Description
The Breville BBM800XL Custom Loaf is the most configurable bread machine in this catalog and it carries two mechanical features nothing else here offers. Breville lists 13 automatic programs plus nine custom settings, three crust colors, loaf sizes from 1 to 2.5 pounds, a collapsible kneading paddle, an automatic fruit and nut dispenser, power interruption protection and a smart LCD display. It runs at 830 watts on a 110 to 120 volt supply, weighs 16.84 pounds and carries a one year limited warranty.
The Collapsible Paddle
This solves the most persistent annoyance in machine baking. In an ordinary bread machine the kneading paddle stays upright in the pan through the entire cycle, so the finished loaf has a large hole in its base where the paddle was, and the paddle itself usually has to be dug out of the bread.
Breville’s paddle mixes the ingredients and then folds flat before the bake function starts, allowing the dough to expand over it. The result is a loaf without a paddle sized cavity and without a component embedded in it. Breville supplies a second, fixed paddle for the jam setting, where continuous stirring is the point.
That is a genuinely clever piece of mechanical design and it is the sort of thing that only becomes obvious as a problem after using an ordinary machine for a few months.
The Automatic Fruit and Nut Dispenser
Adding raisins, nuts or seeds to machine bread has always required standing by the machine and waiting for a beep, because mix-ins added at the start get pulverized by the kneading action. Miss the beep and the loaf comes out plain or the fruit comes out as paste.
Breville builds a dispenser into the lid that holds mix-ins and releases them automatically at the correct point in the cycle. On a machine whose main appeal is a 13 hour unattended cycle, that is the feature that makes a fruit loaf possible overnight rather than only when someone is in the kitchen.
Programs, Custom Settings and Power Backup
Thirteen automatic programs include gluten free, yeast free, crusty loaf, dough and pasta, and jam. Gluten free is worth singling out, since gluten free dough needs a different mixing and rising profile rather than just different ingredients. Yeast free covers soda breads and quick breads that use chemical leavening.
Nine custom settings allow a baker to adjust and store their own program: kneading times, rise times, bake time and temperature saved as a personal recipe. That is unusual on a domestic bread machine and it is the feature that makes this a machine for someone who wants to develop a loaf rather than reproduce one.
Power interruption protection provides 60 minutes of backup power. If the supply is lost mid cycle the machine holds its state and resumes rather than abandoning a batch of dough. In an area with brief outages, that is the difference between an inconvenience and a ruined loaf.
Loaf sizes run from 1 pound to 2.5 pounds, which is the widest range in this catalog and means the same machine suits a couple and a family.
Highlights
- Collapsible kneading paddle that folds flat before baking.
- Automatic fruit and nut dispenser releasing mix-ins at the correct time.
- 13 automatic programs including gluten free, yeast free, crusty loaf, dough and pasta, and jam.
- Nine custom settings for storing personal recipes.
- Loaf sizes from 1 to 2.5 pounds.
- Three crust color options.
- Smart LCD display showing cycle progress.
- 60 minutes of power interruption backup.
- Second fixed paddle supplied for the jam setting.
- 830 watts, 110 to 120 volts. 16.4 by 9.6 by 13.3 inches, 16.84 pounds, one year limited warranty.
Things To Consider
The rating average is 4.2 out of 5 across roughly 1,400 ratings, which is a substantial evidence base and a middling score for a machine at this level. That is aggregate owner opinion rather than a measured result, and it argues for reading current owner feedback before committing.
The machine is hand wash only, which is normal for bread machine pans and paddles but worth knowing given there are two paddles and a dispenser to clean rather than one paddle.
More moving parts means more that can fail. A collapsible paddle has a hinge, and a dispenser has a release mechanism. Both are the sort of components that eventually need attention, on a machine covered for one year.
The specification field gives the number of programs as 13, while the feature bullets describe 13 automatic programs plus nine custom settings, so the two are describing different things rather than contradicting.
At 16.4 inches wide this is a large appliance that needs permanent counter space. A compact alternative is the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 at 8.5 inches wide, though it makes only a 1 pound loaf.
There is no lid heater, so the top crust will brown less than the sides, unlike the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus.
At 830 watts the machine draws more than most bread machines in this catalog, though still less than a kettle. The cycle runs for hours rather than minutes, so the total energy used matters more than the instantaneous draw, and Breville does not publish a figure for a full cycle.
Nine custom settings also mean nine opportunities to save a program that does not work. Custom programming is a genuine capability and it rewards someone willing to iterate on a recipe, rather than someone who wants a good loaf on the first attempt. Buyers who want reliable results without experimentation are better served by a machine with well developed fixed programs, such as those in the bread machine range.
Who It Suits and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This suits a baker rather than a bread buyer: someone who wants to adjust a program, store the result and repeat it, who bakes fruit and nut loaves, and who values a loaf without a paddle hole in the bottom. The custom settings and the two mechanical features appear on no other machine in this catalog, and the 1 to 2.5 pound loaf range means the machine adapts as a household changes.
It is more machine than someone who wants a plain white loaf on a timer needs, where the Oster 5838 ExpressBake covers the same ground more simply. It is also the wrong machine for a small kitchen. The rest of the range sits in the bread machine category.
