Hamilton Beach Bread Maker Review

We bought a Hamilton Beach bread maker and have been using it every day for the past three weeks. We're very happy with the bread machine! If you're looking to buy a bread maker, I hope you'll find this review useful.

In a nutshell -

What I like about the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

  • Easy to set up and use
  • Not loud at all
  • Delicious bread!
  • Fast and simple cleanup

What I don't like about the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

  • Some wear and tear in the pan after only 3 weeks
  • Only one hour of "keep warm mode"

As you can tell, the pros far outweigh the cons, so we're very happy with the purchase.

This is the exact model that we bought -

Click here to see it on Amazon.

Why did we buy this breadmaker?

A collage photo of two Hamilton beach bread maker beach, Hamilton Beach Bread Maker Review

We've recently moved to a place where fresh sourdough bread is harder to find. We don't like the usual spongey commercial bread that you typically find in the grocery stores. The bread is too soft and sweet for my family. We're not very impressed by the long shelf life either, as it indicates intensive use of preservatives.

The only solution was to start baking our own bread. Working long hours, neither myself nor my husband could afford to spend time each and every day baking bread in the traditional way:

  1. Mix the ingredients.
  2. Knead for 10 minutes.
  3. Let the dough rise.
  4. Knead again for another 10 minutes.
  5. Let the dough rise again.
  6. Set the dough in a pan.
  7. Bake.

Having to actively monitor the dough during each stage, including setting timers to come back for each stage, made the process entirely impractical.

We knew we needed a bread-making machine. After reviewing several products, we decided on getting the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker Machine 29882 model. It was the right size, seemed to have good reviews, and hit the right price point for us.

We've been using this bread maker for several weeks now, and I'm here to share my impressions so far. This review is based on my own experience, as well as some research.

About the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker 29882

Hamilton Beach is an American company that has been making small kitchen appliances for more than 100 years. They make blenders, coffee makers, and yes, bread makers too.

Our machine is a medium-sized black bread maker that sits comfortably on the kitchen countertop. It has a chamber where you insert the pan. The lid has a built-in see-through window that allows you to take a peek inside while the machine is at work.

Hamilton Beach bread maker

The bread maker is designed as a tall unit. By that, I mean that its height is more than its length or width. The design helps conserve valuable countertop space, but also means your loaves are tall and look quite different from store-bought ones.

Bread maker with pan

Loaf size can be 1.5 lbs or 2 lbs - whatever you prefer. It also has three crust settings, so you can choose between light, medium, or dark crust. There are only three simple stages to making the bread -

  1. Putting in the ingredients - takes about 4-5 minutes.
  2. Pushing the button.
  3. Taking the bread out.

The bread we get is delicious! It's large, has a great crust, is not sweet at all, and tastes great.

We improved on Hamilton Beach's basic wheat bread recipe and created our own simple recipe for low-carb, protein-rich bread. I'll share the recipe by the end of this post, for those who may be interested.

Initial Setup

We bought our bread maker from Amazon. It arrived within a couple of days (we have Amazon Prime, so shipping was free). Here's the Amazon link that we used.

The box contained a fairly large black machine, including -

  • One metal pan with non-stick coating on the inside.
  • Two metal mixing paddles with non-stick coating.
  • A booklet with operating instructions and some recipes.

The initial setup was very easy. Following the instructions, we placed the pan inside the machine and turned it clockwise until it locked. We then set the breadmaker on "bake" and baked empty for 10 minutes.

The booklet warned us that the appliance may emit a little smoke or odor. That did not happen in our case. After 10 minutes of baking, we took out the pan, let it cool, and then washed with a little bit of water and let it dry. It was ready to go!

Baking our first loaf of bread in the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

The booklet included recipes for each type of cycle (the machine has 12 of those - more on them later). We wanted wheat bread, so we simply followed their recipe for that. I had already purchased 100% whole wheat flour, yeast, and gluten (I knew this was needed for 100% wheat bread).

We followed the recipe, to the letter. It wasn't very difficult. We just had to put the ingredients in the pan, one by one.

The order does matter when baking bread. The recipe calls for putting wet ingredients (water and oil) first, dry ingredients next, and finally the yeast. You want to make sure the yeast doesn't come in contact with liquids or salt right away.

Then we simply closed the lid, set the machine to cycle 11, and pressed start.

Voila!

How long does it take to bake bread in the machine?

That depends on the type of bread you make. The heavier wheat flours require more kneading and more time to rise. It takes almost three hours to make our type of bread in the Hamilton Beach bread maker: a large 2 lbs load of whole-grain wheat bread.

This bread maker also has express cycles that you can use when working with regular flour. Express bread only has one rising stage and is more condensed, but it only takes an hour to make from start to finish, so that's not too bad.

What else can you make with the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker?

This machine knows how to knead and how to make everything in the pan very hot - i.e. bake or cook. It's basically a good solution for anything that you need to mix and cook somehow.

The Hamilton Beach booklet suggests using the bread maker for making dough (for things like buns or pizza crust), cake, and even jam. And of course, a variety of types of bread.

How to operate the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

Operating the bread maker is a breeze once you're used to it. You only have three pieces to deal with: The pan, the paddle, and the machine itself.

To start making any kind of bread, you need to take the following steps -

  1. Place the paddle on the spindle inside the pan.
  2. Place the pan in the machine, at an angle.
  3. Turn the pan clockwise until it locks (it will be straight at that point).
  4. Place the ingredients in the pan.
  5. Select the cycle, size of the loaf, and crust (when applicable).
  6. Press start.
  7. Optional: add ingredients to your bread (we like to add chia seeds) when the machine beeps (after the first rise).
  8. When the bread is ready - take out the pan and turn it over - the bread slides right out.

Available Cycles

The Hamilton Beach Bread Maker has 12 cycles, or programs. They are -

  1. Basic
  2. French bread
  3. Gluten-free
  4. Quick
  5. Sweet
  6. 1.5 lbs Express
  7. 2 lbs Express
  8. Dough
  9. Jam
  10. Cake
  11. Whole Grain
  12. Bake

As the name suggests, the dough cycle means no heat and only kneading. You can use that to make pizza crust or any other dough that you don't want to bake in the machine itself.

The bake cycle (#12) allows you to just bake, with no kneading or waiting for a rise. You can use that cycle if you just need to add baking time to your loaf.

What I like about the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

We use our bread maker every day, and I've come to like quite a lot about it.

Very easy to operate

This appliance was super easy to operate right out of the box. Baking bread includes pushing exactly two buttons.

Delicious healthy bread

The result is great. The machine bakes bread in an even way, with a great crust forming all around the bread. The bread is never burnt and always fully baked to the core. I love getting great results every time we run the bread maker.

Easy cleanup

Cleaning up the bread maker is easy. The bread comes out in a clean block, to begin with, so the pan is pretty clean. All we have to do is rinse it in water and wipe it off with a paper towel.

The pan and paddles are dishwasher safe, so if you're making anything that's more sticky, you can always put them in the dishwasher for a more thorough cleanup.

What I didn't like about the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

While we're happy with this bread maker and won't be replacing it for another, there are a few things that I didn't like.

The paddle disappears in the bread

Once the machine begins baking the loaf, the kneading paddle is still there. The bread is baked around it. As you remove the loaf from the pan, the paddle can come off the spindle and stay buried in the bread.

Paddle hidden in bread

I almost discovered this the hard way. The second time we baked bread, I happened to cut off the bottom as a slice for myself to enjoy with some cream cheese. Fortunately, I noticed the paddle right before I almost bit into it.

After that close call, I now make a point of checking for the paddle whenever I take a new loaf out of the pan. If the paddle isn't in the pan, I dig in the bread to remove it.

Digging into the bread to find the paddle

This is definitely not a part you want to accidentally bite into!

bread maker paddle next to loaf

Wear and tear

Within a week of using the bread maker, we would notice signs of wear and tear. Specifically, the paddle has scratched some of the non-stick coating around the spindle.

wear and tear in pan

You have to be there to get the bread out within one hour

Once the bread is fully baked, the Hamilton Beach bread maker will keep on running and keep the loaf warm for one more hour. After that hour, the machine will switch itself off.

The problem? If the bread stays in the machine at that point, the accumulated moisture inside the baking chamber will turn it soggy.

This has actually happened to us once. We forgot about the bread and only got around to removing it a few hours later. The bottom of the loaf was a bit soggy by then.

It's not a huge deal - the bread was still perfectly edible and tasty. But it's a disadvantage if you're planning on getting the machine started in the morning and coming back home to a fresh loaf of bread.

Where to buy the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker

We ordered ours from Amazon.

Click here to see it on Amazon.

You can find Hamilton Beach products in many stores though. It's even available on Walmart's website here.

Frequently Asked Questions

I've collected a few questions that people ask about this product.

Is it noisy?

Not too much. You only hear the bread maker while it's kneading. The machine seems to shake the pan while the paddle is turning to create the kneading effect.

Not only is the kneading sequence limited in time to under an hour, but it's also not that noisy. I work in the next room and barely notice it.

How large is the cavity that's produced by the paddle?

When removing the paddle, you're likely to create a small hole in the bread. When you slice that part of the loaf, the slice will be affected. If you're looking to get perfect slices, that this area could be considered "wasted."

That hole is about an inch long and an inch deep, but the exact shape and size depend on the position of the paddle during the basking phase.

What material is the paddle made out of?

The paddle is made of metal with a non-stick coating.

Does the Hamilton Beach bread maker use two paddles?

No, there's only room for one paddle in the pan. However, you get two paddles in the box, so you have a spare in case you lose the first one.

Does the Hamilton Beach bread maker have a "keep warm" setting?

No, you can't manually put it on "keep warm." However, whenever a baking cycle ends, it will go into "keep warm" mode for an hour.

Can this breadmaker make bread with nuts in it?

Yes. You can make pretty much any kind of bread in this machine. We've tried adding pecans and it turned out very well.

How much does the Hamilton Beach bread maker weigh?

I haven't weighed it, but according to the specs, it weighs nearly 12 pounds.

How much counter space does it need, including "walking"?

The product dimensions are 10.43 x 14.13 x 12.2 inches, so you need about 15 x 15 inches of countertop space.

The manual warns you that the machine will "dance" or "walk" on your countertop, suggesting that you should avoid placing it near the edge. In our case, it hasn't moved one bit. I wonder if that might happen if you knead a very lightweight bread.

Does it have a dough setting where you can take out the dough and work with it?

You can prepare any kind of dough using the Hamilton Beach bread maker by using cycle #8. It will knead your dough for you but won't bake it. You'll be able to remove the dough and work with it as you wish.

What loaf size is the Hamilton beach homebaker 29882 bread maker?

You can choose between baking a 1.5 lb loaf or a 2 lb loaf. We're using the 2lb option and that creates a large and rather tall loaf of bread.

Can you make sugar-free bread?

You could use any recipe you wanted to. If you have a good sugar-free recipe, by all means, there's no reason the Hamilton Beach homemaker won't be able to make it.

Typically though, yeast needs some sugar to do its job, so you'll probably need to find a bread that's not based on using yeast.

Can you use protein powder in the bread?

The booklet that comes with the machine doesn't include a recipe that uses protein powder. However, if you have such a recipe, then sure, you could use the homemaker to make it.

And that brings me to the final section, where I wanted to share our own version for a low-carb bread.

My favorite recipe: Low-carb high-protein wheat bread

We bought this bread maker so we could make bread that's healthier than the ones we could find in local stores.

We are not following a keto-style diet, but we do try to limit our consumption of carbs and increase protein intake where possible. This is in following with the CDC nutritional guidelines, where they recommend whole grains and a variety of protein.

Not being much of a foodie, and wanting to stick to the tried-and-tested recipes that Hamilton Beach offered in their booklet, we simply adjusted their recipe for whole-wheat bread. We cut the amount of sugar by half and replaced half of the flour with keto flour. It works really well, and our loaves come out large and delicious!

Whole-wheat 2-lb loaf recipe

Here are the ingredients for making our bread. It's important to place them in the bread maker pan in this exact order:

  • 1 3/4 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons brown or white sugar
  • 2 tablespoons soy milk (or regular milk)
  • 2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten
  • 2 1/4 cups of keto flour
  • 2 1/4 whole-wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast (10 ml - one packet if you're using packets)

We use the King Arthur keto flour for this recipe -

This flour is wheat-based and contains 17 grams of protein for every 4 grams of net carbs.

Click to see the King Arthur Keto flour on Amazon.

The added gluten is necessary when you work with whole-wheat grains. We use this type -

Click to see this product on Amazon.

If you're following a keto diet, then my recipe probably won't work for you because we mix this bread with a carb-loaded whole-wheat flour. However, if you're just looking for a delicious bread that is lower on carbs and higher on protein, then this could work. It works for us!

Drop us a comment below if you have any more questions about this Hamilton Beach Bread Maker!

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