Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
159 of 160 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exceeded expectations, May 7, 2005
This review is from: Breadman TR888 Corner Bakery 2-Pound Programmable Bread Maker (Kitchen)
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 : )))
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
62 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Terrific Machine for Its Price, May 14, 2006
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
57 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great machine, recipes can use some work, February 20, 2006
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.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
