Some people just don't have the time to make bread by hand all the time. Also, you need a counter at an appropriate height for kneading and shoulders that can take the strain. Another consideration is that it takes less energy to heat the relatively small volume of a bread machine versus the oven. Of course, in the winter the oven gains in this balance as it creates a nice warm spot in the house and tends to gather family and cats to its environs.

I know that we get home-baked bread more often than we would without the machine.

Additional details about the Breadman -

1 1/2 pound loaf, but they make a 2-pound model also

Loaf is a rectangular solid with square cross-section, about 6 inches by 6 inches by 10 inches long (going from imperfect memory here)

There is a hole in the bottom caused by the impeller that mixes the ingredients together. It only spoils one slice though.

When a loaf rises more than expected, you get a mushroom cap on the top that sometimes forces the lid open. No harm is done, and the "mushroom" is usually eaten by whoever takes the bread out when it's done.

The machine has a timer so you can put the ingredients in and set it to finish just before your meal.

It will never replace homemade bread, but it beats store-bought loaves, unless you go to a bakery instead of a grocery store; and even then, you just can't beat that baking bread aroma!

Hope this helps

jeffp