- We're back to the Kitchen Gadget Show.
And we're here to test three different bread makers.
The objective is to see if the Breville, at $250,
is really worth the price tag
compared to the Hamilton Beach at 60,
or the Cuisinart at 100.
So today we're just doing a very standard white bread.
We're testing the crustiness.
The color, the crumb, and then flavor.
So why a bread maker?
Why do you need a break maker in your kitchen?
Quite honestly, it's very, very easy to do.
Maybe it's a little bit scary for you
to like make bread at home.
But with this machine,
you'll be able to do it anytime you want.
You know, some of these, you can program it
to literally get white bread as soon as you wake up.
Okay starting with the Hamilton Beach.
Super easy, all of these machines work the same way.
You just put in all the ingredients in the container
in the order that it's listed.
Water.
Salt.
Sugar.
Butter.
And then flour.
And this is guy is using bread machine yeast.
I mean how easy was that?
That's it and then you just place it in here, turn it on.
So we'll do the Cuisinart.
It's interesting, they are all shaped
a little bit differently.
All right so for the Cuisinart, we got water,
then it says butter next.
Sugar.
Salt.
Flour.
All right.
Some dry milk.
Then instant yeast.
Okay so that's that.
And then the Breville.
And notice again, the shape is different.
Water.
Butter.
Salt.
Sugar.
Flour.
Milk powder.
Active yeast.
So each recipe is slightly different.
All right, so all of our mixtures are inside the container.
And you just have to make sure you have it locked in place.
My mixture is in.
There's three different settings.
The first one is cycle and that just means you're choosing
the setting of which bread you're baking.
In this case we're just doing the basic white.
Okay and then the crust, you can do light, medium, and dark.
In this case we're just gonna go straight medium.
And then the loaf size at two pounds
because this is what the white bread recipe calls for.
And then you just press start.
And that's it, literally that's it.
So the Cuisinart works very similarly.
We're on setting one for the white bread.
Two pound loaf.
And the color we'll have it at medium.
So same idea, press start.
And that's it.
Okay and, last but not least, our Breville.
Lock it in.
Basic white, we're gonna select our crust at medium.
Our size at two pounds.
And then you press start.
All of our machines are on.
All of these take around three to three and a half hours.
And that's it.
You just sit and wait.
After these are done, we're gonna do a little taste test.
And since you guys are such skeptics,
I brought in someone really special today
to taste these with me.
The mastermind of bread making,
the legendary Chef Sim Cass,
And we're gonna do a blind taste test to see
which machine is really worth the price tag.
It's been three and a half hours.
My bread is done.
Time for the big reveal.
Starting with our Hamilton Beach.
You do have to twist and then pull out.
So I'm just gonna flip it over.
See how nicely it, okay.
That was pretty good.
Bread number one.
From our Cuisinart.
There's number two.
Number three.
So I'm gonna let these cool.
And I'm gonna set up a blind taste test
for a special guest.
So now, taste test.
As promised, Chef Sim Cass.
How are you?
- I'm very well, thank you.
- So what's your feeling about bread machines?
- Bread machines, I like to think of as a gateway
to actually making bread in your own home.
- So you're not totally against it.
- I'm not totally against it.
I still think it's a good thing to make bread at home
however you get there.
But let's see.
I've decided to be open-minded about this.
- Okay good.
Have you ever used an instant bread machine before?
- No.
But I have watched someone use one.
- So we're gonna do a blind taste test.
To see what makes the best product?
What are looking for when we are tasting
like really good bread?
- Number one, crispy.
The other thing we're looking for is the most even crumb.
The hollow sound here.
- Hollow sound.
- Also, a good loaf of bread should have
a lot of color to it.
It means you're getting caramelization
and you're getting more flavor.
- Got it.
- A is darker.
You should be able to hear an audible crack.
- Oh do we hear any?
- No crack.
Hollow-ish.
Number B.
Not as much color to it.
No crack.
Hollow-ish.
- Final one is C.
You know, that's the darkest one there.
But I would always lean towards the darkest one.
There's a tiny bit of crunchy bit here on this corner.
This is the most hollow-ish.
- Oh this is the most, okay.
- Yes, this one here.
- So far, we love C.
- I'm leaning towards C look-wise.
Let's just taste these bad boys.
- Yeah let's do it.
You choose.
- Let's go through, I'm gonna start with A.
- How do you feel about that so far?
- Already, we're gonna open it up.
- [Esther] I mean that looks pretty good to me.
- This looks like a pan de mie,
or like an enriched loaf.
The bottom, the holes are very small.
Can you feel that?
See how that's condensed isn't it there?
- [Esther] Yup, yup, and bigger bigger holes.
- See up here, this more what you want right.
The reason why it's got all the holes
very, very close together is because
it's been used with instant yeast.
So that's the characteristic of a bread machine.
- Okay.
- Always will be.
All I'm gonna say is it looks to me like we've had more rise
up here and not much rise down there.
- Got it, so a little bit of an unevenness.
- We're gonna cut it the same way on B here.
- And that being said,
does shape really concern you right now?
- I'm worried about this.
This is usually a sign of over proving.
When the top is domed, the gluten has held the structure.
When it falls, it usually means that you've over proofed
it a little bit too much.
But let's go for this one, why not.
Let's have a look.
- Okay.
- And, this one I actually like this crumb
a little bit better than this one.
But once again, look at this.
About a third down is very tight.
And actually, I can feel sort of an uneven lumpiness to it.
Not necessarily bad.
All right so the final one is number C.
This feels more like I got it from the supermarket.
Okay, all right.
Not being derogatory.
Just I got it from the supermarket.
- [Esther] So what do you think?
- So once again, this one also has at the bottom,
there's maybe an inch not well developed to the bottom.
And maybe this is a characteristic of bread machines
that is doesn't really work as well at the bottom.
But this one is the most even absolutely with its crumb.
- It looks really nice.
So what do you think?
I mean honest opinion.
- I'm actually learning something.
And you know I'm realizing that bread machines,
they have this thing where they don't knead
the bread as efficiently as maybe they should do.
- Honestly chef, come to think, I remember watching
the bread knead as the machines were going
and the bottom, the flour was still like stuck.
- Now that's probably this bit here.
Anyway, this has got the most even crumb.
And it's the softest all the way across.
This I actually like this crumb.
But it's the most uneven.
This one has an acceptable crumb
and quite a nice sort of an airy thing.
- Okay so let's taste it.
- Yeah.
This will be another part of our testing.
Does it slice at the classic, you know slice of bread?
And it does.
I'm gonna taste the one with the crust on.
- Right.
Tell me, talk to me chef.
- Okay, it's acceptable.
We call this an enriched loaf in the bakery.
And it's fine.
It's a sandwich bread.
- I think it's really like, weird texture.
And it's kind of like chalky in your mouth.
It's not bad though, it's bread.
- Let's go for this one.
Does it slice?
You're still skeptical right?
- Well that one kind of looks like it tastes better though.
- You know I like this one better than that one.
I have to have a bit of the crust on it, it's important.
- I'm not sure.
It tastes different.
- I don't think it's a bad flavor
and I think it's once again,
it's just tastes very generic is the word.
- [Esther] Okay generic.
- Okay here we go.
We're gonna go for this one now?
- Okay C, I'm most excited about this one.
- You are?
You know I've got to give an A to all the slicing.
I think that's the one thing that's been really good.
- [Esther] Wow this slices really well.
- If you had like a family of seven,
and you made everybody a sandwich
to take to work with them or school with them,
anyone of these breads with some lettuce
and some tomatoes and mayonnaise.
- [Esther] They probably wouldn't even know.
- They'd be fine, they wouldn't complain.
They'd be like "thanks."
I mean if you're lucky there'll be thanks.
Okay here.
- All right.
- Ready?
It's like a cloud isn't it?
A cloud of neutrality.
- Yeah.
- Wow it's hard now.
- It's hard, it's very like, okay.
They're all so different in flavor.
Similar ingredients in all three of them.
- I think that's got the most flavor.
That one there, number B.
And I wonder if with a little bit
of maybe scraping the dough down,
you could get a better loaf of bread out of this one.
This is number one.
This one looks the best.
Cuts the best, has an okay flavor.
- The Breville for $250.
- 250 buckaroonies.
(laughing)
- It is the best loaf.
- Hey you know what, the truth of the matter is,
you get what you pay for sometimes in life.
And this is the best one.
A is second.
- Hamilton Beach!
- 60 bucks.
- For 60 bucks.
- Wow.
This one's totally acceptable.
I don't have a problem with this one.
I'm okay with this one.
B is third.
Because people like appearances.
That's the problem.
- Yeah I think that's important
because people eat with their eyes.
But if someone bought machine B
and they got this product out of it,
I think someone would be like really mad right?
It's the Cuisinart for $100.
- 100 bucks.
- That's kind of expensive.
A little bit for this bread.
- You know I've gotta be honest with you.
I'm definitely thrifty.
I'd probably go, I'm buying the cheap one.
Okay because I don't think the difference
is big enough to justify the 250.
I would buy the $60 one yeah,
and then I would work with it.
And I'd try different versions very slightly.
I just want to point out,
if you just want to put the stuff into the bowl,
come back later and get your loaf of bread,
this is the way to go, yes, justified.
If you want to experiment with a bread machine
and you've never experimented before with one.
Then by all means buy the least expensive one
and work with it.
- Chef, I just want to thank you.
Chef Sim Cass, the Dean of bread making.
From ICE, Institute of Culinary Education.
Chef, I'm going to come visit you
and really learn all the details of bread making.
- Please do, please do.
- I would love to.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you, hug.
- I enjoyed this.
- We're going to hug it out.
- There it is.
- Thank you chef.
- Thank you.
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