The Cuisinart CBK-200 boasts a convection fan for better baking, but is it all just a lot of hot air? You may read my CBK-200 review to learn more about this Cuisinart convection bread maker. In addition, I have also included a review of the Cuisinart CBK-100 model below my review of the CBK-200 model.
Introduction
The convection fan of the CBK-200 circulates the hot air inside the baking chamber during the baking cycle as well as the keep warm cycle. This makes the bread machine more efficient when it comes to crust color and crispiness.
However, the convection fan might increase the effectiveness of the baking process just a little too much causing the bread crust to become darker and thicker than expected. The light and medium crust color settings might be the safer options if you do not like very dark crusts.
This Cuisinart CBK-200 convection bread maker review looks at all its features, advantages and disadvantages before reaching a verdict. I also added a review of the Cuisinart CBK-100 model below that.
Please note: it seems like both the CBK-100 and the CBK-200 convection bread maker models have been discontinued by Cuisinart. These models are probably now unavailable, although you might still buy old stock from Cuisinart. However, it seems like there is a new model on the market: the Cuisinart CBK-210 convection bread maker. You can view pricing and details for the Cuisinart CBK-210 on Amazon (paid link).
The Cuisinart CBK-200 Review
I start this review with a list of the most important features before discussing some functions in greater detail:
- 15-minute pause function
- 16 preprogrammed menu options
- 3-year limited warranty
- Audible tone for when kneading paddle can be removed
- Audible tone for when nuts and fruit may be added
- Audible tones when bread is baked and also at the end of the keep warm cycle
- Choose between three crust colors and three sizes: 1 lb, 1.5 lb or 2 lb
- Chrome stay-cool handles on the left and right sides
- Control panel featuring LCD (not backlit)
- Convection fan circulates hot air inside the baking chamber
- Delay start timer for up to 12 hours
- Glass viewing window
- Instruction manual with recipe booklet printed on reverse
- Measuring spoon and measuring cup are included
- Power failure backup (maximum 15 minutes)
- Removable nonstick bread pan
- Removable stainless steel lid with chrome handle
Sixteen Menu Options
The Cuisinart CBK-200 offers sixteen menu programs, but it does not allow you to program your own custom cycles. Experienced bread machine bakers might miss having the power to reprogram or tweak certain settings such as the rising or kneading cycles. Ordinary bakers might not mind using the factory settings.
The instruction manual provides a timetable for each program that even takes into account the crust color and loaf size. It provides times for the preheating, knead, rise and bake steps. It also shows the specific times when audible tones will sound to either throw in fruit or for removing the paddle.
Here are the 16 menu programs as listed on the control panel:
1. White
2. Rapid White
3. Whole Wheat
4. Rapid Whole Wheat
5. French/Italian
6. Rapid French/Italian
7. Quick Bread/Cake
8. Low Carb
9. Gluten Free
10. Dough/Pizza Dough
11. Artisan Dough
12. Sweet Breads
13. Rapid Sweet Breads
14. Jam
15. Last Minute Loaf
16. Bake Only
Menu option number sixteen is the bake-only program which does not knead or rise but only bakes. This may be used for baking previously prepared dough or for extra baking if a bread loaf needs to darken some more after a specific bread program has finished. It can be set for a minimum of 10 minutes up to a maximum of 90 minutes in 10-minute intervals.
Pause Function
The stop/pause button pauses a cycle for 15 minutes if pressed once. The bread maker will automatically resume the bread program cycle after 15 minutes has elapsed. If you want to resume the cycle before the 15 minutes are up, then you may press the start button. The pause feature might come in handy when you want the dough to rise just a few minutes longer before the baking cycle starts.
You need to press and hold the stop/pause button for three seconds if you want to stop a bread program. If you make a mistake with the loaf selection or otherwise, you do not have to unplug the machine and wait around for more than 15 minutes to reset it. Use the stop button and start over again by selecting the correct control panel settings and then pressing the start button.
Power Failure Backup
If the power goes off while the machine is busy, then the bread maker will keep the current bread making cycle in its memory for up to 15 minutes. If the power returns before that period of grace is over, the machine will resume the process from memory.
Please note that unplugging the bread machine to cancel a menu program is not the best way. You need to wait for 15 minutes until it loses its memory (by which time you might have lost your temper) before plugging it back in and starting again. Rather use the stop button: press and hold for about three seconds until the bread machine stops. Then you can choose new menu options.
Mix-Ins Audible Tone
A series of audible signals (4 sets of 5 beeps each) remind you to add mix-ins near the end of the second kneading cycle. It is on by default on most bread programs except for Low Carb, Quick Bread, Gluten Free and Last Minute Loaf. If you want to deactivate the signal, press the mix-ins button once before you press the start button. The mix-ins LED light will turn off to show that it has been cancelled.
Remove Paddle Audible Tone
The second audible signal (three sets of six beeps each) reminds you to remove the kneading paddle. It happens just before the last rise cycle when the mixing and kneading has been completed. Removing the kneading blade decreases the hole in the bottom bread loaf. The paddle shaft will still leave a small round hole.
The best way to remove the paddle is to press the pause button once so the machine will rest for 15 minutes. This gives you time to open the lid, take out the bread pan, remove the dough, remove the paddle, put the dough back, replace the bread pan and close the lid.
You may then press the start button to let the bread machine continue immediately with the baking cycle or simply wait for the pause period to end and the bread machine to resume. If this sounds like too much trouble, then you may leave the paddle in the pan and remove it from the finished bread. It is your choice.
End Bake Audible Tone
The bread maker will beep ten times to let you know it has finished baking the bread. It now keeps the bread warm for 60 minutes, at the end of which twelve beeps will sound to mark its completion. The keep warm cycle prevents the bread from getting too soft from moisture, but it is best to take it out as quickly as you can and let it cool on a baking rack. The bread crust will probably get a little darker if you leave it in too long.
Jam Cycle Audible Tone
During the jam making menu program there will be tones at the five and ten minute mark to remind you to gently scrape the insides of the bread pan clean with a spatula.
Loaf Size
Press the loaf button to select the loaf size that matches your bread machine recipe: 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds. The Cuisinart CBK-200 is set by default to a 2-pound loaf size. The gluten free and low-carb menu options do not allow you to choose a 1-pound loaf size. You cannot set the loaf size on the bake-only program.
Crust Colors
Crust color options are limited to the familiar three: light, medium or dark. The Cuisinart CBK-200 is set by default to a medium crust color. Sweet bread crusts tend to brown more easily because they contain more sugar and fat than other bread types. It would be best to choose a light crust color when baking a sweet bread, otherwise it might get too dark.
Delay Start Timer
It is important not to use perishable ingredients such as eggs or dairy products when you want to bake a bread using the 12-hour delay start timer. The ingredients might start to spoil before the bread is baked. If a recipe requires milk or eggs, then you might substitute it with dry milk powder or dried egg powder so that you may still use the delay start timer.
What is included?
The Cuisinart CBK-200 convection bread maker comes with its own instruction manual, measuring spoon and measuring cup. The instruction manual includes a recipe booklet printed on its reverse side.
Be sure to read the instructions carefully before using the bread maker. It contains operating instructions, explains features, talks about bread types, contains bread program timetables, provides bread making tips, provides troubleshooting tips as well as information on gluten free ingredients. Other useful bits of information can also be found within its pages.
The recipe booklet that comes with the bread maker contains a few bread machine recipes for each of the menu programs, except for the bake-only cycle. There are gluten-free bread maker recipes as well as recipes for making dough, artisan dough, jams, sauces and chutneys.
Advantages And Disadvantages
- Audible signal reminds you to take out the kneading paddle.
- Dough setting is good for making pizza dough.
- Getting replacement parts from Cuisinart is not a problem.
- Parts that come into contact with the bread are free from BPA.
- Use the gluten free menu option to make your own gluten free bread.
- The LCD screen is not backlit and might be difficult to read.
- The manual and recipe booklet are combined and printed on the reverse side of each other.
- The bread maker can be noisy when mixing and kneading the dough.
- The dark crust color setting might be too dark: rather use medium and light.
- You cannot program your own custom bread making cycle.
Cuisinart CBK-200: Verdict
The Cuisinart CBK-200 convection bread machine is worth an extra few dollars, but its dark crust color option might darken the bread crust due to the action of the convection fan. Nevertheless, the CBK-200 is probably the best bread machine with a convection feature.
Cuisinart CBK-200 vs. CBK-100
The Cuisinart CBK-200 is a more expensive version of the older and cheaper CBK-100. Nevertheless, the CBK-200 has the convection fan as well as menu options for artisan dough and low-carb bread. Both these Cuisinart bread machines have a menu setting for making gluten-free bread.
The Cuisinart CBK-100 Review
The Cuisinart CBK-100 bread maker is built to make bread with or without gluten, to knead dough recipes and even to cook jam when you are in a jam. My Cuisinart CBK-100 review considers its features, advantages and disadvantages.
Cuisinart CBK-100: Features
- 12 menu options.
- 3 crust color options.
- 3 loaf sizes: 1, 1.5 and 2 pounds.
- Bake-Only option.
- Delayed-start timer for up to 13 hours.
- It comes with a recipe booklet, measuring spoon and measuring cup.
- Limited warranty for three years.
- Power failure backup system for up to 15 minutes.
- Preheat function on certain bread programs.
- Product built to North American electrical standards (110 to 120 volts).
- Removable lid with a viewing window.
- Stay-cool handles on the side, so you won’t burn your hands.
- The nonstick bread pan and kneading paddle are both removable for easy cleaning.
Now that you’ve got the big picture, let’s look at the Cuisinart CBK-100 in more detail.
Control Panel
The control panel features the LCD screen (which is not backlit) as well as buttons for selecting the loaf size, crust color, menu program, rapid bake, delay start timer and the start/stop button. Here are the 12 menu options as well as a few notes on some of them:
- Basic/White (white flour bread recipes)
- French/Italian (bread with a crispy, brown crust)
- Whole Wheat (whole wheat flour recipes)
- Sweet (bread recipes containing high amounts of sugar, fat or protein)
- Gluten Free
- Packet Mix (prepackaged 1.5 or 2-pound yeast bread mixes)
- Cake (quick or batter breads)
- Dough
- Pasta Dough (mixes and kneads pasta dough)
- Jam (for cooking your own jams and chutneys)
- Bake-Only
- Rapid Bake
Rapid Bake Setting
The rapid bake menu option has its own button. It is not for baking bread very quickly (when the guests are already at the table) as the name might suggest. You may use it for a bread recipe that uses rapid rise yeast instead of standard yeast. You cannot set the loaf size or crust color when using rapid bake: it is set by default for a 1.5-pound loaf with a medium crust color.
Gluten Free Setting
Eating bread that does not contain gluten is vitally important for people with Celiac disease.
The CBK-100 has a gluten-free setting that bakes this type of bread. The easiest way to bake a gluten-free bread loaf is to buy a packet of gluten-free mixture. There are also gluten-free recipes in the included recipe booklet that you can use if you want to start from scratch.
Keep in mind that fruit, nuts and seeds should be mixed in at the beginning with the flour mix. There is no audible alert for adding fruits and nuts when using the gluten-free setting. This setting has only one rise, and it bakes for longer to compensate for the wetter dough mixture.
It might happen that the mixture is so wet at the start that the gluten-free baking program is not long enough to bake the loaf completely. Decrease the amount of moisture in the recipe or add a few teaspoons of flour the next time you mix the ingredients. It might help. Otherwise, you will have to finish baking it in the oven for another 10 or 15 minutes, which can be annoying since you did not buy a bread machine just to use the oven as well.
Dough Setting
You may use the dough setting to mix ingredients, knead dough and take it through a single rise. You may then remove the dough, knead and shape it by hand and let it rise once or twice more before baking it in the oven.
The last rise is done outside the bread machine. If you do not like that, then use one of the bread menu programs which will take it through two rises. Listen for the second audible signal of 6 beeps, take out the dough and press the start/stop button to cancel the bread baking process. Put it in an oven bread pan and into a hot oven to bake.
Bread Loaf Sizes
The available loaf sizes are 1 pound, 1.5 pounds or 2 pounds. The bread loaf size is slightly deeper (about 7 inches) than it is wide (5 inches), so the loaf is rectangular. The 1.5-pound loaf looks like an oven-baked bread while the 2-pound loaf is quite tall.
You can choose between three crust colors for your loaf. Use the dark crust setting for a hard, tough crust and the others for a lighter, softer top.
Audible Alerts
The mix-in sound signal for adding fruit or nuts is activated on the following menu options: Basic/White, Whole Wheat, French/Italian and Sweet. It gives five short beeps toward the end of the second kneading cycle to remind you to open the lid and add the extra ingredients.
Six short beeps will sound at the end of the kneading cycles (before the last rise) to remind you to remove the kneading paddle or reshape the dough. The bread machine will pause for 15 minutes, then resume with the baking process. At the end of the baking cycle there are 15 beeps to tell you the machine has finished its baking program. It now switches to keeping the bread warm for 60 minutes.
Order Of Ingredients
The correct order for putting ingredients into the bread pan is liquids first, dry ingredients second and yeast last. The yeast is activated when it comes into contact with the liquid, so do not let it get wet until the mixing cycle starts. The water should be at room temperature. If the water is boiling hot it will kill the yeast and if it is uncomfortably cold the yeast will not activate.
Plug in the appliance and start pressing buttons after the bread pan is in place and the lid is closed. You may add extra liquid or bread flour one teaspoon at a time if the dough is too dry or too wet.
The bread maker might take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to preheat, mix, knead, rise and bake a bread loaf depending on the type of bread program you use.
Costs And Benefits
- It is reasonably priced.
- It has a gluten-free bread menu option.
- Furthermore, it looks good and has stay-cool handles.
- It has a recipe booklet with a few recipes to jump-start your baking.
- The instruction manual does not state the bread program time duration.
- It does not have a convection feature like the CBK-200 (reviewed here).
- The gluten free menu option only allows for a 1.5-pound loaf size.
- The dough and pizza dough options work great for making various kinds of dough.
- You cannot program the appliance with your own settings for kneading, rising and baking.
Cuisinart CBK-100: Verdict
Please read the instruction manual before you attempt to operate this Cuisinart bread machine. Do not throw away the packaging materials or the box since you might need it again if the bread maker develops a serious problem.
Remember to rinse the bread pan, kneading paddle and measuring utensils before using it for the first time. It is very important to use exact measurements when adding the ingredients. Follow the bread machine recipes very closely: exact measurements are required.
The Cuisinart CBK-100 is an affordable, shiny, single paddle bread maker that is popular with gluten-free bread machine bakers. Those that are not sensitive to gluten will find all the basic bread programs they need to make delicious bread loaves at home.
Reminder: as mentioned in the introduction, it seems like both the CBK-100 and the CBK-200 convection bread maker models have been discontinued by Cuisinart. Therefore, I remind you to take a look at the newer convection bread maker model from Cuisinart, called the CBK-210. You can view pricing and details for the CBK-210 on Amazon (paid link).