West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise Electronic Dual-Blade Breadmaker
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List Price: Our Price: $83.94 You Save: $36.05 (30%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $51.95 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of West Bend 41300 Hi-Rise Electronic Dual-Blade Breadmaker
Customer Review: If it weren't for those *#&$(# paddles ...
Summary: 2 Stars
I can't decide if it's me being stupid, or a flaw with the machine, but I used this one twice and never will again. Off to Goodwill it goes when we move later this year.
You see, there are these two little paddles in the bottom. They supposedly anchor to rods attached to the motors, and turn in order to mix and knead the dough. There are two problems here.
1. I can't get the paddles to anchor securely, no matter how hard I push them onto the stem rods. What this means is that during the entire mix/knead cycle, one of them slips and the machine makes an ungodly thumping sound as the stem turns but the blade doesn't.
2. When the bread is baked, the paddles come off when the loaf is removed.
This leads to another problem: the paddles BAKE INTO the loaf, and if one of them DOES manage to seat well on the rod, I CAN'T GET THE LOAF OUT without cutting it.
Personally, I'd rather let my stand mixer do the mixing and do the kneading myself. And $80 is a bit steep for something that doesn't do anything except time the kneads and rises.
Customer Review: Great bread machine at a great price point! :)
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this bread machine back in December because I wanted to make 'homemade' bread that had less sodium than commercial breads. I held off doing a review until I was certain whether I liked it or not. The verdict is in: it is a great machine! I love that I have the option of 4 different loaf sizes. That was a key feature for me. Not all recipes are for the same size loaf; now I can make any of them. I have also used the dough feature to make pizza dough & it worked great, too. I haven't tried the jam setting yet, but I plan to.
I think, for the price, this is a great machine for beginners or experienced bread makers. You can adjust any of the times/temps, if you know what you are doing; if not, just use the presets & let the machine do all the work. It is quiet & doesn't jostle around. You can hear it running, but it is not intrusive. It is about the same as running a standard dishwasher (not as quiet as the newer, whisper-quiet dishwashers).
All in all, I think it is a quality machine for a great price and I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again. :)
Customer Review: Pretty Satisfied with this Bread Machine
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted to start making my own bread and at first intended to do it by hand. However, the idea of an automatic bread maker was seductive. After researching the lower end of the bread machine spectrum I decided to pay a little more than the bottom price and settled on the West Bend 41300, mainly for the dual blades, versatility in settings, and loaf pan shape.
The machine is easy to use and clean. So far, I have made a variety of basic breads and they have all turned out awesome. I have not had a problem with the kneading blades sticking in the loaf - they are easily removed if they do - and the machine seems sturdy enough. It is fairly large, so if you haven't much space you'll want to make sure you have a place to store it when it's not baking. On the whole, I'm extremely pleased with this addition to my kitchen tool set. It's very simple to use and has the promise of being versatile as my bread repertoire develops. You will definitely want to buy a bread making book or check out a few from your library, though.
Customer Review: Lopsided Loaves
Summary: 5 Stars
Overall I'm very pleased with the way this machine functions, but my loaves tend to come out lopsided. It's a minor issue. They're perfectly edible, but not so great for sandwich making. I've found this can be easily dealt with by shaping the loaf by hand after the final knead cycle. You can also remove the paddles after the final knead so the bread will have smaller indentations in the bottom and come out of the pan easier. Of course this defeats the purpose of it being fully automatic, but if you're home when the bread is being made it's worth the extra effort. On the Basic Cycle I usually use, for a 1 to 1.5 loaf the time to completion of the final kneading cycle is 53 minutes. I uploaded an image of the bread time chart (http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B002JM0ZWK/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all) I obtained from the manufacturer's site since it's not included in the manual. I hope you find it useful. I'm thinking about making meatloaf in the machine. Advice and recipes would be appreciated.Customer Review: A real clunker !
Summary: 2 Stars
I have had this breadmaker since May 2010 and I have hated it so much, I am back using my old Sunbeam which by now is making a little more noise than when it was new, but nothing compared to this clunker. I have NEVER made a good looking loaf of bread in this. I bake bread three to four times a week. I have had to ask for bin replacements, once because it leaked underneath, and another because the paddles had become loose and one came off and got stuck between the bin and the other paddle, removing the Teflon lining and denting the bin too. At that time, I requested a new machine. Tough luck. But they sent me a new bin and new paddles at no cost. The new bin/paddles makes so much noise that I won't use this machine anymore. I suspect the rotating mechanism has been affected by the paddle jam.
I would never buy another one from this company or this make. My next breadmaker will be another Sunbeam. They are cheap and make very good, well shaped loaves, although they are vertical rather than horizontal.