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There's nothing like freshly baked bread.

Few things are as comforting as fresh-baked bread. While it can be tricky to master the art of baking an expert loaf, a good bread maker can make things so much easier (and save you time, too). Most machines have a variety of pre-programmed settings, whether it's multigrain, French, gluten-free, or dough for a homemade pizza, which makes baking a breeze. We've found some of the best-rated bread makers on the market so you'll always have a fresh loaf ready in your bread box.

Looking to get started with some bread recipes? Try out our beer bread, lemon poppy zucchini bread, and our best-ever banana bread.

The Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Bread Maker has 15 programmed settings, including some that are helpful for special diets like salt-free, sugar-free, and gluten-free. You can also create up to three homemade settings. "I have made 4 loaves and each one was absolutely perfect," said a reviewer. "They rose perfectly, they baked perfectly and they even sliced, while steaming hot, without crushing."

If you're looking for a bread maker that isn't too powerful, but won't take up too much space, consider the Cuisinart Compact Automatic Bread Maker. While it can only bake up to a two-pound loaf, it has a vertical baking pan and a small footprint. "Loaves are thoroughly and evenly baked even on the light crust setting," said one reviewer. "The best bread machine I have had in 25 years of using bread machines."

Small, but mighty, the Oster Expressbake Bread Maker can bake a loaf of bread in under an hour. "I love this breadmaker," said one reviewer. "It's also light and fairly small, so easy to set on the counter."

With over 15,000 Amazon reviews, the Hamilton Beach Bread Maker Machine is a popular and highly-rated choice. It has 12 programmed settings including a window so you can watch your bread bake. Plus, you don't have to worry about taking your bread out of the machine right away because it will stay warm for an hour.

The Breville Custom Loaf Bread Maker is the perfect choice for those looking for a variety of options. The LCD screen shows a progress indicator and allows you to select the setting, crust shade, and loaf size. In addition to the auto programs, you can also create your own nine custom settings. "I love the interior light so you can see what's going on," said one reviewer. "I also like the feature that you can take a loaf from yesterday and just use the 'bake only' function to warm it up for dinner."

When selecting the best bread makers, we kept size, value, and function in mind. We scoured the internet for the most highly-rated bread makers that will serve a variety of needs. Here are two key things to consider when looking for a bread maker:

Capacity: Bread makers come in all different sizes, with capacities typically ranging from 1 to 2 pound loaves.

Settings: Most bread makers have a variety of pre-programmed settings for different types of bread or diets, such as gluten-free, multigrain, and yeast-free.