I have had my Westbend Bread Maker for several years and would not trade it for anything. It makes perfect bread, every time. I love the option of being able to select the crust color, from light to dark, as well as the bread type. I have made white bread, garlic bread, cinnamon bread, and hawaiian sweet bread in this machine and they have all come out perfect every time. The trick is to make sure the water temperature you use is at room temperature. Also, if you are using a boxed mix, pour the water in first, then add the flour. Make a small indent in the flour and add the yeast. This will help in the agitation process and allow the yeast to mix with the flour and the water at the same time. I have never had an issue with the bread sticking to the pan, and the small agitation bar is easily removed for cleaning. My bread maker makes 1.5 and 2 lb loaves. I've always made the 2 lb loaf, and have never had a problem with it. There is a timer for adding things such as cinnamon or butter and garlic, and an audible beep is heard when it is time. You can also set it for just dough so you can then use the dough for making rolls or twists, etc. This bread maker also has a delay set timer, so you can tell it to start later in the day. For medium crust, it takes about 3 hours, so you can adjust accordingly. The warmer also stays on for an hour after so you can come home to fresh baked bread!

anmlnrs

Kalispell, MT

My husband actually had this breadmaker before we got married, but he mostly used it to make those pre-packaged Krusteaz mixes. Since we've been married, I use this machine at least twice a month. I love the convenience of the dough cycle when I want to make pizza crust, cinnamon roll dough, or bread bowls. It's especially come in handy when my house isn't quite warm for bread to rise on it's own. That means I can have homemade bread even in the winter without having to stick my dough in a warm oven to help it rise. I've rarely had a problem with my bread not rising properly in this machine, but I can almost guarantee it had more to do with the yeast I was using rather than with the machine. It's turned out great white bread, French bread, wheat bread, fruit bread, and pretty much any other bread I've been interested in trying. I will definitely get another West Bend if this one gives out on me.

3BoysAndaMom

Eugene, OR

This is a very simple bread machine. I purchased it used from somebody so I never received a users manual, but it is so easy to use it didn't matter. The biggest thing I don't like about this bread machine is the paddle that is used to mix the bread dough. I'm sure it's a problem with all machines that when you take out the loaf, the paddle is baked in and therefore the bottom tends to be a little broken when you remove it, but besides that, I don't like how hard it is to clean. It seems that the bread gets really baked on to it and I have a hard time removing the crusty bread residue even after soaking it overnight. Besides that, I think this is a great bread machine and so much easier to just dump ingredients in and having wonderful fresh bread at the touch of a button!

blamecanada

Longview, WA

I'm a married mother of two children and an unenthusiastic cook.  Like many busy people I tend to rely heavily on foods that are pre-cleaned, pre-cooked, and pre-mixed.  Making fresh bread for my family is possibly beyond my skills and definitely beyond my time allotment for cooking.  I was given this breadmaker as a gift from my sister-in-law and at first was not excited.  Then I made my first batch of bread and it was LOVE!  I've made various types of bread, from white to raisin to honey wheat from the recipe booklet included.  By far the most basked is the country white bread which has a wonderful crisp outside crust and a delicious chewy texture.  My 11 year old son loves this bread so much that he'll often have a big hunk with butter as a snack, by far the healthy snack he's actually fond of.  The machine is incredibly easy to use.  I can get the ingredients for the bread into the removable pan in about 5 minutes.  Once the bread pan is locked into place I push a button and leave.  About three hours later I have a lovely, fresh love of warm bread that's perfect and with almost no effort on my part!  A wonderful product for busy families.

BaileyBoop

Loveland, OH

My daughters and I all have this model and give it gold stars.  All we want to do is make a crusty loaf of bread.  We put it together before work, set timer and come home to a great smelling house and loaf of bread for dinner.  Do the same before bedtime and awake to that great fresh bread smell.  My families favorite is our own recipe for Italian cheesy bread.  We add Italian seasoning and grated Parmesean cheese with garlic juice.  Its the best ever with pasta or chili.  The West Bend is also easy to clean as nothing sticks to the inside of the pan, it wipes clean with a damp cloth.

phact

Oak Park, IL

I bought this bread maker machine from the yard sale months ago. I had no experience in bread making therefore it was so hard on me learning how to do it myself without somebody teaching me. It works well i guess because you can make a bread, obviously it does function. But it only has few controls which limits on what you can do to improve your bread making. I had also research that this model is one of the older ones that they don't sell anymore at the store. I am lucky to have found it in the yardsale for me to practice on my breadmaking skills. I think the other thing i don't like is it  is very heavy. I mean to me it is heavy, to others it might not. And it is big. It needs more space on the counter space. The color is white which doesn't match the rest on the kitchenwares. And also if you are looking for futuristic look like stainless then this model in white does not go with your kitchen. But i would say, i will continuing practicing my breadmaking skills until i can buy the newer one.

kurdapya

Oxford, MS