Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker, White
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List Price: Our Price: $59.27 You Save: $23.10 (27%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $55.00 (click here) Category: Kitchen See more product details |
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker, White
Customer Review: $32 for bread KNEADING machine is okay
Summary: 3 Stars
I tried the express cycle with great success, the bread came out a little dense (as expected) but still very soft. The shape of the pan makes it perfect to create perfect bread slices for sandwich.
The regular (non express) cycle: First I tried making basic white bread, with their recipe.... A MISTAKE , way too much yeast, bread fell horribly. I tried reducing the yeast bit by bit, but I can't get it quite right.
Finally, it dawned on me that I can get the machine to knead for me, have the first rise there, and do the second rise outside, in a pan or free form on a baking sheet. It works wonderfully. It is extremely easy to predict / figure out when its time to bake , absolutely no reason for another fallen bread. No more constraints of getting just the right amount of yeast, the right kind of yeast. For example if you put 1 package of active dry yeast in a 1.5 pound basic white bread dough, the second rise will take about 35-40 min, at around 70 degree Fahrenheit.
So, I've had the machine for over a year, I made around 20 loaves with the machine, and it is still working great.
It can not completely substitute for Kitchen Aid stand mixer (kneading purpose), but for $32 it is certainly more cost effective. (How many loaves of bread do you have to make to justify buying a $300 mixer instead of buying bread from a bakery??)
Customer Review: Good machine for the price
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this machine to begin gluten-free baking experiments. The name of the product is a misnomer -- it is not programmable, rather it has many programs which are also available on other bread machines. As a result, I cannot use a single program to make gluten-free bread because the dough doesn't benefit from multiple risings and punching down. Instead, on the advice of one of the other reviewers, I use the basic cycle to mix the dough, then stop the program, let the dough rise, and use the bake program to bake the bread. The machine requires some babysitting as a result. Also, once the bake cycle is ended, the machine cannot be used until it cools down. If the bread isn't quite done, it must be finished in the oven.
But even with these flaws, the bread machine is still a good product. A truly programmable machine would cost more than twice as much. The paddle can handle mixing the gluten-free flours, although I use the standard tactic of scraping down the sides of the pan with a rubber spatula to ensure complete mixing. Also, I have yet to burn a loaf of bread in the machine, something which used to happen frequently in my oven. I recommend using Bette Hagman's "Gluten-free Gourmet Bakes Bread" as a guide to baking safe bread. That cookbook combined with this machine have allowed me to successfully bake and enjoy bread again.
Customer Review: quiet runner
Summary: 4 Stars
I got the Sunbeam 5891 as a replacement for the old 5833 which died after many years of service (The control panel & display stopped working). At first I thought this model wouldn't be as sturdy since it has a plastic outer cabinet and weighs slightly less than the old one. But it performs beautifully. Very quiet and stable on the counter top. I do believe that the larger cavity around the baking pan and lower heating element design give it a better overall baking mode and crust appearance and texture.
I have not tried the new programmable option modes for jams and jellies yet, so far have just made some awesome loaves of classic french style, whole wheat french and rye, using only organic flour of course.
The manual said "Just snap in the bread pan", well, that is slightly misleading, it has the turn to lock method, which actually is easier to use once you get used to it.
I hope this machine gives me 10+ years of service. My faith in Sunbeam has been renewed. And you can't beat the performance of this machine for the price.
My sister in-law is still making bread the hard way by hand. Maybe I should get her one of these gems for Christmas? The dough mode is perfect if you want to shape and bake your bread in a conventional oven, and avoid all the hard work of kneading.
Customer Review: EASY for a beginner to get started - Oops, it died!
Summary: 5 Stars
I had never used a bread machine before so I chose the least expensive one with the best reviews. It arrived last night, 30 minutes before I had to leave for an evening class. I managed to unpack it, glance at the instructions, get the ingredients together using the recipe on the wholemeal flour bag (many of the reviews warn about the manufacturer's recipes) and set my first loaf to bake. I came home four hours later expecting a brick, but what a pleasant surprise - nice bread! Now I can stop complaining about paying $5 for "artisan" bread, being suspicious of bread that doesn't go moldy, and being disappointed by wholemeal loaves that are too sweet for my taste. This machine and I are going to have a productive and tasty relationship.
Update - I've been using it for a while now and have become used to its little quirks. Mine cooks HOT so I use the shortest possible settings - basic recipe program even for wholemeal, and light crust. I have not been to the store to buy bread since getting this machine. Obviously it's entry-level but by golly it works very well.
Final update: After six months (approx 60 loaves) it died. I replaced it with a co-worker's unwanted Hitachi, which takes twice as long to make better bread. I have no regrets about the Sunbeam, which got me off to a good start.
Customer Review: No Replacement Belts
Summary: 1 Stars
I have owned this bread machine for about 7 months now. I must say I was very impressed with it up until about month 6. That's when it started to get louder and louder, and began vibrating around on the table, until the paddle would no longer spin... and instead makes loud squealing noises. After taking it apart, my suspicions were confirmed. The belt was stripped of all it's little rubber teeth.
I have searched everywhere for a replacement belt. I called Sunbeam, who claimed they don't have a belt for it, and referred me to one of their service centers. I called 2 different service centers, only to hear that the belt was not listed in their parts catalog.
Now I'm searching around some forums on the web as a last ditch effort and reading claims of people who have made 600+ loaves of bread with their other bread machines. Now that makes me wonder. This machine produced somewhere between 50 and 75 loaves of bread, and now it's dead, no replacement parts to be found.
Even if I could find replacement belts, the cost and time to replace this belt every six months completely negates any savings you might preceive yourself to be getting.
I guess you get what you pay for. I know one thing for sure. I'll be researching replacement parts before I buy my next bread machine.