Nearly a week was spent looking through feature sets, reading reviews, and considering price points when I finally decided on the Breadman Ultimate T2200C. That decision was made just under a year ago. Waiting a year to leave my review was intentional; I understand the draw of new, shiny toys and in all the excitement, it's easy to lead prospective buyer's astray with incomplete reviews. That said, let's get started.

Being a bread making novice, I found the included instructional video to be invaluable, though it might have been prudent to include a DVD as opposed to VHS tape, considering current technology trends. Watching it once was enough to get started making my first perfect loaf of bread. It showed precisely how to add the ingredients, gave some tips for better bread making, and went over the general functions of the machine.

Things were glorious for the first few months, the aroma of fresh bread wafting through the house. Making, on average, one to two loaves per week, I became known as the bread lady. People were coming from far and wide to sample my goods. (OK, maybe not far *and* wide, but I did get nick-named the bread lady.)

Then, the problems started...

One morning while some dough was kneading, I heard a loud clang and suddenly it sounded as though bombs were going off in my kitchen. Springing up from my office chair and sprinting to the kitchen, I saw that the bread pan had come loose and the machine was jostling itself perilously close to my counter's edge.

After pausing the machine, repositioning it, and pressing the bread pan back in place, all seemed well again. Too bad it didn't stay that way for long. Future incidents increased and soon, the bread pan refused to properly lock in place. This significantly impacted the amount of bread I made, which dropped down to one to two loaves *per month*. A year later, the bread pan staying in place is truly a hit or miss.

With Thanksgiving nearing, I decided it would be nice to have fresh bread with our turkey. The Breadman decided otherwise. I plugged in the machine and nothing happened. The beep of mechanical life was absent and the screen was totally blank. I tried pressing buttons and followed the instructions in the manual (which are really vague when it comes to this problem), yet nothing. (This wasn't the first time, either. Though, I should be clear, the previous cases were few, sporadic and non-disruptive.)

The day before Thanksgiving and my bread machine refused to even acknowledge the presence of electricity -- I was beside myself. Many people were promised fresh bread and I surely wasn't about to touch a conventional oven.  My only recourse was to head out into holiday traffic and snag a $40 deal from Wal-Mart -- nowhere near the same quality of bread, unfortunately.

Suddenly, after allowing it to sit unplugged for another three days, it sprang back to life. Unfortunately, it did so with a customer service rep on the phone and it left me with a bit of egg on my face. No matter, I discussed the issue of the unstable bread pan and she gave me some tips. Basically, she said it was my fault - or rather, my bread dough's fault. Funny, considering my bread dough hasn't changed *at all* (I use the exact same recipe each time) in the year I've been using the bread machine.

At the end of the day, the bread machine still works, but I don't know for how long, the bread pan is unstable, and the customer service was unable to do anything for me after the 10 minute wait to speak with a human. One would think that a year's use from a bread machine that costs $xx is a pretty good value, but it's not the case. By my calculations, when I consider the cost of the machine, ingredients and the number of loaves I've made, it comes out to be just under $10/loaf. Had I known that was the value I'd be getting, I'd have stuck with store bought for $3/loaf.

Although the machine makes absolutely beautiful bread, the cost versus quality just doesn't stand up to the test of time. If you plan to make a number of fancy breads, need a machine that produces amazing baking results, or can justify the high cost per loaf, this is a great tool. But be aware that it may not stand up to the test of time or the wear and tear.
Nearly a week was spent looking through feature sets, reading reviews, and considering price points when I finally decided on the Breadman Ultimate T2200C. That decision was made just under a year ago. Waiting a year to leave my review was intentional; I understand the draw of new, shiny toys and in all the excitement, it's easy to lead prospective buyer's astray with incomplete reviews. That said, let's get started. Being a bread making novice, I found the included instructional video to be invaluable, though it might have been prudent to include a DVD as opposed to VHS tape, considering current technology trends. Watching it once was enough to get started making my first perfect loaf of bread. It showed precisely how to add the ingredients, gave some tips for better bread making, and went over the general functions of the machine. Things were glorious for the first few months, the aroma of fresh bread wafting through the house. Making, on average, one to two loaves per week, I became known as the bread lady. People were coming from far and wide to sample my goods. (OK, maybe not far *and* wide, but I did get nick-named the bread lady. )

Then, the problems started... One morning while some dough was kneading, I heard a loud clang and suddenly it sounded as though bombs were going off in my kitchen. Springing up from my office chair and sprinting to the kitchen, I saw that the bread pan had come loose and the machine was jostling itself perilously close to my counter's edge. After pausing the machine, repositioning it, and pressing the bread pan back in place, all seemed well again. Too bad it didn't stay that way for long. Future incidents increased and soon, the bread pan refused to properly lock in place. This significantly impacted the amount of bread I made, which dropped down to one to two loaves *per month*. A year later, the bread pan staying in place is truly a hit or miss. With Thanksgiving nearing, I decided it would be nice to have fresh bread with our turkey. The Breadman decided otherwise. I plugged in the machine and nothing happened. The beep of mechanical life was absent and the screen was totally blank. I tried pressing buttons and followed the instructions in the manual (which are really vague when it comes to this problem), yet nothing. (This wasn't the first time, either. Though, I should be clear, the previous cases were few, sporadic and non-disruptive. )

The day before Thanksgiving and my bread machine refused to even acknowledge the presence of electricity -- I was beside myself. Many people were promised fresh bread and I surely wasn't about to touch a conventional oven. My only recourse was to head out into holiday traffic and snag a $40 deal from Wal-Mart -- nowhere near the same quality of bread, unfortunately. Suddenly, after allowing it to sit unplugged for another three days, it sprang back to life. Unfortunately, it did so with a customer service rep on the phone and it left me with a bit of egg on my face. No matter, I discussed the issue of the unstable bread pan and she gave me some tips. Basically, she said it was my fault - or rather, my bread dough's fault. Funny, considering my bread dough hasn't changed *at all* (I use the exact same recipe each time) in the year I've been using the bread machine. At the end of the day, the bread machine still works, but I don't know for how long, the bread pan is unstable, and the customer service was unable to do anything for me after the 10 minute wait to speak with a human. One would think that a year's use from a bread machine that costs $xx is a pretty good value, but it's not the case. By my calculations, when I consider the cost of the machine, ingredients and the number of loaves I've made, it comes out to be just under $10/loaf. Had I known that was the value I'd be getting, I'd have stuck with store bought for $3/loaf. Although the machine makes absolutely beautiful bread, the cost versus quality just doesn't stand up to the test of time. If you plan to make a number of fancy breads, need a machine that produces amazing baking results, or can justify the high cost per loaf, this is a great tool. But be aware that it may not stand up to the test of time or the wear and tear.