Customer Reviews

Breadman TR888 Corner Bakery 2-Pound Programmable Bread Maker

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was put off by the number of negative reviews here but I am now convinced that these critics didn't bother to read the very user-friendly manual and recipe book that comes with this product. Here is my experience: I opened the box at 10 AM, set the machine up on my counter, read the manual, poured in the properly measured and correctly warmed ingredients 20 minutes later, turned the machine on, and did my errands while the machine kneaded, warmed, kneaded, and baked my first loaf of bread. At 3 PM, I was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on thickly sliced fresh bread that I had just made (the loaf cost me about 45 cents in ingredients vs. 3.99$ at the market). I was very happy with the results. Clean up took less than three minutes. Tomorrow I am going to make pizza dough (for about 40 cents - the local market charges 1.99$ for pizza dough - and it has been frozen!). If you are messing this up it is probably because you aren't measuring as accurately as you need to do for bread recipes - with yeast being active, even a pinch too little or too much of an ingredient can mess up your bread. This product exceeded my expectations for ease of use. A hint: buy the following while you wait for this to be delivered - a good bread knife with serrated edges, vegetable oil, yeast packages, BREAD flour (NOT all purpose flour), measuring spoons. I bought this to have fresh bread, to save money (the machine will pay for itself in a few months), to eat bread that doesn't have a lot of chemicals in it, to be more self-sufficient. I am grinning at my success : )))

I have had my Corner Bakery for 4 months now. On the average, I use it about once a week. So far, I have used it only for bread and dough, and have used the regular, sweet, Instabread and dough cycles. I have found it to be very reliable with both the recipes provided and recipes from other sources. I also like it because it will make loaves as small as 1 pound and up to at least 2 pounds.
A few tips:
1. In cold weather (room temperature at or below 65), I prewarm the pan and all ingredients to about 80 degrees.
2. I measure flour by weight (133g = 1 cup)with an inexpensive diet scale and find it to be much easier as well as more reliable than measuring in a cup.
3.The dough is too wet if it leaves traces on the floor of the pan as the kneading blade sweeps it around. Add flour about a tablespoon at a time.
4. The dough is too dry if it does not cohere into a single ball. Add water about 1/2 tablespoon at a time.
5. I have also found that I can cheat a bit and use the Instabake cycle successfully with recipes that are at least 50% white flour (I haven't dared yet to use more whole wheat flour on that cycle).

This is my first review ever, but I found other reviews helpful in chosing to buy this product, and hope to help the next shopper. For more money, there are breadmakers that allow you to reprogram the cycles, run partial cycles, make jam, and recover from power failure, but this one does a great job making bread and dough for half the price. I am very happy with mine.

I've had one of these for 2 months now and I really like it. I'm not at all an experienced baker, but even I can make great bread using this breadmaker.

There are however a couple things to know before buying one:

1. Some of the recipes are just...wrong. I make the standard white bread recipe they offer with 100% success. No problems, it always comes out great. However when I tried to make their whole wheat bread and sourdough bread, carefully measured out according to their recipes, they both ended in disaster the first time. I had to discard both batches because they were flakey, grainy mess. Reason? Not enough liquid, in fact, not NEAR enough liquid. I've since learned to adjust those recipes and they turn out great, but dang, I would have expected those to be better tested before they were published.

2. If you intend to use the packaged mixes, the bread machine is not at all cost-effective. This was kind of a surprise to me, and a dissappointment, but it's true. If for example you go to the supermarket and buy one of the packaged bread mixes, you'll pay as much or more for the mix then it would cost to just go to your local baker and buy a fresh loaf. Same thing with the sweets, muffins, etc. So instead be prepared to keep a cupboard filled to the brim with various baking supplies.

We've used this for about 20 loaves so far and it's doing great. The pan is sturdy and thicker than many brands. The bread turns out great and it is easy to use.

Note that this is a vertical loaf, not horizontal like other breadman products. Also there is no bake-only mode and are no programmable modes. Finally, if the power goes off you start over- no battery backup. But this is a great choice for a basic breadmaker.

This is the third bread machine I've had so far and after several weeks I've had good results. My main criteria in a machine was a 2-pound capacity. The machine has a good, heavy-duty pan that is deep, even for a 2-pound capacity, that reduces the mess that flies out and collects in the bottom of the chamber during mixing. It's been very easy to clean and is quiet while operating. My only complaint is the extremely long basic bread cycle (3 hours, 40 minutes) which produces a nicely textured loaf but required much experimenting to find the right amounts of yeast and flour to make a loaf that wouldn't fall. However, the dough cycle is short (1 hour, 3 minutes) and the extra features such as a setting to make your own butter are appealing, though I haven't tried them yet. Not a bad machine--the best I've used yet.

While there are a lot of good bread machines, one feature of this model made it stand out to me: It bakes one, one-and-a-half and two pound loaves equally well. I prefer to make small loaves more often so that it's always fresh. It's practical to do so with this machine because it's simple to use and easy to clean. Also, sometimes when my husband gets especially creative, one pound is plenty. I cannot recommend, for instance, augmenting a bread mix with canned tuna, and grapes are not simply "fresher than raisins". For satisfying, fresh bread just toss a package of mix into The Breadman TR888. It knows how to make good bread every time so you don't have to.

We have owned the Breadman Corner Bakery for about eight months now. It has made our house smell wonderful. I have to say I don't use the recipes that came with it, so I won't judge those. For the price this is a beautiful machine. The pan has a solid heft to it, not like some of the other bread makers with seemingly flimsy aluminum pans. We have made many types of bread in it and have even churned butter from heavy cream. The best kind of bread is the one made in the pan right after making butter. With a toddler and a baby, it is nice not to have to run to the store everyday to buy fresh bread or rolls. The only time our bread has turned out not so good is when an ingredient has been forgotten. Without the yeast it wasn't quiet the same but our house smelled great.

I have had my machine for several weeks and it rocks! There was a wee learning curve (my fault, not the machine's) but it is now turning out loaf after loaf of delicious fluffy bread. I've had absolutely no mechanical problems at all so far. As long as I follow the recipe instructions (who knew it was so important to use all room-temp ingredients so the bread would rise properly?!)I get a perfect loaf every time. My family of bread-loving men couldn't be happier and I really believe it is saving me money to make my own bread, plus it is so much more convenient than making the trek to the closest grocery store, which, given where I live (Middle of Nowhere), isn't very close.

For years, I swore I'd NEVER use a machine to make "home made" bread. I loved the process of making it by hand. But times change, schedules get busy, hands get arthritic. So, I broke down and bought this. I have used it to make bread and pizza dough, whole wheat breads, quick rise breads, and even butter. Everything came out at least as good as my hand made breads and doughs ever did.

The process is extremely easy, and the instructions are clear and straight foward. The recipe book contains a nice variety of items (although other bread book recipes work well also). Cleanup is incredibly easy. Another bonus is that, unlike baking bread in the oven, the machine does not heat up the room.

Despite the warnings I've heard, I often fail to follow recipes exactly (never was good at staying within the lines!) I made some breads by doing precisely what the recipe called for; yet othertimes, I threw in some of this and some of that without measuring -- and the bread STILL came out wonderfully.

I have not yet made any of the desserts, but I would assume it would work as well with those.

The multi-grain bread I normally buy costs $4.50 a loaf (yes, I like really good quality organic ingredient breads). I've made about a dozen loaves so far, at about $2 a loaf (or less). Before long, it will have paid for itself.

Two other points:

1) Although it does make butter, after you do it once, the novelty is over. Why buy cream to make butter when you can just buy butter?

2) Be sure to try the peanut butter and honey bread recipe in the recipe book. It's REALLY sensational.

For the price, this was a very easy to use breadmaker that makes delicious breads. I haven't tried to make any of the desserts yet, but the instruction book is very easy to read and the recipe book is fantastic.

If you are looking for an affordable breadmaker, I definitely recommend this one.

I didn't find it to be loud, but it is slightly audible if you are in the kitchen when it is in use. I can't hear it when I step out of the kitchen.