Don't let the negative reviews here fool you. This bread machine itself is great, and I can't believe how inexpensive! I picked it up for under $40 at Walmart only to see it is now $34 here on Amazon. It makes 1.5 or 2 lb loaves, has a jam setting, a "raisin beep" (signal to add fresh fruit and other ingredients during the second kneading), bake only (like cakes) and dough only (to mix in machine then bake in oven). Also has up to 13 hour delay so you can wake or come home to fresh bread.
It's the recipes that come in the booklet that are bad. They all have way too much yeast, which is a classic cause of fallen loaves. I can't imagine how they came up with recipes with so much yeast! To see what I mean, Sunbeam has all their bread machine instruction manuals available online at http://www.sunbeam.com/manualsearch.aspx?PCId=3
ANYhoo, I strongly suggest that if you've never made bread by hand before, pick up a good all-inclusive intro to bread machine baking book that includes recipes (I think Better Homes and Gardens and Betty Crocker both have well-rated ones on Amazon). Usually the front of these books include bread baking basics, regardless of whether you are using a machine. The booklets that come with bread machines have only a few very basic recipes anyway, like a crockpot instruction book. This machine is a sturdy, capable tool to use with a descent book. It's too bad the included free one is a dud!
Things to remember: you MUST measure carefully, even more so than with other baking. Don't use dry measure cups to measure your liquid ingredients. Fresh yeast AND flour are a must. Know that adding/substituting in yeast bread recipes is not as "OK" as with other baking.
Also, know that any bread machine is not as much of a "fix it and forget it" walk-away tool as a crock pot (at least, not if you want a perfect loaf every time). You need to check the dough during the second knead cycle to make sure it isn't too wet or dry (which will depend on the weather!). You may have to scrape the sides of the pan, or add additional ingredients (like fruit) later in the cycle. The bread machine is aimed at taking the physical labor out of breadmaking, and also conveniently bake in the same pan. Technically, the same can be accomplished with a heavy-duty mixer and a good oven.
Not having owned a bread machine before, I did my online research and decided to try a reasonably priced "good-enough tester" machine... Well, I'm VERY glad that I decided to purchase this "more-than-good-enough" model!
This particular model is fairly quiet while in operation, beeps after the 1st rest to indicate that it's time to add the nuts/raisins, etc., and beeps after the baking cycle is completed (if the bread is not removed from the machine as soon as it's done, it might lose moisture during the auto keep-warm cycle). I've twice made the following recipe with pine nuts and twice made raisin-pistachio bread (from "the Big Book of Bread Machine Recipes")--delicious.
The best part about this machine baking process is that it's not at all difficult in any way. Here is the typical baking process: Warm the liquid in a glass measuring cup in a microwave, stir in the salt/honey/sugar/butter in the warm liquid, pour the mixture into the baking pan, place the pan on the scale, adjust the scale to zero, add the required flour (1 cup flour = 4 to 4.5 oz), level the flour, add the yeast, twist to lock the pan into the breadmaker, plug in the breadmaker, select the crust color (best to try the "Light" color first), select the baking setting, after about 5 min. check the dough and add water/flour if necessary (very important step), remove the bread to a cooling rack as soon as it's done, then wipe the baking pan when it's cool enough. (It's helpful to have a portable timer on you to remind you to remove the bread, wherever you might be.)
The clean up is SO MINIMAL that the bread tastes just that much better! And, whenever we want oven-baked loaves, I'd simply use the breadmaker's dough cycle to lessen the clean up and do the rest as usual.
However, there are some negative aspects related to this bread machine:
1. The user manual is very uninformative for a new user, so don't even bother. Instead, buy "The BIG Book of Bread Machine Recipes" by Donna Rathmell German (on Amazon; 600 recipes from 5 of her bread machine cookbooks) or other bread machine cookbooks and rest assured that the resulting loaves will be enjoyable and varied.
2. On my machine, I had to make sure to select the "light" color, else the loaf gets too brown/too thick crusted.
3. So far, all 4 loaves have slightly caved/sunken/deflated as soon as the baking cycle kicked in. Although the loaves are just slightly sunken, and the appearance and taste were not affected in any way, I will try using less liquid than normal (for a firmer dough) or less yeast (to slow the dough expansion process for this machine) to prevent the sunken look next time.
Useful tips for new bread machine user:
1. Get a dependable scale, instant-read thermometer, and a liquid measuring cup--approximations might not work well when you're new at using bread machines.
2. For the basic cycle, if baking the bread right away, you can just place all the ingredients right into the baking pan regardless of the liquid-first order stated on the manual.
3. If adding additional flour/liquid to the baking pan, add carefully. Any spilled gunk on the bread machine's bottom or heating element might take some scrubbing if baked in.
4. If additional kneading time is desired, just stop and restart the machine for additional gluten development/knead time.
5. For the initial confidence-building 2-pound loaf, try this tested recipe (might have to set your Sunbeam to "Light" color): 1 1/3 cups milk and/or water, 2 tb honey/sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 2 tablespoons butter, 4 cups bread flour (I used Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose), 1 1/2 teaspoons active yeast, 1/4 - 1/3 cup of pine nuts/other chopped nuts (optional). Remember to check the dough consistency after about 5 minutes and add liquids/flour if too wet or too dry.
6. If the bread dough is over-rising at the top of the bake pan, either:
a. simply scoop some dough carefully off the top, put the extra dough in a greased baking vessel of suitable size. Let dough rise a bit in the oven with the pilot light on, take dough out, preheat the oven at 350F-375F, spray some water in the oven to encourage crust formation, and then bake until the top is golden brown (internal temp. of about 180F to 200F); bake the other portion in the bread machine as usual; -OR-
b. remove dough from the machine completely-- separate the dough into two greased baking vessels of suitable size. Let dough rise a bit in the oven with the pilot light on, take dough out, preheat the oven at 350F-375F, spray some water in the oven to encourage crust formation, and then bake until the top is golden brown (internal temp. of about 180F to 200F).
7. Store bread in the freezer for fresh-tasting bread any time: divide the bread into serving portions, place in Ziplock bag(s) and store in the freezer; defrost (in the bag) in room temperature (or wrap the bread in a moist paper towel and microwave for a few seconds) before devouring. Make life even easier--bake extra loaves and freeze them.
Conclusion: If you like the taste of "just-baked" breads, but don't like the messy cleanups and the typical baking-related efforts => well, this one is worth the try, and it is worth the price. Just remember to get a big bread machine recipe book and enjoy all the possibilities. Great machine (and great book)! - Sunbeam 5891 - Baking - Great Value - Bread - Sunbeam - Bread Baker'
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