KBS Pro Bread Maker Machine

• Dealer: Amazon.com
• Price: $156.99

The KBS Pro bakes 3 loaf sizes from 1-pound to 1.5-pound to a curious 2.2-pound loaf. Curious because most bread machines work with round numbers but that’s what the manufacturer states. This is probably based on the metric system because KBS defines the 3 loaf sizes as 500g, 750g and 1000g.

What sets it apart from most bread machines in that price range is an automatic fruit and nut hopper; 17 settings and something many people have stated that they genuinely want in a bread machine: a non-stick bread pan that is not coated with Teflon.

Ceramic Bread Pan

The KBS Pro has a ceramic bread pan that they have patented. Based on customer reviews it works as well as a Teflon coating.

“CERAMIC cooking bowl instead of Teflon is what sets it above the rest.”

This concept of a ceramic bread pan is news. Many of the reviews I’ve done in the past have noted the concern many people have with Teflon as a non-stick coating. In fact, one manufacturer tried to obscure their Teflon bread pan by referring to the coating as a “diamond fluorine coating.” After doing a little research I learned something. Diamond fluorine is the technical, trade name for Teflon. I felt that was deceptive on the part of that manufacturer, but good for KBS for honestly addressing and solving the Teflon concerns.

17 Settings

I had to do a bit of digging to figure out some of the settings on the KBS. Some are expected but a couple made me look twice. Some of it’s a simple translation issue but hat’s off to KBS. Whoever did the design of the programming on the machine really understood the potential for a bread machine based on its basic elements of a mixing paddle, heating element and a timer. That sounds simple but they applied it to a surprising range of options. Here are the 17 settings.

1. Soft bread (Basic white bread)
2. Sweet bread (batter breads)
3. Natural sourdough (Makes the sourdough starter. Not sure about the natural part. Is there such a thing as “unnatural sourdough?”
4. French bread
5. Whole wheat
6. Quick bread (Rapid Rise cycle)
7. Sugar-free (Not sure about this. What makes any bread sugar free is when you don’t add sugar to the recipe)
8. Multigrain
9. Milky loaf
10. Cake
11. Raw dough (dough cycle without a heated, rising cycle)
12. Leaven dough (dough cycle with a heated, rising cycle)
13. Jam and jelly (another interesting feature for a low-cost machine)
14. Bake (no mix, no knead, no rising cycle. Just a baking cycle as an option)
15. Yogurt (A simple but time-consuming process that requires a low temperature maintained for hours. Another interesting feature.)
16. Gluten-free
17. Ferment (This is a rising cycle only. Low temperature setting that can be chosen as an option for an extra rise if customizing an artisanal bread)

3 Crust Settings

The KBS Pro has settings for three crusts. Light, medium and dark which are standard on all bread machines. However, they state that their unique heating element helps to get a perfect crust. There’s not a lot of detail on how that works so we’ll have to take their word for it.

Window in the Lid and Internal Light

Many bread makers have a viewing window in the lid so you can check the progress of various cycles without lifting the lid. The KBS Pro also has an internal light so you can see better. That’s a complaint that shows up often including some of the high-end bread machines. Even though they all feature a viewing window, people often complain that they need a flashlight to see inside.

Automatic Fruit and Nut Hopper

This is unusual for a bread machine at this price. The idea is that the hopper will automatically add fruits and/or nuts towards the end of the kneading cycle, so they don’t get pulverized during the entire cycle. There was a complaint about the hopper, however.

“The fruit and nut dispenser keeps falling into the dough on my machine.”

That’s a new one but given that it was the only complaint out of more than 1500 about this problem it’s most likely a defect with that individual machine rather than a standard problem across the line. Regardless, most owners seemed happy with the KBS Pro.

“It is my first bread machine. It has been working well.”

“Premium bread machine at an affordable price.”

“This bread maker works quite well. It’s very large and takes up a lot of counter space and we have to store it away between loaves, so keep that in mind if your counter is small.”

Digital Touch Pad

The control panel allows you to not only select the setting but a 15 hour delayed cycle timer so you can wake up to fresh baked bread in the morning or when you get home from work and also has a 1-hour warming option. However, there was one significant complaint about the control panel.

“It’s a good bread machine but for one thing…. If the start/stop button is accidently pressed while loading the pan, which is easy to do since these flat buttons are on the top, front of the machine, it is IMPOSSIBLE TO CHANGE THE BREAD SETTING once pressed. Unplugging it does not reset the machine. A full cycle has to be run before the settings on the machine can be changed. After the start/stop button is pressed, no other buttons are active.”

That’s the first I’ve heard of that kind of problem on a bread machine. Usually, unplugging the machine causes the internal memory to reboot and wipe out all previous programming. There’s also no battery mentioned for any kind of programming backup so it’s possible that the owner needed to leave it unplugged a bit longer. Some modems and computers recommend a power-off for at least 15 seconds to wipe any program out of the buffer. Hard to know without actually testing the machine.

There’s another option based on how this customer described their problem. It sounds like they were loading ingredients into the bread pan while it was in the machine. That’s always a mistake. And spills will run down the side of the pan into the bottom of the machine where it’s very difficult to clean. Always remove the bread pan from the machine when adding ingredients and then place the bread pan bake to begin making your bread.

Comes with Instruction Manual and 300 Recipes

Considering some of the exotic settings it’s a good thing it comes with a lot of recipes. However, the instruction manual and the recipes drew the most complaints on Amazon.

“The manual/recipe book that it comes with only calls for dry milk, so get ready to buy some dry milk if you don’t have that on hand. I didn’t. So, I ended up having to convert dry milk measurements into liquid ones. Speaking of conversions, get ready to do a Google search on grams to ounces, cups, etc. because the one they supply in the book is NOT helpful.” 

It appears that some of the translation issues that affected the descriptions of the settings carried over to the manual and recipe book. It’s curious that other bread machines I’ve reviewed in the past also had complaints about their instruction manuals and recipes. However, the customer service from KBS was consistently lauded as both responsive and genuine.

“Great customer service. I ordered a new paddle and it showed up in two days. I had real problems getting replacement paddles with other bread machine makers.”

“I had a question about a recipe, and they got right back to me. Really good customer service.”

Specifications

• Dimensions: 13.7”L x 8.6”W x 11.8”H
• Weight 14.7 pounds
• User Manual with Recipe Booklet
• Measuring Cup
• Measuring Spoon
• 710 Watts

The Bottom Line

The KBS Pro is a very intriguing bread machine. Not only for its low price and range of features but for its good reviews with a rating of 4.4 stars out of 5 out of a large sample size of more than 1500 owners.

It also gets high marks for its creativity across its bread settings. Be forewarned that you may need to contact the manufacturer if you have any issues with the instruction manual or recipes. You could also do a search for bread machine recipes on the Internet.

It also presents the benefits of a ceramic non-stick bread pan as opposed to Teflon; an internal light so you can see the process while the bread is being made, and that yogurt feature is very intriguing and worth trying if you choose to buy this particular machine.