Top 5 Best Bread Makers of 2025

The Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus stands out as one of the best bread makers on the market, offering exceptional performance, precision, and reliability for home bakers. Designed to produce a full-size 2-pound horizontal loaf, this high-end model delivers bakery-quality results with minimal effort. Its dual kneading blades ensure thorough dough mixing and consistent texture, even for dense recipes like whole wheat or multigrain.

The machine also features dual heating elements—one at the bottom and one on the lid—that evenly brown the top crust, solving the common issue of pale or underbaked tops found in many competitors. With a variety of pre-programmed settings, the Virtuoso Plus can handle everything from white and whole wheat bread to gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free, and salt-free recipes. It even includes options for dough, cake, and jam, making it a versatile all-in-one baking appliance.

For advanced users, the customizable “Homemade” program allows full control over kneading, rising, and baking times, letting you perfect your own recipes. Convenience features like a 13-hour delay timer, large viewing window, and sturdy stainless-steel build add to its overall appeal. In terms of performance, the Virtuoso Plus produces consistently fluffy loaves with well-developed crusts and excellent flavor. Rapid settings allow you to bake a loaf in just over two hours without compromising quality.

However, it’s worth noting that this model is large and heavy, measuring about 18 x 10.5 x 12.8 inches and weighing roughly 24 pounds, which may be challenging for smaller kitchens. It also comes at a premium price point and only offers one loaf size, which might not suit occasional bakers. The Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA is a top-rated choice thanks to its superior craftsmanship, quiet operation, and impressive versatility. For anyone serious about home baking and seeking perfect, reliable results every time, the Virtuoso Plus is easily the best overall bread maker you can buy.

The Cuisinart Bread Maker Machine is a reliable and versatile choice for home bakers who want the convenience of fresh bread without the hassle of kneading and baking manually. Designed for ease of use and consistent results, this machine offers multiple loaf sizes—typically 1, 1.5, and 2 pounds—making it suitable for both small and medium households. It comes with a variety of preset programs, allowing users to make different types of bread such as white, whole wheat, French, gluten-free, and even jam or dough.

The crust control function lets you choose between light, medium, or dark crust, giving you flexibility to match personal preferences. One of its standout features is the delay timer, which allows you to set ingredients ahead of time and wake up to the smell of freshly baked bread. Compact yet efficient, the Cuisinart bread maker fits comfortably on most kitchen counters, making it an ideal choice for users with limited space. In performance, it consistently produces good-quality loaves with pleasant texture and flavor, especially when baking standard white or whole wheat recipes.

The easy-to-navigate control panel and detailed instruction manual make it user-friendly even for beginners. Some models, like the CBK-200 or CBK-250, also include extras such as a convection fan for better browning or a fruit and nut dispenser for added convenience. However, it does have some drawbacks. Users have reported that the bread pan’s non-stick coating can wear down over time, and the kneading paddle or shaft seal may require occasional maintenance.

Dense or heavy doughs, such as gluten-free or multigrain, sometimes result in uneven loaves or inconsistent rising. Additionally, the machine can be a bit noisy during the kneading cycle, and crust browning may not always be perfectly uniform. Despite these minor issues, the Cuisinart Bread Maker remains a strong mid-range option, offering an excellent balance between affordability, quality, and functionality. It’s best suited for those who bake frequently at home and want a dependable, easy-to-use machine that delivers fresh, delicious bread with minimal effort.

The Breville BBM800XL “The Custom Loaf” Bread Maker is a premium, feature-rich machine designed for home bakers who value precision, versatility, and customization. With its sleek stainless-steel housing and intuitive LCD screen, this model combines smart design with advanced functionality to deliver professional-quality results. One of its standout innovations is the collapsible kneading blade, which automatically folds down before baking to reduce the hole typically left in the bottom of loaves. It also features an automatic fruit and nut dispenser, ensuring mix-ins are added at exactly the right time during the cycle for perfect distribution.

The BBM800XL offers 13 automatic settings including basic, whole wheat, gluten-free, crusty loaf, jam, and dough, along with 9 fully customizable programs that let you adjust kneading, rising, and baking times to suit your own recipes. It even has a power interruption backup that maintains your bread cycle for up to 60 minutes during a short power outage. In performance, the Breville BBM800XL consistently delivers well-browned, evenly textured loaves with a crispy crust and soft interior.

Its convection baking system enhances crust color and consistency, making it suitable for a wide variety of breads from soft sandwich loaves to dense artisan styles. However, results can vary slightly with smaller loaves or heavier doughs, which sometimes need recipe tweaks to achieve the ideal rise. The machine’s kneading process can also be somewhat noisy, and because of its powerful mixing motion, it may shift slightly on smooth surfaces if not secured. While the collapsible paddle is a clever feature, it requires careful cleaning to prevent buildup that could cause it to stick or malfunction over time.

Despite these minor inconveniences, the Breville BBM800XL earns high marks for its build quality, ease of use, and creative control. It’s particularly well-suited for experienced bakers who enjoy experimenting with recipes and want a machine that adapts to their baking style. For anyone who bakes frequently and values both performance and precision, the Custom Loaf stands out as one of the most advanced and reliable bread makers on the market today.