Cuisinart CBK-200 Convection Bread Maker Review

Finally, the long-awaited Cuisinart CBK-200 review is here. In this review, we’ll go through the product’s design, functionality and performance.

The Cuisinart CBK-200 is an upgrade version of the CBK-100 and, understandably, faces stiff competition from well-established bread machine brands. Cuisinart, the company behind this bread maker, is known for making kitchen appliances and other items such as cookware and knives. The Cuisinart CBK-200 is an affordable bread machine.

There are a number of features of this bread maker that deserve mentioning. First off, the bread machine is 16 ½ x 10 ¼ x 12 inches. This is a large enough size for those larger bread making jobs.

However, at 14 lbs., the CBK 200 is a nice middle-ground unit in terms of weight. It’s neither too heavy to move, thanks to those black handles on the sides, nor so light as to wobble around during the bread making process.

Features of Cuisinart CBK-200 2-Pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker

• Has 16 baking preset cycles for making different types of bread
• Makes 1- to 2-pound loaves of bread
• Less noisy thanks to its convection fan
• Programmable
• Comes with a removable lid and a glass viewing window
• Has a 12-hour delay timer
• Has an alarm that alerts you when it’s time to add other ingredients
• Has a 150-minute power failure backup system. You can continue baking for some time even after a power outage or failure
• Has 3 crust colors and 3 loaf size options
• Comes with the power cord
• Uses 680 watts
• Has a pause button that enables a 15-minute pause
• Has an easy-to-use interface and an LCD display screen
• Bakes horizontal loaves of bread
• Has a removable bread pan with functional handles
• Has a baking chamber and heating element,
• Measuring cups and spoon are included as accessories
• Dimensions; 18x 12.2 x 14.9 inches
• Weighs approximately 9 pounds
• Sold with a limited 3-year warranty 

Cuisinart CBK-200 Features

Design

The CBK-200 comes in a rather bland design. However, while this is not the most attractive appliance, it still looks contemporary and stylish in its 100% stainless steel build. The machine exudes on overall solid and well-built construction.

If you have ample space, you can leave the appliance on the counter instead of storing it inside some storage cabinet.

Bread

With the Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Maker in your home, you will never need to visit the local grocery shop or the bakery to buy fresh loaves of bread. What can be better than the aroma of freshly baked loaves of bread coming from your kitchen?

With the appliance, you can bake various types of scrumptious bread right at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPmAOIjb9oU

Menu Presets

The appliance has 16 menu preset programs and also allows you to program your own custom cycles. Experienced bread machine bakers might miss the ability to tweak or reprogram a number of settings, such as the kneading or rising cycles. However, most people would be comfortable with factory settings.

The instruction manual has a timetable for each program to help you determine the loaf size and crust color. In the timetable, there is information regarding preheat, rise and bake settings, and when an alert will be sounded to either remove the paddle or add fruits.

The 16 preset baking cycles of the unit are:

• Rapid French/ Italian
• French/Italian
• Rapid whole wheat
• White
• Whole Wheat
• Rapid white
• Gluten free
• Artisan dough
• Rapid sweet breads
• Sweet breads
• Last minute loaf
• Low carb
• Dough/pizza dough
• Jams
• Quick bread/cake
• Bake only

The Bake Only option does not knead or rise. Instead, it only bakes. This setting will come handy when you want to bake dough that you had previously prepared or when you want to bake bread some more to darken after it has gone through another setting.

The Bake Only program can be set for between 10 and 90 minutes in 10-minute intervals.

You can modify these cycles to come up with a total of 101 cycles.

This smart little bread maker is quite versatile and makes it on our list of the best bread makers on the market.

Delay Start Timer

If you want to bake bread using the 12-hour delay start timer, you should not use perishable ingredients such as dairy products or eggs. These ingredients may start going bad before the bread starts baking.

For recipes that require eggs or milk, substitute the ingredients with dried egg powder or dry milk powder respectively if you are planning to use the delay start timer.

Crust Colors

The CBK-200 bread maker offers three crust color options: light, medium and dark. By default, the machine is set to a medium crust color.

Generally, sweet bread crusts brown easily because they have more fat and sugar than other types of bread. When baking sweet bread, choose a light crust color to prevent the crust from darkening too much.

Loaf Size

The CBK-200 can bake 1-, 1.5- and 2-pound loaves. By default, the unit bakes a 2-pound loaf.

You cannot choose a 1-pound loaf size if you are baking with the low carb or gluten free menu options. Moreover, you cannot set the loaf size on the bake-only program.

Jam Cycle Audible Tone

When making jam, the bread machine will beep tones at the 5- and 10-minute marks to indicate it’s time to scrape the insides of the bread pan with a spatula.

Mix-Ins Audible Tone

The CBK-200 creates a series of audible beeps (4 sets of 5 beeps each) to alert you when it’s time to add the mix-ins near the end of the second kneading cycle. The beeps are on by default on most preset programs, except for the last minute loaf, gluten free and quick bread options.

You can deactivate the signal by pressing the mix-ins buttons once before pressing the start button. The mix-ins LED light will turn off to indicate that the signal has been canceled.

Remove Paddle Alert

There’s a second series of audible alerts (3 sets of 6 beeps each) that will remind you when it’s time to remove the kneading paddle. The beeps go on just before the last rise cycle when the mixing and kneading have been completed. You can remove the kneading blade to reduce the hold in the bottom bread loaf. However, the paddle shaft will still leave a small round hole.

If you want to remove the paddle, press the pause button once to get the machine to rest for 15 minutes. This is enough time to remove paddle from the machine. After removing the paddle, press the start button for the bread maker to continue with the baking cycle or simply wait for the 15-minute pause to end for the machine to automatically resume operations.

If removing the paddle is too much trouble, you can leave it in the pan and remove it from the baked bread.

End Bake Audible Cycle

When your bread is ready, the CB-200 will beep 10 times. The bread will then be kept warm for 60 minutes, after which 12 beeps will sound to indicate the end of the keep-warm cycle.

The keep-warm cycle ensures that the bread does not get too soft from the moisture. However, it is advisable to take out the bread quickly and let it cool on a baking rack. Leaving the bread inside the unit for too long can get its crust darker.

The Convection Fan

This feature deserves a section of its own. I’ve owned or researched a large number of bread makers and I can’t recall seeing many other models with a convection fan, except the Breadman TR2700.

The convection fan adds a bit of noise to bread maker but less than a microwave produces. Moreover, the fan is optional; you don’t have to use it if you don’t want the effect.

However, that effect is well worth a little hum and whirr in the kitchen. It helps make even crusts with beautiful brown glows.

There is one potential drawback, though. The CBK-200 has a warming feature that lets you leave the bread in the pan after baking (for up to an hour). The steam rising off a moist loaf can soften the crust, which tends to counteract that delightful crispness.

Moreover, be careful not to add too much flour; the convection fan can blow some of it through the vents. That small amount won’t have a large effect on the bread but the burnt flour smell may be annoying.

Power Failure Backup

If the power goes off when you are baking, the Cuisinart CBK-200 will retain the current bread making cycle in its memory for up to 15 minutes. The machine will resume the baking process from the memory when the power returns.

NOTE: Avoid unplugging the bread machine when you want to cancel a menu program. Instead, wait for 15 minutes for the unit to clear its memory before plugging and starting it again.

The best way to clear the CBK-200’s memory is by using the stop button. Simply press and hold the button for about three seconds until the machine stops. From there, you can choose new options.

There are various advantages of baking bread in your home rather than buying it ready made from the bakery. When you make your own bread, you are sure of the ingredients used. Moreover, you can control the whole baking process.

The CBK-200 is an economic alternative to large bread makers. The bread machine has a self-programmable feature, which you can use to make bread in your own style and according to your own recipes. You can also undertake numerous baking experiments with this baking machine.

Accessories included With the CBK 200

The Cuisinart CBK 200 comes with a measuring cup, measuring spoon and instruction manual. The instruction manual as doubles up as a recipe booklet.

The manual contains instructions for operating the bread machine, its features and types of bread that can be baked. Other information available includes bread program timetables, troubleshooting tips, bread making tips and information on gluten free ingredients.

On the recipe section, you will find a number of recipes for each menu program, apart from the bake-only cycle. The recipes available include those for making chutneys, sauces, jams, dough, artisan dough, and gluten free bread.

Cuisinart Bread Maker CBK 100 vs 200

The Cuisinart CBK-200 is an upgraded version of the CBK-100, and more expensive. You can read CBK 100 review here.

The CBK-200 is different from the CBK 100 in a number of ways. First off, the CBK 200 has a convection fan as well as menu options for low carb bread and artisan dough. Both of the Cuisinart bread machines has a setting for making gluten free bread.

Read the complete overview of the Cuisinart CBK 200 vs CBK 100 here.

Cuisinart CBK-200 Pros & Cons

The Cuisinart CBK-200 is a fairly easy-to-use product. The top mounted controls are easy to use compared to other competing units with control buttons on the front face, which means you have to crouch to read the LCD display.

The CBK-200’s layout and menu system are easy to understand. While the LCD display is small, it is just right at this price point. The user guide provided does a pretty standard job of walking you through the cooking process and you won’t have to call technical support.

The CBK-200 bread maker bakes good bread and produces a tantalizing aroma. The bread made is at par with any other unit in its price point.

Here is an overview of the pros and cons:

Pros

• Has a gluten-free menu option for making gluten bread
• Made from BPA-free materials
• Replacement parts are easily available on Amazon.
• The dough setting can make pizza dough
• The alerts remind you when it’s time to take out the kneading paddle

Cons

• The dark crust may be too dark. You should use the medium or light crust
• The machine is a little bit noisy when kneading the dough
• The manual and recipe booklet are combined into one
• The LED backscreen is not backlit. Therefore, it may be difficult to read

Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Maker Review

The Cuisinart CBK-200 is one of the best bread making machines on the market. The bread maker can bake different types of bread that are crispier and have more evenly browned crusts. Apart from this, it has a helpful audible alarm that alerts you when it’s time to add more ingredients.

An alert is also sounded when it’s time to remove the mixing paddle so that you don’t have to dig it out after the baking process. This is important for preventing a hole from being left in the bottom of the loaf.

The Cuisinart baking machine is dependable, works quite well and is economical in all ways.

Overall, the CBK-200 bread maker is an excellent appliance to own thanks to its numerous functional features that enhance your baking experience. Notable features of the appliance include the “beep”, which alerts you when it’s time to remove the mixing paddle prior to the start of the baking process and the programmable cycles for gluten free, low carb, and artisan breads. The machine is rated among the best bread machines for artisan breads.

The bread maker offers a hassle-free baking experience. While its style and design are not a work of art, the home appliance is above average. Its operations and use are pretty straight-forward and the functionality is above average.

The end product: warm, fresh bread, is above average in terms of taste and consistency, even with a funky hole in the middle of the loaf.

The Cuisinart bread maker is a user-friendly and uncomplicated bread making machine that produces deliciously baked delicacies. This wonderful home appliance is also affordable. Remember to get the recipe book when buying the Cuisinart CBK-200 to experiment with different recipes.

Berry