DeLonghi Bread Maker

The one year update. Actually, it has been a bit more than a year. I have used my bread machine once or twice a week, EVERY single week, since I purchased it. I still love it. I put added fiber into all of my breads. And just because I am home and can do it, I take the dough out after the last punch down, remove the kneader bar, shape the loaf, and then put it back in to rise and bake. I pretty much get perfect bread every time.Further updates: I have written additional updates, but they have not appeared here. Maybe my review has turned into too much of a blog....Anyway, for initial impressions of the bread machine, skip the updates and start reading further down. But I will try one more time to add an update.Update 4: I have made raisen bread, light rye bread, and buckwheat/walnut bread. They have all been spectacular. The slide-on compartment (I forget what it is called) where you can add your raisens or nuts or whatever)...works like a charm. I do check the dough during the initial kneading to see if I have to add liquid or flour. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. And I do take out the dough after the last beat down, take out the paddle, then form the dough nicely for the final rise and baking. I can do this because I am home, and can keep track of the timing of the cycles.Update 3: Today I made the white bread (egg enhanced), which is the first recipe in the book. I made the 1.5 lb. loaf, medium crust (see pictures.) After measuring the flour by weight, I also added 6 T of fiber...I like adding fiber to baked goods, and especially white bread. This time I did the calculations from the timing guide at the back of the book, and after the last 15 second knead I pulled out the dough, took out the paddle, then shaped the dough to the pan and stuck it back in for the final rise. When it was done, it was SO tall...I was afraid the texture would be loopy....but it is absolute perfection. I can slice one slice, then cut it in half and have a decent sized sandwich. But next time I will probably try the 1 lb loaf of this recipe. I have begun to figure out the "weight measure" system. If it says "liquid oz" I use the measuring cup provided or one of my own. If it says "oz" (i.e. butter) I just get out the stick of butter, and two of the marked Tablespoons equals one ounce. If something says ounce but not liquid ounce, I use my new scale, same as for flour. So far, the bread and quick bread have all been so good that I guess I am doing it right. The book COULD include some sort of instructions for those of us who have always before measured our ingredients "by cup."Update 2: Just made the gingerbread (quick bread cycle), the recipe is from the book which came with the machine. Did not really know what to expect, but was dying to use my machine today (even though I still have delicious bread from the other day.) So I made the gingerbread. It is absolutely fabulous. I put up a picture of it so you can see. I wasn't sure what would happen (I did not coat the bread pan with PAM or anything......) when I went to get the loaf out, but I did let it rest in there 10 minutes. Then I took a rubber spatula around the sides (not sure if that was even necessary), upended it and the loaf came right out, paddle stayed in the pan. The book says you should cool it and wrap it for 24 hours before eating it, but who DOES that? I let it cool for half an hour and then sliced a big wedge from the end (then took the picture.) My husband and I both decided that this machine was a worthy investment, for the taste of the gingerbread alone.Update: I wanted to mention that this machine is very loud during the kneading cycle and the short "beat down" cycles. It didn't bother me as much as it freaked out my dogs. The rest of the operation was, of course, very quiet. However, I did call customer service just now to find out about the noise factor, and also, to see if I could actually get a person on the phone to speak to. I called the number listed at the back of the manual, and was on hold for approximately 5 minutes, perhaps less. The nice person checked out the machine they had on hand, turned it on, and said it IS pretty loud. So I am confident nothing is grinding or doing something it shouldn't, they tell me that is just how the machine is. I have definitely had much quieter machines, but I have never had a really large one, so I did not know what to expect.I just received my machine this afternoon. It was with much trepidation that I watched my husband open the outer box, then the inner box, then the actual product box. I have had several bread machines, but for the past 7 years I have been using a "45-minute loaf" machine by West Bend, loaf size probably one-half to three-quarter pound, and I have been wanting a "real machine" again.I was intimidated by the lid being off, and the weight of it, but I didn't need to be. It was clear how the lid would go on. I did puzzle over the dispenser for a bit. There did not seem to be any directions regarding that, but it just slides right off the lid and you don't have to put it back unless you want to use it, which I didn't for my first loaf. So I cleaned everything(the inside, the outside, the bread pan and paddle, and the measuring implements,) and set about making my first loaf.But first....the accessories. I could find no place on any website where "what is in the box" was listed. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful recipe book in there! I have posted pictures of the book, an inside pic, the measuring utensils which come with, and two pics of my first loaf. I wish I would have had these pictures, they would have helped me make what was a difficult and three-week-long decision on which bread machine to buy. So I am hoping they might help you!Also, I purchased a digital scale. I had read about the recipes being by weight (at least...the flour measurement) rather than "by cup." I love the scale, I have needed one for a long time and as it turns out, it doubles as a postage scale, which is also extremely useful for me.So I duly measured out all of my ingredients, dithered how much bread flour to add (the recipe I used was from the book but was 100% whole wheat flour.) I wanted to put some white flour in there, so I just improvised. I believe my bread was about 25% white flour. I had decided on a 1.5 pound loaf for my first one, as this is the size I will make most often. I used bread machine yeast (I get it in little jars.) I was surprised how little I used....1 teaspoon. In my 45 minute machine (I guess because it has to rise really fast) I used almost double that. And for a loaf of half the size.When I was finally ready, I turned on the machine, set it for 1.5 pound and medium crust, setting 3 (wheat bread.) Setting 3 pre-heats for 30 minutes before anything happens, so THAT was boring. But after 30 minutes exactly, the kneading process began. It was hugely noisy at first, both my dogs began barking, it scared them. After several minutes, I was further reading instructions, and it said to check the dough after 5 minutes of kneading, to see if the machine was laboring, or if the dough was too dry or too moist. Because of the noise, and the heavy lump that was in there, I poured in a bit of water, and then a few minutes later, a bit more. Once it stopped kneading, I also took the dough out, shaped it a bit, and put it back in. I have a feeling this will be necessary any time I make a "heavy" type of bread, and it doesn't bother me, because I am self-employed and can babysit the machine if I need to.It took some time studying the manual to figure out what the pictures mean on the console, and to get them all straight, but now that I know, it is pretty simple. Mostly, I will make 1.5 lb, medium crust loaves, and it defaults to a regular bread setting. I am sure once I get used to the machine, I will venture forth and try a lot of different bread recipes.Then I just waited the four hours until it was done. And then waited 30 agonizing minutes for it to set before slicing. And WOW, was it ever worth the wait. The bread is so far beyond my expectations....my husband and I are in bread heaven.

Delonghi bread maker mixes well and bakes bread with even crust. The bread comes shapely (especially 1.5lb) and good enough, aside from the hole on the bottom, that it can be alternative to store bought loaf.Few things I don't like about it:User interface is not intuitive. Button markings and display are not descriptive.Squeaks while mixing.Hard to see through tiny view window that is more fashionable than usable.Too easy to accidentally restart the program.Plastic washers that separate metal handle from glass lid cracked.Unable to disable "add nuts" alarm.1 year warranty vs 2 years on other brandsAnd few things I like:Looks good.Mixes thoroughly.Buttons are easy to press.Does not wobble or "walk".Non stick coating appears durable, bread separates from the pan easily.It appears that it has a lid sensor so once lid is lifted it assumes ingredient was added and it slows down mixing to work it in.And, what I consider the greatest feature: offers 5 fully customizable programs.Update: I still like it however for times when I use delay feature I think I'd prefer unit with yeast dispenser.

I have been waiting to receive this machine for days as I had one before and it is working great with the auto nut dispenser. I will give the machine a 4 star. It makes lovely bread and there is a recipe book with good recipes.Zero star for the seller. The machine was sent in a box that is not original. It look like it was used or returned unit without a box. It was just wrapped and put in another box. I can still accept if everything else was proper. But to my dismay, the blade is missing, the recipe book & accessories is not there and there is no warranty card! I know what to expect as I've had one unit before! Enough is enough. How do you expect me to accept such poor quality seller! I hope they honour their mistake and take away this machine while I go buy another unit somewhere else. Totally pissed!

super pour des tranches de pain maison, je l'adore

It's a very fancy looking pricy thing for my countertop with a lot of great recipes and options I really like. Only one thing is complicated : I followed all the instructions and measurements, but I had to add 3-4 tb spoons of flour to get right dough; otherwise it was too thin and did not rise enough which was really disappointing after a few hours of processing. . I've tried a few different recipes with the same results. Maybe I just got unlucky, but I had a different brand of bread maker for 3 years with no such an issue. After these dough's adjustments I got very good results.

Good