West BendHi-Rise Bread Maker Machine Programmable 12 Programs Including Gluten Free & 3 Loaf Sizes and Crust Colors with Traditionally-Shaped Horizontal Bread Pan with Dual Knead Blades, 3-Lb, Gray

I almost returned this bread machine.I loved the size of the loaves it makes and the double paddles. I originally bought it because my other (4 yr old) “artisan” bread machine couldn’t mix raisins into dough without me standing over it with a wooden spoon, helping. Haven’t tried raisin bread with this one yet but I’m sure the 2 paddles will help. I wanted to see how it does with the basic white, first. I live at over 3,000 ft. elevation, so while not that high, it’s high enough to mess up baked goods. There are always altitude adjustments needed. Also, looking around online and measuring it myself, I found there are many different answers to how many grams are in a cup of bread flour. I found a range of 120 to 166 grams per cup. That’s quite a range when you need 4 cups and precision is important. After several test loaves, I found 135g/cup for the bread flour I use, to be the perfect amount and as it turns out that is what West Bend says on p.9 in the user manual.I ended up trying the custom settings, Menu 11, since I wasn’t all that thrilled with the test loaves to that point. They seemed to not rise as high as I thought they should and seemed too brown on the sides for my taste. So, using 135g bread flour per cup and reducing the yeast by 1/4 tsp because of my altitude, I increased kneading and rising times and reduced baking time. The loaf came out just how I wanted it. Couldn’t ask for more. I was actually quite surprised that changing the times on the various cycles could make such a huge difference in the final loaf, but it does.The reason I was going to return it was that the pan is pretty hard to pull out of the machine when the bread is done. Since the bread is so good (after you put in a little effort to get it the way you want it) and I like the other features (pan size, double paddles, size and overall look of the machine, nice viewing window, easy to read screen) not found in other machines at this fantastic price point, I decided to keep it and I’m very happy I did.Update: Added raisin bread pic.

Just received yesterday, made my 1st loaf 2lb, basic bread today. Wow I am impressed, this machine is so easy to operate. I had a magic chef, it finally bit the dust. Love to be able to choose size of bread. It looked great, but most important, was delicious. I do make bread from scratch, so not a novice at baking bread. This makes it too easy. No more from "scratch". I am a person whom could live on good homemade bread. This West Bend is a keeper by all means.

Why didn't I have this years ago? I love this thing and have been baking 1-2 loaves a week since getting it. It's very easy, and I had good success from the very first loaf. The think I like most, is that this makes a horizontal loaf more like a commercial loaf. It does a 2lb loaf, but you can also do a smaller 1.5lb. loaf if you don't want it quite so tall. So far, I have baked white, wheat, and fruit breads. The cleanup of the pan is very easy, and the paddles come out easy (or you can removed them prior to the baking) if you catch it in time. I do like to remove the paddles if possible because they dent the bread, but this is the case on all bread machines.Build seems sturdy, size is fairly compact, and has many settings. Cleans up well. All in all, a good starter machine.

This bread machine started out great. I loved the size of the loaves it made, and the choice to make 2, 2-1/2 or 3 pound loaves, and how quiet it was. The first few loaves I made were great. Just the right texture, rose almost to the top of the lid, and the bread was some of the best I’ve made. The machine has easy to use controls and is pretty easy to clean. It is on the large size, but to make a large loaf of bread that’s understandable. I also like that it has 2 paddles instead of only one. I would have liked a beep to let me know when to remove the paddles, but a timer on my watch works fine, so that’s not a big deal.Overall, I would have given it 5 stars if I would have reviewed it a month ago (which was 3 months after I bought it.) But the last few loaves have not been so good. No matter what settings I use, each successive loaf is smaller and rises less. I’m only making about one loaf every 5-7 days so it’s definitely not overworked. The latest loaf I made this morning didn’t rise at all. The baked lump looks the same size it was when it stopped kneading. This is completely opposite from what earlier loaves looked like. It’s unfortunately past the window to return it, but I’ll definitely be trying a different brand to replace it.Also, worth mentioning - I contacted the manufacturer three times and never got a single response of any kind. Not thru phone messages, emails or text message. I prefer a company that stands behind their products and has good customer service.