Breadman BK1050S Bread Machine – Full Review

A mid to low-priced bread machine with interesting features but highly divisive opinions from past and current owners.

My first bread machine was a Breadman Pro and it was both reliable and consistent. I think I used it for more than 10 years. I was intrigued to review the Breadman BK1050S and was thinking I might purchase one for my son. I’m now having second thoughts due to a manufacturing problem that seems to affect 20% of the machines.

A New Twist On The Collapsible Kneading Problem

We’ve reviewed many machines with collapsible paddles and a common problem is that the paddles fail to collapse properly. The result is a larger hole in the bottom of the bread which the collapsible paddle is supposed to correct. There were complaints about the paddle failing to collapse, but a larger issue emerged in the minds of many customers:

Manufacturing Defect: I’ve been unable to make a second loaf because the kneading paddle scraped off of the non-stick coating on the bottom of the bread pan

It seems that in many instances the paddle actually scraped the non-stick coating from the bottom of the bread pan and incorporates it into the bread based on this customer comment:

Yummy Teflon coating from the pan being scraped into my dough. You can bet I won’t be eating that loaf.

Breadman does not clearly define the type of non-stick coatings but most of the machines that we’ve reviewed that have been manufactured in China use Teflon or a Teflon derivative such as PFTE or diamond fluorine. There are ongoing concerns about Teflon as a carcinogen and the level of scraping reported by some owners was significant.

  “Ok, I’ve read the reviews good and bad seems the worst thing with this bread maker is the collapsible paddle, is it really that big of an issue?”

Yes, it’s a big issue. The paddle isn’t built well; it’s got a loose hinge. That loose hinge lets the blade dip and scrape the coating off the pan. Pan coating flavor is not good in bread.

It makes me wonder why a bread machine manufacturer hasn’t made a concerted effort to use one of the new non-Teflon, non-stick coatings that are touted on frying pans in infomercials. Maybe someone has, but we haven’t found them yet. At any rate, that wouldn’t solve Breadman’s paddle problem.

For the record, most bread pans on bread machines have a durable non-stick coating that does not scratch even if it’s Teflon because the kneading paddles clear the base of the pan. But if you’re concerned about Teflon and receive a defective BK1050S you won’t be happy.

I had the older version of the Breadman and I hate to admit that I loved it more than this newer updated version

There were also some minimal complaints about oil emerging from the drive-shaft for the kneading panel. It appears that a defective kneading paddle is not only scraping Teflon but the gasket that seals the oil around the drive shaft.

I really, really tried to like the Breadman bread maker but the paddle scrapped away the Teflon and black grease came up into the bread no matter what I tried.

Conversely, many owners of the Breadman Bk1050S truly like the machine but it wasn’t an overwhelming majority.

Love my machine does everything I expected very satisfied with my purchase

49% of owners gave it 5 stars while 22% gave it 1 star. In fact, the top-two box scores of 5 and 4 stars totaled only 65%. That’s low relative to other machines we’ve reviewed.

Price ranges that we’ve seen on Amazon.com range from a retail price of $129.99 to a discount price of $74.77 for a new machine and some even lower prices have emerged. For the low price the features are impressive assuming you don’t get a defective unit.

Settings

The Breadman BK 1050S offers 14 settings that they refer to as “baking functions.” The functions include low-carb, gluten free, artisan dough and jam. There are also basic white bread settings, and a dough setting but no mention of a cake setting or 100% whole wheat or sourdough which made this Q&A exchange curious:

  “I have my own sourdough starter. Will this machine make sourdough bread using your own starter?”

Yes, it will. My experience is, it is best to bake small loaves only until you figured out how the machine handles more

There are the standard 3 crust colors of light, medium and dark. It also has a 15-hour delay timer but never use dairy products such as milk, butter or eggs with a delayed setting in any bread machine or the dairy ingredients will spoil.

Bread Pan

The bread pan will cook 1-pound, 1.5 pound and 2-pound loaves and there are machine settings for each. Some customers felt the pan was too small for the 2-pound loaf but they can sometimes be the result of a specific, high-rising recipe or too much yeast.

The size of the loaves is what I call a hybrid-horizontal. It’s not as elongated as some horizontal loaves from other bread machines, but is more of a combination of a horizontal and vertical loaf.

  “Is the pan horizontal or vertical? It does not mention this important fact.”

It is horizontal. It is much wider than it is tall. but you’re still going to get that bread machine shape, just a little less tall, but a little more long

The pan has a non-stick coating and a single collapsible kneading paddle and we’ve certainly covered that in some detail.

Fruit And Nut Dispenser

The Breadman BK 1050S features a fruit and nut hopper that adds fruits or nuts to the dough at the proper time.

  “Where is the “fruit and nut dispenser”?! The instruction book doesn’t identify the location or how to use this!”

It’s the slotted door on the top. I returned it when I found there were several settings that didn’t work

Some complaints emerged about the hopper malfunctioning or remaining open after the dump resulting in fallen loaves.

Instruction Book

The instruction book offers numerous recipes across a variety of settings but is not well detailed when describing some of the machines functions. There were a few complaints about incorrect recipes as it related to improper yeast amounts.

The machine works just fine. All the features are nice. On the other hand, the recipe book sucks, it took me four tries to figure out that they are short on yeast amount.

Specifications

The machine measures 16.6 x 12 x 15.6 inches and Amazon states that it weighs 17.2 pounds. One customer weighed his machine on a scale and came to a couple of different conclusions:

  “How much does the machine weigh? Amazon’s shipping weight states 19.6 lbs.! Is it really that heavy?”

According to my digital bathroom scale, it’s 15 lbs.

The machine is stainless steel and is manufactured by a company called Spectrum Brands. I don’t know if that’s the original Breadman company but it might explain this customer’s observation:

I have been using Breadman machines forever, but this one went back. It is clear that the manufacturer has changed and is benefitting by the use of the name. I would not recommend this to anyone.

It has a two-year limited warranty.

Customer Service and Support

Breadman received generally high marks for customer service typically related to replacement of the bread pan and paddle.

However, it seems they’ve run out of paddles which is probably due to the scope of the defect. One customer reported waiting 14 months for a replacement and was then told they’re not making the machine of replacement parts anymore. I don’t know if that’s true, but if so it’s a serious concern. Here’s another related observation:

The Bottom Line

Many people seemed very happy with this machine but the top scores were still low compared to other reviews we’ve done. The question is whether or not you want to risk the possibility of a defective machine. Use it immediately upon receiving it and if you have problems either return it for a replacement or ask for a refund.

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Steve Nubie

Steve Nubie has been writing professionally for 38 years. He is a Chef and has traveled across Asia and Europe studying language, culture and cuisine. He instructs culinary classes in the Culinary School at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois and has written extensively on cuisine, cooking, diet and nutrition. He is a published author of 10 books including a cookbook and continues to write on subjects related to culinary trends.

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