Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker
Customer Review: Breadman Meets All Expectations
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm absolutely thrilled with my new Breadman TR2500BC. I did significant research before making a decision, and I even went to several stores to check out the different models. I'd highly suggest doing that, rather than simply making a purchase online. I was able to compare the quality of various bread machines, and then when I finally bought my Breadman, I was able to thoroughly inspect it.
I buy many products from Amazon, but I was wary of the possibility of my Breadman being damaged during shipping, so I went to Le Gourmet Chef instead. I initially thought of buying a Breadman because I've had much success with the Breadman my parents have owned for many years. They use it consistently, and it's a quite a reliable product.
Before I tested my Breadman, I was concerned with some of the changes in the more recent Breadman models. I was particularly worried about horizontal versus vertical loaves, but to my satisfaction, the paddle in my Breadman manages to include all the ingredients from the corners of the pan. I was also worried about the clips holding the pan in place, since my parents' Breadman has a twist and lock feature instead. The clips have proven quite sturdy, and the Breadman doesn't even try to dance off the counter during its kneading cycles.
I've had my Breadman about a week, and I've tried several awesome recipes from the instruction manual, as well as tried and true recipes from one of my favorite bread machine cookbooks. They've all turned out wonderfully! The crust selection feature is great, and there's a real difference between the light, medium, and dark crust options. I've used the pizza dough cycle to make pizza crusts and garlic knots, and the consistency of the dough was perfect each time. When I baked it in the oven, it puffed right up!
I must admit that I even ran out of bread flour for a recipe that required it, and my Breadman still performed well. I've yet to try the fruit and nut dispenser, but the delayed start option is very easy to use. As a matter of fact, the whole instruction manual is extremely user-friendly, and the electronic interface on my Breadman is quite self-explanatory. I love how it tells exactly which stage of the cycle it's in and indicates how much time is remaining.
As for the aesthetics of my Breadman, I'm very pleased. It's stainless steel, yet it's easy to clean and doesn't attract fingerprints like some of my other stainless steel appliances. The black cover is removable, although it doesn't really get dirty, so I haven't had to clean it that thoroughly yet. I simply dust off the flour when I get it a bit messy! The case of my Breadman doesn't get hot, even when the bread is baking, which is a good safety feature.
I hope that you find this review helpful in making your decision. The Breadman TR2500BC is an excellent product, and it's really fun to use!
Customer Review: Do not buy it!!!
Summary: 1 Stars
This is the first time I am writing a review - only to save others the frustration that I am going through with this machine. I had read negative comments, and was hezitant to buy the machine. But I was looking for a machine that would make 1lb bread, since I live alone and would like to have a fresh bread - 1.5loaf is too big and goes stale. So this machine was one of very few options and much cheaper than Zoroguchi. I hoped I would get lucky and it would not break on me, as it did with others. Do not make this same mistake.
The quality of clips that hold the trey is so bad and flimsy, this trey is meant to break sooner or later. With me it was very soon - within first 10 minutes I ever used it. At that point it was over a month since I received the machine from Amazon (I received it right before I went on vacation, and did not use it for a month at all). So I contacted Salton, to have it fixed under manufacturer's waranty. First of all, tried to charge me for shipping. Then, they shipped back to me - but not the same model, but TR875. Apparently the TR2500 is no longer available with them, or is in a long backorder, and for whatever reason, they decided to just switch the models on me.
But that machine does not make the size of the loaf I need. I need a 1LB bread, and that is the only reason I bought TR2500 to begin with. But it is impossible to reason with Salton, because - they are not reachable! Their website is off, the customer cervice number goes to the call center, who tells you that they do not know how to deal with this issue, and will have to get intructions from the "corporate". But you yourself can not reach this "corporate". They will promise you will hear from them in 24hrs. Then in 24 hours they will tell you it is actually 48-76 hours. Then in four days they will tell you it will be soon that you will hear from them. And it is you, who has to initiate all these calls. And you could ship back this model that you do not need - AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE.
I almost guarantee this machine will break, and if it does and you have to deal with Salton - it will waste you a ton of time.
Customer Review: A good investment - but bad machine
Summary: 4 Stars
Strengths: mixes well; bakes evenly
Weaknesses: very noisy when kneading; viewing window hard to see
Summary: I am using the recipes that accompany the machine -
Cinnamon Walnut Raisin Bread - I will not complain that the dispenser did not work to incorporate the raisins until I try it again. I am quite sure I hit the Extras button before I pressed start. The raisins were too hot to touch and made a sticky mess in the dispenser from the heat of the machine. The flour was thoroughly mixed and the chopped walnuts ended up being invisible to see but the flavor was superb. I was very careful to measure ingredients exactly. I will add a tad bit more cinnamon next time as the flavor was barely present.
Second bread, french bread. It was absolutely fabulous!
Both times I used the light crust setting and the 1.5lb loaves. To me, the 1.5 loaves are very large/tall and I wouldn't want to use the 2.0lb since it would only make the bread taller.
I have used the Red Star and the Fleishman Active Dry Yeast and have not noticed a difference in taste.
I did have a little trouble removing the kneading blade from the machine after the loaf baked - remedy: add water to the cooled pan and it slides right off.
We will not be waking up to the smell of fresh bread as the machine is louder than our washing machine when it kneads for approx. 20 minutes. The average 3 hours for the process to complete would be too noisy and too early for the family.
Overall, I would recommend this product as you can time the final loaf to complete right at the time your other food is completed.
UPDATE - Nov 30, 2006
I attempted to make a 1lb 100% wheat loaf of bread. Well, after the 2nd kneading started, the machine started making a noise similiar to when the wheel of a sewing machine tries to spin but can't. I took the bread out and tried to give the kneading piece a hand. No such luck.
Needless to say, my machine is dead :(
Customer Review: Cheap and good, if you can deal with the hassles
Summary: 3 Stars
I ordered a 2500BC, which arrived with one side caved in. Saltron had none in stock and didn't know when they would get more. They offered me a 2200C, the same machine with a white finish, and I accepted. After six months of moderate use (2 or 3 two-pound loaves per week) the belt which turns the paddle broke with a loud bang. Saltron sent me a postage-paid return shipping label and replaced the machine with another 2200C. I have used this machine for a year and it is working satisfactorily.
Searching online, the consensus I found was that the Breadman Ultimate was a good cheap bread machine, but that you may have to return one or two before you get one that works. That was my experience.
The Breadman Ultimate is a 2-pound machine with a long horizontal bread pan and one paddle. A horizontal pan produces a more traditional looking and (to me) better looking loaf: but the machine best known for this, the Zojirushi, has two paddles. So how does the Breadman Ultimate work with one paddle? My experience is that it works very well, with a little help. Operating unattended, about one loaf in four comes out with lumps of raw flour in the corners. When the machine goes into its fast kneed cycle, I open the top, and if dry four is stuck in the corners, I push it into the whirling dough ball with a rubber spatula.
All bread machines are recipe-sensitive and this one is no exception. It is especially sensitive to the amount of liquid in your recipe, and that includes solid ingredients like chopped shallots which release liquid while baking.
Once I got a working product, refined my recipes by trial and error, and learned how to help the fast kneed cycle, I found this machine baked the best tasting and most attractive loaves of any I have owned. It is also the cheapest bread machine I have owned. I recommend it, but only if you are prepared to return a defective product. I would NOT buy a Breadman Ultimate without a solid one-year warranty.
Customer Review: Pretty good, pretty good
Summary: 5 Stars
Don't know if I got a later model or something, but I haven't had any problems with this machine. I was a bit scared to order this after reading the reviews on the site, but the fact that it is totally programmable (I am an experienced breadmaker), stainless steel, and on sale, won me over. The bread pan has never jumped out of its holder, the machine doesn't walk away, and it hasn't broken after making 7 loaves of bread. Nor does it show any sign of slowing down.
6 out of 7 recipes I have tried have made perfect bread, but one, the banana-whole wheat bread, leaves unmixed ingredients on the side of the pan, because it is a thin dough, more like a batter. If I check on it, like it says in the directions to do, and scrape the ingredients down once, it works perfectly. Usually a single-paddle machine relies on the dough being thick enough to stick to all the ingredients on the side of the pan as the dough is being turned around in the pan, so, thin, almost liquid doughs will always have this problem in a single-paddle machine. Since I'm not ready to splurge $200 on the japanese double-paddle machine, I'll deal with it for now.
I plan to adapt artisan bread recipes to this machine and see how that goes. I was going to get the Cuisinart because of their artisan bread feature, but it turns out that you can just program this machine to do artisan bread! The only thing that I wish this machine had is the alarm that the Cuisinart has which goes off and tells you when to take out the paddle so you don't have a big hole in the bottom of your bread when you're done. I suppose I could just calculate when the shaping will happen and set a kitchen timer for myself. The hole is not that bad, so I probably won't bother.
All in all, I'm just glad I don't have to give up an entire weekend day to baking bread, and that I can have fresh bread in the middle of the week, waiting for me in the morning.