Oster CKSTBRTW20 Expressbake Bread Machine Review

The Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Bread Maker is just the perfect choice for those on a budget, who don’t want to give up from crusty and finger licking homemade bread. This is Amazon’s no.1 best selling bread maker!

The Bread Quality

Now, this bread maker delivers great tasting bread. Thanks to the Crust setting, you can opt for your favorite crustiness, enjoying the taste even more. When we are talking about bread makers, it is important that you get the one that will mix and knead the dough thoroughly, and this unit will surely do that. You could even use the machine to make dough for you and bake in the oven if you wish.

This machine comes with 12 bread settings (basic, whole wheat, French, sweet, quick, European, bagel dough, dough, jam, bake, and express bake), so as to give you lots of baking option. As you can see, you can use this machine for making jam and bagel dough, which is a nice bonus.

The bread maker has 2 pounds capacity, so it is ideal for making the bread for the whole family.

However, this bread maker doesn’t produce picture perfect bread. Namely, the unit has a weirdly shaped inner pan which results in a higher loaf that has, let’s say, a unique shape. But, hey, keep in mind the price of this bread maker. The taste and performance comes first, the look of the bread comes second. And you will eat the whole bread anyway, it is not like it is made only for watching. But if it’s important for you to have a perfect rectangular loaf shaped (maybe because you often have guests), then the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 is the better choice.

So, we don’t think this is a big deal, as the unit impresses us in other things that are far more important.

Ease of use and Controls

This bread maker is on a par with expensive models when it comes to ease of use and controls. This unit is simple to use, so don’t worry if you are new to the homemade bread world. Of course, it takes some time to figure out how things work, but soon, you will use this unit with confidence.

What adds to the ease of use is the recipe book. Thanks to that, you won’t have to search for recipes and wonder if they need to be adjusted to this bread maker. Simply, go through this little book and find recipes that you want to make.

As for the baking process itself, you need to weigh all the ingredients, but do not have to add them in a specific order. The machine is also capable of giving a signal when to add mix-ins such as nuts and dried fruits, and then the machine will start to knead and bake for you.

Another handy little feature is that the bread maker will also signal you when rising process is done because you can take the dough out and put it in the oven if you want.

The bread maker also comes with the Delay timer, so you can make the bread anytime you like and enjoy the fresh taste. Whether you are at work, in bed or you are exhausted from a-whole-day-shopping, the fresh bread will wait for you by just setting the ideal timer beforehand.

The super-convenient feature that you will love is the Express Bake Setting. Logically, it allows you to bake bread in a much faster way, as little as 1 hour compared to most bread machines that normally bakes bread for 2 hours. You will still get results that are as good as those you get when baking the bread in a regular Baking time. This feature is great if you have unexpected guests and want to surprise them with your new-found baking skills.

Durability

Even though this unit comes at a relatively low price, don’t be naïve and think it will break after a couple of months. Quite the opposite, this bread maker has an impressive lifespan, making it a worthy investment. In addition, it comes with a 1-year warranty, which only confirms what we have just said.

However, there is one issue with this unit – it tends to move around. Meaning, you will have to place it somewhere where you won’t have to think whether it will fall.

Conclusion

The Oster 2-Pound Expressbake Bread Maker is undoubtedly, the best budget bread maker on the market, and as such is the most popular in this category. In case you don’t want to miss out on the chance to enjoy great-tasting home-made bread, then hurry up and buy this handy bread machine. You will be satisfied with its performance, especially when you take the price into account.