DeLonghi DBM450 Bread Maker Review

The DeLonghi DBM450 certainly looks good with its black glass top and stainless steel sides. It is not a popular choice and is not well known, but that does not mean it is not worth looking at. Here is a quick overview of its features, advantages and disadvantages.

Please note: it seems like the DeLonghi DBM450 bread machine is no longer available. You can still read my now irrelevant DBM450 bread machine review below. At the end, I provide a suggestion for an alternative bread machine that you might buy.

DeLonghi DBM450: Key Features

  • 1, 1.5 or 2-pound loaf size.
  • 120V, 60HZ, 780-watt (made for North American market).
  • 15 standard programs.
  • Favorite program button: edit and save up to 5 custom bread programs.
  • 58-minute rapid loaf menu setting.
  • Automatic fruit and nut dispenser.
  • DBM450 accessories include product manual, recipe book, spoon and cup.
  • Fan-assisted (convection) baking system.
  • Glass lid with three narrow viewing window slits.
  • Interior light illuminates the baking chamber.
  • Nonstick bread baking pan.
  • Single kneading blade.

DeLonghi Bread Maker Recipes

Keep in mind that the ingredients in the DBM450 instruction manual are given in ounces and therefore needs to be weighed on a kitchen scale. Do not use the measuring cup that comes with the machine for measuring flour, it is only meant for measuring liquid ingredients. The recipe book does not give the volume amount for the ingredients, which some owners would have liked to know.

If you do not want to use the recipes in the included recipe book, then you can try recipes from a bread machine cookbook or recipes you found on a bread maker forum. Some of the recipes that owners have enjoyed are egg enriched white bread, french bread, brioche bread, ginger bread and banana bread.

Control Panel Conundrum

The control panel presents a bit of a puzzle. There are no text descriptions on the control panel explaining the button functions. There is also no list of the menu programs on the control panel.

However, it seems there is a small booklet attached to the lid that lists the names of the menu programs. This helps a little, but the booklet can be annoying because it gets in the way when you open and close the lid. Still, once you figure out what the symbols mean, you should be able to bake bread without a problem.

Here is a list of the available bread and dough programs as listed in the DBM450 instruction manual:

1. Basic (for white or brown bread recipes)
2. White Rapid (basic white bread cycle that is 25 minutes quicker)
3. Wholewheat (starts with a 30-minute preheat cycle)
4. Wholewheat Rapid (5-minute preheat cycle)
5. French (bread recipes that are low in fat and sugar, crispy crust)
6. Sweet (recipes with a high sugar content)
7. Quick Bread (for 2-lb non-yeast batter breads)
8. Cake (for 1-lb cake mixes)
9. Gluten Free (for gluten recipes and mixes)
10. Dough (prepares a dough recipe for baking in conventional oven)
11. Artisan Dough (very long dough cycle: 5 hours and 15 minutes)
12. Jam
13. Pizza Dough
14. Bake (bake only feature without any kneading or rising cycles)

The 15th program is chosen with a separate rapid bake button. The rapid bake program makes a bread loaf in about 58 minutes. Rapid bake recipes need warm water, less salt and more yeast for it to rise and bake quickly.

Kneading Paddle

The kneading paddle is long and thin, which increases its mixing abilities and decreases the size of the hole it leaves in the bread loaf. However, it might still be necessary to scrape the corners with a spatula if there are unmixed flour hiding in the corners. If the motor sounds very loud and noisy during the kneading cycles, you should check if the dough is too dry and then add a small amount of water to soften it.

Advantages Of The DeLonghi DBM450

  • It looks good with its dark glass lid and stainless steel exterior.
  • Interior light for checking on the kneading process through the viewing window slits.
  • Weighing the ingredients with a kitchen scale makes the measurements more precise than adding it by volume.

Disadvantages Of The DeLonghi DBM450

  • It only has a 1-year limited warranty from the manufacturer.
  • It can make a lot of noise during the kneading cycles, especially when kneading whole wheat flour.
  • The control panel features no text descriptions, only symbols, which you need to figure out before using the machine.
  • The recipes in the booklet use weight measurements (not volume), so you will need a kitchen scale for weighing ingredients.

Conclusion

What is included in the box in addition to the bread maker itself? It seems it contains an instruction manual, recipe booklet, kneading paddle, measuring spoon, measuring cup and a small booklet attached to the bread maker listing the menu programs.

The DeLonghi DBM450 has features that tick a few boxes: automatic ingredient dispenser, viewing window, convection fan, light inside the baking chamber and a thin kneading paddle. It also offers the user the option of reprogramming the preheat, kneading, rising and baking cycles. These changes can then be saved as favorites and accessed with the favorite button.

The DeLonghi DBM450 also has a menu option for preparing artisan dough, which is a rare setting on bread machines (view other examples of artisan dough bread machines).

Overall, the DeLonghi DBM450 suffers from confusion surrounding its unlabeled control panel, but it can still do all the things that other bread machines can do.

KBS MBF-010
The KBS MBF-010 bread maker also has a tempered glass lid and stainless steel exterior.

I have noticed the KBS MBF-010 bread machine a few times, and it somehow reminds me of the DeLonghi DBM450.

In the first place, the DBM450 looked great because it had a dark glass lid and a stainless steel exterior finish. It also had an automatic dispenser and a baking chamber light.

In similar fashion, the KBS MBF-010 bread machine has a stainless steel body with a tempered glass lid and control panel. Furthermore, it also has an automatic fruit nut dispenser and a light that illuminates the baking chamber.

In light of that, I suggest that you might try the KBS MBF-010 as an alternative to the discontinued DeLonghi DBM450. You may learn more about this KBS automatic bread machine at Amazon (paid link).