Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker | An Excellent and Affordable Bread Machine!

Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker | Short loaves need advice

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Sunbeam 5891 2-Pou...

	Sunbeam 5891 2-Pound Programmable Breadmaker Sunbeam Sunbeam average customer review:based on 309 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

An Excellent and Affordable Bread Machine!

I was apprehensive ordering this machine. I have never owned one and was a bread-making novice. But the price was right and the reviews were very positive, so I took a leap of faith. I am so glad I did. I ordered a bread machine cookbook with the machine, since many of the negative reviews seemed to stem from poor recipes in the owner's manual for the machine. After dozens of loaves, I can safely say this machine is fabulous. Every single loaf I have made has turned out wonderfully! The machine itself is relatively quiet, though it tends to vibrate quite a bit during the kneading cycle.
The controls are easy to use. The machine makes a great loaf of bread. There is a loud continuous beep for adding in ingredients. It fits on my countertop, though it is a large machine. I would definitely recommend this machine as a starter model!

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Short loaves need advice

I like this bread maker and the loaves taste good but they are not more than 6 inches high and a little heavy. I live in a desert area so maybe that has something to do with it. I have reduced flour, increased water and yeast but always get a short loaf. I would appreciate any input.

Machine good- Manual recipes poor

I was apprehensive about the Sunbeam 5891 because of the many reports of cratered loaves. I carefully measured and followed directions for the test loaf in the users' manual, and sure enough, the loaf fell. Then I tried a basic white bread recipe from Better Homes & Gardens bread machine recipe book and baked an excellent loaf. I tried the BH&G whole wheat loaf on the machine's whole wheat cycle, and the loaf cratered. Baked on the basic cycle, the whole wheat loaf came out fine. By contrast, I had no trouble using the manual recipes for an Oster machine I borrowed from a friend.
Based on my experience, I think Oster, which makes the Sunbeam machine, didn't test their recipes properly on the Sunbeam model. The main difference between the BG&H recipes and the Sunbeam manual recipes seems to be that the BG&H test kitchens used significantly less yeast. Otherwise, I think I'll have to test recipes myself and see what works.

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$32 for bread KNEADING machine is okay

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??)

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