Bread dough that is prepared and baked by a skilled person (artisan baker) in an oven using only the minimum of ingredients such as flour, water, salt and yeast is called artisanal bread. Artisanal bread is mixed, kneaded and punched down by hand. No preservatives or other additives are added to the bread to make it last longer on the shelf. The dough is allowed to rise much longer when compared to other types of bread. This way of baking produces a bread loaf that is both tastier and healthier than the overpriced bread you buy at a supermarket.
Artisanal bread is baked at home or at the local bakery in small quantities. Be that as it may, you might be able to use a bread machine to help you prepare artisanal-style bread dough. In this review, I discuss bread machines that have an artisan dough setting.
Bread Machines With Artisan Dough Settings
You may use kitchen appliances such as a stand mixer or a bread machine to prepare artisan bread dough, but using a bread maker for the whole process is more automatic than it is artisanal. This type of baking is best suited to doing by hand because the process needs an amount of flexibility, skill and experience. It is unreasonable to expect such a level of creative crafting from a kitchen appliance with preset menu cycles.
The most important part of the making artisan dough might be the resting and rising time. A long rise cycle of 4 hours or more allows the yeast to work its magic. A long, cool rise of more than four hours might give the yeast the time to break down a significant amount of the natural sugars contained in the flour. The finished artisanal bread loaf not only tastes better, but it is also easier to digest.
I have come across few bread machines that have a menu program for preparing artisan bread dough. I will continue this review with a quick summary of each bread machine.
Cuisinart CBK-110P1 Bread Machine For Artisanal Bread
The Cuisinart CBK-110P1 is a compact bread machine that can bake a 2-pound loaf in its vertical bread pan. It offers 12 menu options for making various types of bread or preparing artisanal dough.
The Artisan Dough program mixes and kneads the dough before allowing it to rest and rise for five hours. After the setting is finished, the dough can be shaped and baked in a conventional oven, unless you want to use the bread machine’s Bake setting.
Despite its small footprint, the CBK-110P1 has a vertical design that requires more headroom, making it less suitable for use under overhead kitchen cabinets. However, it is an attractive stainless steel bread maker that is effective for making both artisanal dough and bread loaves. Click here for price on Amazon (paid link).
Hamilton Beach 29987 Bread Maker For Artisanal Dough
The Hamilton Beach 29987 bread maker offers 14 different settings, including an option for making artisanal dough. It is reasonably priced, user-friendly, and easy to clean.
However, there are a few flaws, such as a dim display screen and the machine moving around while kneading. Some users have mentioned drawbacks like noise during kneading and confusing instructions.
Despite these issues, it has received mostly positive feedback from owners who love its value, user-friendly interface, and ability to consistently produce delicious bread.
Overall, the Hamilton Beach 29987 is an affordable investment for home bakers looking for an easy-to-use bread maker at a reasonable price (buy on Amazon – paid link).
Cuisinart CBK-210 Convection Bread Machine For Artisan Dough
The Cuisinart CBK-210 bread maker is a versatile and convenient appliance. It has a convection fan that circulates hot air for crispier results. With preset menus and convection baking, it ensures consistent and delicious results for various types of bread and dough, including white bread, artisan dough, sourdough, and gluten-free loaves.
The Cuisinart CBK-210 offers sixteen menu programs, allowing you to make and bake a wide variety of dough or bread recipes. The Artisan Dough program offers long, cool rises for maximum flavor and texture development.
One standout feature of this bread maker is the automatic fruit and nut dispenser, which evenly distributes ingredients throughout the dough. The convection fan also circulates air for a superior crust and texture.
Overall, the Cuisinart CBK-210 is an easy-to-use bread machine that produces great homemade loaves. Its automatic fruit and nut dispenser, artisan dough setting, customization options, and convection heating make it a good choice for bread machine enthusiasts (check price on Amazon – paid link).
Breadman BK1050S With Artisan Dough Setting
The Breadman BK1050S has a control panel with 14 baking functions, including an artisanal dough preparation setting. This can be used to prepare the dough. It is then removed from the bread machine, shaped and baked in a loaf tin in a conventional oven. The artisanal dough cycle provides a long rising time of 5 hours and 15 minutes at cooler temperatures for the full development of the dough.
There are three crust colors and three loaf sizes to choose from, as well as a 15-hour delay timer. Please note that crust color and loaf size are not active when using the artisan dough program because it obviously has no baking cycle.
The Breadman BK1050S has a single collapsible kneading paddle which is pushed into the upright position during mixing and kneading. The paddle then collapses by turning in the opposite direction just before the baking starts.
Its automatic fruit and nut dispenser is another extra feature that may be useful if you want to bake raisin bread overnight. The rectangular baking pan can accommodate a 1, 1.5 or 2-pound bread loaf.
You can read a review of the Breadman BK1050S bread maker by clicking here.
Cuisinart CBK-200 With Artisan Dough Option
The Cuisinart CBK-200 has 16 preset menu options. The artisan dough setting prepares the dough with a number of slow rise cycles for better bread texture and taste. Listen for the add mix-ins audible signal at 4 hours and 39 minutes into the program, if you want to add nuts or seeds to the dough.
The artisan dough cycle takes longer than any other program to complete: 5 hours and 5 minutes! You can then remove the bread dough, shape it and bake it in your kitchen oven.
Other features to mention are its convection fan, 12-hour delay timer and the nonstick bread pan with a single kneading blade. It has a 15-minute pause button, which may prove useful if you want to pause a preset menu program so that the bread can rise a little longer or to take out the dough and knead it a little by hand.
You may read my Cuisinart CBK-200 review for a longer discussion of its features, advantages and disadvantages.
Hamilton Beach 29885 With Artisan Dough Program
The Hamilton Beach 29885 provides a total of 14 menu programs which includes Artisan Dough, Dough, Rise, Gluten Free and Cake. It can handle three loaf sizes and three crust colors. It also has a 15-hour delay start timer.
The artisan dough option on this bread machine mixes, kneads and rests the dough for 5 hours and 5 minutes. This is enough time for the dough to rise and develop slowly. You can then remove the dough, shape it and let it rise a little longer before baking it in an oven.
You can learn more about this affordable bread machine with an artisan dough program by reading my Hamilton Beach 29885 review.
Conclusion
The Breadman BK1050S would not be my first choice. Some owners do not like the collapsible paddle of the BK1050S and would prefer an ordinary kneading blade. The collapsible paddle might end up scraping the Teflon coating of the nonstick bread pan. Other people actually like the way the paddle collapses: they do not have to dig the paddle out of the bread loaf. Anyway, I only recently saw that it might no longer be available on the market, so it is probably not a viable option anymore.
In similar fashion, the Cuisinart CBK-200 has been discontinued, so you cannot buy it anymore. Regardless, the Cuisinart CBK-210 is a newer model that takes up the mantle from the previous model when it comes to the artisan dough setting and the convection fan.
The cheapest bread maker with an artisan dough program is probably the Hamilton Beach 29987. It might not look as good as the other bread machines, but it has no reason to hide in the kitchen cabinet when it comes to making bread or preparing artisan dough.
The Cuisinart CBK-110P1 is probably the most popular bread machine with an artisanal dough setting. You can make the dough in the bread machine, and then put it into an oven loaf pan, and bake it in a conventional oven. If you do not have an oven, then you can use the Bake program of the bread machine to bake the dough. Shop now on Amazon (paid link).