Customer Reviews

Toastmaster TBR15 1-1/2-Pound Breadmaker

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

After using a friend's Oster/Sunbeam breadmaker for a couple of months, I got hooked on the idea of making my own bread. Since I didn't need a full-size 2lb. model, I decided to try this 1.5lb unit. What appealed to me at first was the compact footprint and the oversized viewing window.

The burn-off issue described here and elsewhere on the web is pretty accurate. My package included a correction sheet for the manual that clarifies that the pan should be in the machine when you run it dry the first time. This may explain why some people reported that the dome window was melting. Anyhow, I ran the machine outside with a bit of water in the pan and that worked out fine.

After that, it was time to try my first white bread. The machine is pretty noisy compared to the Sunbeam model I'd first used. Unless your bedroom is far enough from the kitchen, you will hear this sucker if you decide to use the delay timer for morning fresh bread.

The first loaf I made was a failure since Fleischmann's active dry yeast (unlike others) is not suitable for bread machines. The granules are different sizes and do not dissolve fast enough. So I bought instant yeast which has very small granules which should have done the trick...but it looks like it was old! I had to use double the amount to get the bread to rise to a decent height. Anyhow, now I buy yeast in large vacuum packs. It is very reliable, last forever and is labeled "instant" or "quick" yeast.

So far, I've made over a dozen breads, mostly whole grain or variations of "healthy" breads. For a small family or couples, this unit is a great value. I've used stone-milled and unbleached wheat with success, although I never add the egg that almost every recipe in the book uses. Pizza dough recipe was good, but I cut down the sugar and yeast to get a thinner crust. If you like it doughy, follow the recipe as stated.

The only caveat is the crust colour control...never set it higher than LIGHT. On my machine at least, the MEDIUM setting caused the sides to almost burn...and I've never tried the DARK setting because of this.

I got this breadmaker because it was the cheapest I could find at a Target. I have three problems with it.

First, the mixing phase requires help. What I mean is that left by itself, the ingredients will not mix properly. The corners of the loaf will be caked flour and salt that must be chipped off with a knife. I must help the mixing phase with a wooden spoon to make sure the flour in the corners of the rectangular mixing compartment are not passed by.

Second, even the lighest crust color is too dark. Further, the loaf must removed immediately when the baking phase is done to prevent the crust from becoming so dark and crusty as to require it to be cut off. Strangely, some 15 minutes or so after the baking is over another series of beeps will sound as if the bread is now cool and ready to eat. Ha!

Third, there is no way to turn the breakmaker off when it is not baking. The red numbers "0:00" are always showing unless you unplug the machine. That's just annoying, not to mention a waste of power.

With proper attention, this breadmaker makes edible bread. However, it would be well worth your while to spend even double to get a breakmaker that does its job--that is, does not require so much attention. The whole point of a breadmaker is to NOT require very much attention.

I am very impressed with this machine. I wasn't expecting too much because of the low price, but there are so many things I like about it much better than my mom's model. First of all, my family doesn't need a huge amount of bread at a time, so the loaf size is perfect (comparable to the amount of bread in a loaf from the grocery store, a little more, maybe). Also, the size of the unit is great. It doesn't take up too much of my valuable counter space. Another great feature is that the viewing window is much bigger than on other models, and you can lift the top at any time to check on the bread.

I read in another review that the electric cord was too short, only a foot long. Well, I measured it and it's over 32 inches long. I had absolutely no problem with it. Perfect, in fact.

The buttons and functions are easy to read and use, and the process isn't complicated at all. It was so easy to make my first loaf... I kept checking the instructions to make sure I wasn't missing something. All I did was dump the ingredients in and press the "start" button. Of course, I did set it to "light," at the recommendation of other reviewers. I suggest this, too. On the light setting, my bread came out as I wanted it. If you like very light/soft crust, I would even take the bread out with about 10 to 20 minutes left on the timer.

All you have to clean when you're done is the bread pan, which easily comes out and is super easy to clean! No crevices or hard-to-get-to spots. I am so happy I can now make bread without having to wash a mixing bowl, utensils and loaf pan! The machine does all of the mixing and kneading for you. The bread also comes out in a nice shape comparable to a normal loaf. Some other bread machines make the strangest shapes!

The instructions recommend a certian brand of yeast that they don't carry at my local supermarket. I bought Fleischmann's RapidRise yeast, and that worked out great. I read that normal Fleischmann's won't work, but probably anything that says "rapid" or "quick" rise will be what you're looking for.

This bread machine is as good as any other I've tried. The bread is delicious and it makes my kitchen smell so great while the bread is baking. The only suggestions I have are to follow the instructions and during the initial burn-off, keep the lid open. I didn't add any water or anything like some people did, I just kept the lid open and let it go through the cycle and after that I haven't had any strange smells at all. I highly recommend this unit.

I received my breadmaker in good condition from Macy's thru Amazon. Setup and break-in was a snap. I experienced no problems with odors or the plastic smell some others have mentioned. My first loaf was just OK. A little too heavy and I followed the directions carefully. I have done a lot of lab work so measuring and weighing are my stock in trade. One thing I realized was that no mention was made of sifting the flour. With the small amount of ingredients used in this breadmaker I think this could make a difference in the consistency of results. Sifted flour would be more consistent in volume than unsifted flour, and thus you would get a more consistent measurement. Another point is the browning problem. I quickly realized that the big window on the top of the breadmaker was pouring heat into the room. The rest of the breadmaker is fairly well insulated but the clear plastic window lets a lot of heat pass thru. This is the reason the sides of the bread are too brown when the top is too lite. I think the solution is to put a oven mitt or other insulating material such as a kitchen towel over the window when you are not looking in (ie 99% of the time). This will raise the temperature in the top of the breadmaker so at least the browning should be more consistent. I think then if you set it on the lite setting it should be much better. Obviously the window flaw is something that the maker should address (smaller window or better insulation). Overall the machine seems to work well and do the job in a rather utilitarian way. It's not a Mercedes but it is not sold at a Mercedes price so I gave it 4 stars. If you are a perfectionist or really like cool gizmos this is not for you. It is small, simple, cheap, and just the right size for two or three people (dogs, etc).

Bought this to make my own healthier breads and I am so glad I did. The first time I used it worked and I was awfully impressed that I had not messed up. I was concerned that the bread was dark but it tasted great. The second time the bread was dark even though I put it on 'Light' setting.

The next time I did not keep it on the keep warm cylce and the bread was bakery quality. I would so recommend this to anyone who neeeds a small machine. I hope to give home-made quality grain breads for the holidays.

I feel in love with the idea of a bread maker while housesitting for friends. However, I didn't want to pay as much as they did. This machine solved my problem. I can make all the same bread as they do and for 1/4 the price. I was worried when I read some of the other reviews but I took a chance anyway. My only advice is "follow the directions". When doing the inital burn off, keep the lip up! There is no melting if you keep the lid up.

This is my second bread machine and I am very pleased with it. It makes bread and dough that is every bit as good as my much more expensive first machine.

Several people have commented that the beep is a little loud and it is but that has not bothered us at all.

I left the pan in when I did the first `break-in' cycle and did not have problems with excess heat or smell. The kneading is not any louder than my first machine which was a Breadman. I had a little bit of trouble getting the pan out the first time but when you follow the instructions (go figure) and push the holding brackets back it pops out easily.

It does a good job of getting the ingredients out of the corners of the pan if you wait til the instructions say to check it. Only once has it left ingredients in the pan out of the many times I've used it. I think it was because I had added too much liquid and I poured it out of the pan. The liquid on the walls of the pan caused the flour to stick. Another thing that will cause ingredients to be left in the pan is if the dough is dry---it has to be just a little 'tacky' to get all the flour. If you're around, it's a good idea to check your dough at the stage the instructions suggest to make sure that it's not too wet or too dry.

One of the surprising things to me is that every loaf has come out perfectly. I've made white, honey wheat and pizza dough from the recipes in the instruction book, and made oatmeal bread, and cornmeal bread from some bread machine cookbooks. The whole grain breads can be tricky so it is remarkable that the Toastmaster has worked so well.

It takes up less space on the counter than my first machine and other more expensive ones. The design is attractive and I especially like the viewing window that lets you see the whole top of your loaf. It doesn't make a 2 pound loaf but the 1.5 pound size will be big enough for most people. The medium setting produces bread that is evenly browned but very dark which we liked but others may wish to use the light setting and/or remove the bread before the end of the cycle. I do think that even the light cycle browns it a little more than it should but it has not been a problem for us. Be warned that if you leave your loaf in the machine through the keep warm cycle it will continue to brown!

I don't know of any bread machine that won't leave a little hole in the bottom of the loaf. If this is a problem for you then I suppose you could remove the dough before the final rise, take the paddle out and put the dough back in for the final rise and bake cycles or bake it in a loaf pan in your oven.

Serious bread makers may want a machine with a larger loaf size and custom programming options but for the average person this is a great value. If you follow the instructions exactly (very important)I think you will be very pleased.

I've had mine for 3 months now. Ok first the bad stuff. Indeed the crust does seem to get too dark even with the lightest setting. The beeps (from the buttons and to indicate different stages of cooking) are sooooo loud (way louder than a microwave ding).

I live in a small apartment in a dense part of town and I'm so scared to use this thing late at night or early in the morning because it'll wake up my neighbors. Obviously they designed it for people who live in mansions in the country or the hearing impaired. Other than that the motor isnt that loud, and its a low pitch noise so I don't mind (my washer is louder).

Also, you should at least take a look after the first beep (to indicate mixing is done) to make sure there isnt unmixed dough stuck to the sides, which is usually only minor amounts anyway. And you might want to center the dough especially if you use amounts for the smaller 1lb size or else it'll come out somewhat deformed.

Other than that it is really awesome. Those of you who have made bread by hand know how agonizing it can be. This machine really simplifies things. I find a good way to get around the dark crust is just use the 'dough' mode and bake in your regular oven. After all, making and rising the dough is the most tedious part to making bread. I've made cinnamon rolls this way that were just awesome.

And at the same price as a toaster oven or blender, its a welcomed addition to any kitchen.

I have had this machine for about a month, and have made seven or 8 loves in it. All I can say is that to it makes incredible bread. Perfect horizontal loves in three hours. My only complaint is that the initial burn off, and the first loaf of bread - made an intense plastics smell while cooking. This ceased to to be a problem after the second loaf. Otherwise, a truly wonderful machine. I highly recommend it.

This is a very good, cheap breadmaker. It makes excellent bread and dough, but it has a few annoying aspects:

1) The bread tray must be pushed into the machine very hard, or it will fall out during mixing.

2) After the first mixing, I often have to scrape some flour off the sides of the tray with a spoon, so it will mix into the dough ball during the second mixing. I can only assume this is because of the horizontal baking tray. I think it's worth it not to have cylindrical bread, like so many other machines produce.

3) The mixing flipper often gets baked into loaf, since it doesn't lock into place. This can be a problem when trying to slice the bread because there will be a hole in the center of the loaf after you remove the flipper.

Also, I recommend that you try recipes from the internet, since the recipes included with the breadmaker are not the best.