Quick backstory...when my daughter was born, she had awful food sensitivities. As a result, we couldn't buy any packaged foods and had to make everything from scratch, including bread. So I got a bread machine. And I haven't bought a loaf of bread since about 2005.

I would go for the fewest bells and whistles you can get. I would definitely want a time delay so that you can set it up at night and wake up to fresh bread, but I wouldn't want too many exotic features. Making a good loaf of bread has more to do with the operator than the machine, so even a bare-bones unit will be fine. Also, the more features they have, the more complicated and non-intuitive they are to operate.

Few quick tips since I mentioned the operator is more important than the machine. You need to measure every ingredient precisely. The flour needs to be loose, not packed, and level off every measuring spoon and cup with the back of a knife.

After some experimenting, I found a very simple recipe that I could get into the bread machine and setup in maybe 3 minutes tops. Set the timer and wake up to fresh bread (yum!).

3c bread flour; 1/4c oil; 1c warm water; 1-1/2 tsp active dry yeast; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp sugar (and again, measure everything precisely).

Extremely simple ingredient list there. Also no preservatives at all, so a loaf of bread to that recipe is really only good for maybe 2 days. After 2 days, I wouldn't use it for anything but toast. But it is also so cheap that throwing half of it away isn't really an issue.

If you are serious about not buying bread again, I recommend getting the flour and yeast at a warehouse club. That can get pretty expensive at a grocery store, but you are making bread for pennies a loaf at warehouse club prices.

Before you go spending $100-300 on a machine, check out Goodwill, thrift stores, pawn shops, or Habitat stores for a used one. Bread machines were a very popular gift there for several years, and most people just don't use theirs. You can probably pick one up for $10-15.

The one I've got now is one I found at Goodwill for $10. For making loaf bread and pizza dough, works just fine.

Final warning: once you make your own bread, you may not go back. And I am pretty sure the bread machine is the reason I gained 30# over ten years. After about six months of disciplined dieting, including no homemade bread, I'm back down to my pre-bread machine weight. Taking up breadmaking could be almost as dangerous as taking up smoking. You'll get hooked, and quitting is tough.