Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker

Comment: Everything about this bread maker is great except that it always burns the crust!! The rest of the bread is delicious still, but the crust is burnt every time, even on the light bread setting! When I'm making bread for myself, I really don't care that the bottom is so burnt. However, I feel embarrassed giving people burned bread as gifts!!

I think I will have to start using the bread maker only to knead and rise the dough, then actually bake the bread in my big oven. :-(

If anyone has any ideas on how to prevent this, I would really appreciate it.

Comment: This is my first and only bread machine I have used. It is a refurbished Cusinart given to me for Christmas. Wasn't my first choice but I love it; once I stopped using the recipes it comes with; they are kind of bland and a lot of loaves just deflated or were hard as bricks. I admit that it may be due to a learning curve... using the correct flours, water temperatures, order of ingredients, etc. I have been using it pretty much everyday since Christmas 2009 and sometimes twice a day; especially in the beginning just in case we had to send it back which we haven't had to. I use recipes out of the The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook which is a great book I borrowed from the library.

I have noticed that if I leave the bread in there through the warming cycle at the end of the cycle it can make the crust dryer or more dark than I wanted it. If I know I am not going to be there to take it out I put it on the light crust setting and it turns out well.

Still using it and loving it.

PS I have been able to stop a cycle partly through it by pressing and holding the Stop/Pause button. i did that for making a starter for shepards bread.

Comment: I have owned the Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker CBK-200 for about two years and make bread at least two or three times a week with it. I have tried just about all the breads in the very good accompanying recipe book (except the gluten-free and low carb) and have never had a failure. I've made many breads in the Bread Machine Magic series. The bread is wonderful, easy to prepare and delicious. I like it so much I bought one for my daughter who is just as pleased with it. Her neighbor, after seeing how easy it is to make fresh bread in it, bought one also and now the two of them exchange recipes and samples. We all make our own pizza dough at least once a week.

I think that the reviewers who had problems with it probably received (and should exchange) defective machines. Apparently Cuisinart has (or had) quality control problems. My first machine simply didn't work and I exchanged it a few days later for the one that now works constantly and perfectly. The other thing that is sometimes overlooked is the right proportions between the flour and liquid. You have to check the dough during the first ten minutes and make sure it is not too wet or too dry. After a few loaves, you get a feel for it...and by touching the dough can sense that it is right, not dry, not wet, just soft and very slightly sticky. I have used the machine so much that I am about to replace the pan and paddle, which are pretty worn, and the parts are available online at the Cuisinart site, less than $25 for both. If I were to improve the product, I would ask that the warning sounds be louder. I like to remove the paddle before the baking cycle, but often miss the opportunity because you can't hear the sounds unless you are near the machine. That is the only reason I don't give it five stars!

Comment: I have made several loafs of gluten free bread with this and have had excellent results. This is my second breadmaker as I wore the first one out. I am a bachelor and if I want good bread it has to be easy. The results work for me !

Comment: I received my first breadmaker and had problems with it making a lot of noise. I checked how I inserted the bread bowl, tightened, etc. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. After having my son and husband try to get it in tighter, having no success, I decided to get it replaced. Amazon was fantastic. They sent me a new one and it had the same problem. I contacted Cuisenart. They listened over the phone and said it was definitely not supposed to sound like that so I sent it back again. Amazon was wonderful. I traded it in for a different model. I won't try this brand again.