry ingredients.
Pros
- Excellent mix-in distribution
- Paddle-removal alert
Cons
- Recipes need tweaking
- Mixed results between labs
6. Hamilton Beach Digital Bread Maker: best budget
Best for: trying bread-making without a big investment.
Good Housekeeping’s value pick surprised the Lab with an evenly golden loaf, soft top and airy center, and tasters liked the buttery flavor. It’s one of the most compact models GH tested and has a jam setting. There’s no automatic dispenser, and the center was a bit delicate for sandwiches unless toasted. Serious Eats found its HomeBaker model’s deep lid hit upper cabinets.
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Compact
- Good bread for the price
Cons
- Delicate crumb
- No auto dispenser
7. Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker: best for full control
Best for: experimenters who want options.
Serious Eats liked its nine programs (13 counting dough types such as focaccia and burger buns), four loaf sizes up to 2.5 pounds, delay start and keep-warm. Its white loaf deflated after removal, and Good Housekeeping was also surprised it didn’t perform as well as other Breville appliances, though both note the interface is easy to use.
Pros
- Four loaf sizes
- Many dough programs
- Easy interface
Cons
- Loaves can deflate
- Inconsistent between labs
Machines that disappointed
Serious Eats rejected several popular budget models: the Gohyo, Cusimax and Neretva left pockets of unmixed flour or baked dense loaves, the KBS made a gummy interior, and the Oster ExpressBake baked unevenly. The Dash Everyday wobbled during kneading. If a machine is far cheaper than everything here, check recent reviews carefully.
How to choose a bread machine
- Loaf size: standard sizes are 1, 1.5, 2 and 2.5 pounds. Good Housekeeping found big pans often misshape small loaves, so buy for the size you’ll usually bake. Serious Eats notes a supermarket sandwich loaf is about 1 pound.
- Pan shape: horizontal for sandwich-style slices, vertical for a smaller footprint.
- Programs: look for whole wheat, dough, quick bread and crust settings; a delay timer is the feature you’ll use most.
- Mix-in dispenser: convenient, but GH found some hold too little for large loaves.
- Cleaning: every model GH tested needed hand washing of the pan and paddle, and soaking can cause corrosion, so wash and dry soon after baking.
- Counter and cabinet space: measure your height under cabinets; some lids open tall.
Getting the best loaves
Weigh flour rather than scooping, use fresh yeast, and add ingredients in the order the manual lists. Spread ingredients evenly in the pan, which Good Housekeeping says helps produce a uniform loaf. Remove the paddle when prompted if your machine allows it, and let bread cool before slicing. For neat slices, pair your machine with a sharp serrated knife from our best luxury knife sets, and for doughs you’ll shape by hand, see our best luxury stand mixers.
FAQ
Are bread machines worth it?
Good Housekeeping says they’re especially worthwhile if your household goes through a lot of bread; you add ingredients, press a button and get a fresh loaf in a few hours.
Can a bread machine make gluten-free bread?
Many have a gluten-free program, but Good Housekeeping’s gluten-free test loaves didn’t turn out very well in any machine.
Why did my loaf collapse?
Over-proofing, too much yeast or liquid, or old yeast are common causes; Serious Eats recommends the troubleshooting guide in your manual and small recipe tweaks.
What size bread machine should I buy?
A 2-pound machine handles most households; choose a 1-pound model if you live alone or have little counter space.
The bottom line
If you’ll bake often, the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus is worth its price and the wait for stock. The Panasonic is the most versatile alternative, and the compact Cuisinart CBK-110 or the Hamilton Beach are the smart ways to start without spending much.
