Dec. 14 -- The smell of fresh baked bread in your grandmother's kitchen meant a good home cooked meal was going to be served shortly. You can make fresh baked bread just like your grandmother and it won't take all day to prepare.

A bread maker with a 45-minute baking cycle, keep warm cycle and a simple two-button operation has been introduced by The West Bend Company. The bread maker, called Just for Dinner, ($69.95, call 242-334-6949 for the nearest retailer) is available at http://www.westbend.com

"Consumers still prefer to prepare meals at home. However, with the constraints of time weighing heavily on their minds, people want products that help them save time," J. Gary Shabino, West Bend's vice president of retail house wares, says. "Just for Dinner prepares a dinner sized loaf quickly and simply."

Not only can you have fresh bread in time for dinner but you can have it at every meal if you wish. The bread maker produces a 3/4 pound loaf which can serve a party of four or two bread-lovers, eliminating the waste and stale taste associated with larger loaves.

The simple two button operation accommodates basic/specialty and 50% wheat to offer a variety of breads to satisfy everyone's taste. The instruction booklet comes with 27 tried and taste tested recipes from French to Swiss jalapeno bread.

Not to fear, Just for Dinner won't consume all of your precious counter space. The base is no larger than a regular sheet of paper, so even an apartment dweller can leave it out on the counter and still have room for the coffee maker.