KBS Automatic Upgraded Bread Maker Review

The KBS Automatic isn't really a great value buy and doesn't stand out from the rest of the group when it comes to performance, putting it in the bottom half of the rankings. It wouldn't be a terrible option if you found it at a huge discount, but there are cheaper options out there that perform quite a bit better or top-notch appliances that bake a whole bunch better.

Bread Quality

The white bread came out of this machine with a crust that was surprisingly consistent in color, with the top of the loaf closer in color to the sides and the bottom than any other machine we tested. Unfortunately, it also had two moderately sized areas on the side of the bread where unincorporated flour got burnt. The load also had a few air pockets on the top.

The whole wheat bread came out quite a bit better, with only a small dimple in the top marring its otherwise almost perfect appearance. The KBS also produced the evenest whole wheat crust out of the entire group.

Performance plummeted with the gluten-free bread, with the final loaf looking the worst out of the entire group. There was tons of corn starch all over the outside of the bread and it seemed the KBS solidly struggled with mixing this dough. Right from the start, the paddle threw a bunch of cornstarch at the lid of the bread machine and it stayed there throughout the entire baking process. However, we were impressed with how even in color the crust was when the dough was so poorly mixed.

Ease of Use

The KBS isn't the easiest or most convenient to use bread machine that we have encountered, but it isn't too much of a giant pain. It got off to a bit of a rough start in this series of tests, as the included instructions and recipes are a bit of a joke. They aren't very thorough and appear to be a very poor translation, with things like “big spoons” or “little spoons” in place of tablespoons or teaspoon.

This machine has a ceramic bread pan, which we thought greatly added to the evenness of the crust. The KBS is also on the lighter and more compact size, weighing less than 10 lbs. and measuring in at 13. 7"(L) x 11"(H) x 11"(W).

Features

The KBS has a ton of automatic baking profiles, numbering 19 in all. These include soft bread, sweet bread, natural sourdough, French, whole wheat, quick, sugar-free, multigrain, milky loaf, cake, raw dough, leaven dough, jam, bake, yogurt, gluten-free, sticky rice, stir fry, and ferment. This machine lacks a fruit and nut dispenser, but it does have an audible tone that alerts you when it is the proper time to manually add in any mix-ins if you like.

This bread machine also has one of the longest delay timers, allowing you to preload the ingredients for bread recipes that don't require anything perishable in the morning and set the timer so your bread is done right when you want it. It also has a 1-hour keep warm setting and a loaf size selection, which lets you pick between 1.0, 1.5, or 2.0 lbs. loaves. We also liked that the KBS has a crust darkness selection that lets you pick between light, medium, and dark.

Value

The KBS Automatic isn't a great value, as it was outperformed by other less expensive models.

Conclusion