Should You Buy A Sunbeam Bread Machine?

The Sunbeam 5891 is a cheap bread machine which looks nice and comes with enough cycles to keep all but the most serious bread makers happy. It's easy to use and can produce nice loaves of bread; however, it does have some problems. Whether you want to buy one will depend on how big a deal you think they are.

The overall look of the Sunbeam bread maker is pleasing and it comes with enough features and at a price tag that makes buying it an attractive proposition for many. First off, its footprint is actually smaller than other, more expensive models, like the Breadman bread machine. It measures; 14.5" from front to back, 10" in width, and stands just less than 12" in height. The window is of a generous size and the control panel and buttons are large.

The Sunbeam 5891 bread maker comes with the cycles you would expect. There are 12 in all; basic, French, whole wheat, sweet, ExpressBake (), quick bread, dough only, cake, sandwich, jam, glazes and butters and spreads - which is enough to satisfy most. You can also set the crust color to light, medium or dark. It can also bake either a 1.5 or 2lb loaf; strangely, there's no 1lb option that is available in most other brands. The ExpressBake, as expected, bakes a 2lb loaf in 58 minutes from start to finish.

There have been reports that bread sometimes fails to rise or that it sinks (usually because there is too much water) but if you follow the recipes given in the instruction manual there should be no problem. You can also check on the consistency of the dough during the mixing part of the cycle; if it's too wet, you can open the machine and add more flour and if it's too dry then you can add a little water.

There are problems with the Sunbeam bread machine. The first is the manual that comes with the appliance. The Sunbeam breadmaker may be cheap but that's no excuse for the quality of the instructions provided. At best, they are rambling; at worst, downright confusing. An example is when the manual says it's perfectly okay to put the pan in the dishwasher, only to contradict this advice later on.

Also, there are not many recipes provided. And, unbelievably, there is a recipe for masa (corn tortilla dough), but only in the Spanish language portion of the manual; obviously people who speak English don't eat tortilla!

The manual really needs to be re-written; there's nothing more guaranteed to upset customers than poor instructions.

The control panel also needs a little redesign. The LCD is not backlit and reading it can be difficult despite the promise: "Easy to read LCD display" that is printed on the box.

Also, this is a cheap bread maker so don't expect the kneading paddle to be able to cope with a 2lb loaf using a heavy mix - as you might have when baking a fruit cake; it just isn't up to the task. It works perfectly well when mixing regular bread though.

But enough criticism. The Sunbeam bread machine is an appliance that has all the basic bake cycles and features you would want and comes at a very attractive price. It's perfectly adequate for most, but if you do take your bread making seriously, then you would want to look at other models.