Oster CKSTBRTW20 2-Pound Expressbake Breadmaker, White

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I've had the Oster Expressbake Breadmaker for almost 7 months and have used it too many times to count. If it died tomorrow, I feel like I have had my money's worth out of it and would buy another. I have used the Basic, Quick, Whole Wheat, Dough, and Sweet cycles, and they all work perfectly and produce a wonderful loaf of bread. If you're new to bread making, I highly recommend the book 300 Best Bread Machine Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt. This book gives a lot of good hints and tips besides outstanding recipes. There are also good recipes on allrecipes.com. An electric knife to slice the loaf is also extremely helpful.



I want to address some points brought out in other reviews. First of all, many bread recipe books recommend helping the beginning 5-minute mix (knead) by scraping down the sides with a silicone spatula. All you have to do is leave the lid up and as the blade is turning, scrape down the sides and help the ingredients mix. This will also help you to see if you need to add more flour or more water. Dough should circle the pan nicely and not get stuck on one side for too long. Dough with nuts or fruit in it needs to be a bit stickier than regular bread dough in order to help the nuts or fruit stay incorporated in the bread.



Secondly, there IS an "add ingredient" tone (for fruits and nuts) that sounds on most of the bread cycles...even the Basic cycle.



The instruction book that comes with the manual does not explain this, but the Quick cycle (sometimes called the Cake cycle) is not to make bread bake quicker. It is for breads without yeast...quick breads like banana bread. There is only one mix (knead) and no rising time in this cycle.



To fasten the bread pan in the machine securely, you must push down on the bread pan until it clicks into place under the brackets.



Lastly, the times for kneading, resting, rising, and baking are perfect in this machine! Loaves turn out perfectly every time. Just follow the instructions given in the recipes and the instruction book for perfect loaves, don't substitute ingredients, measure ingredients carefully, and use actual bread flour. There is a certain order that you are to add the ingredients to the machine, and the 300 Best Bread Machine cookbook gives further instructions for ingredients that have to stay dry before the mixing starts. The paddle comes out in the loaf of bread, but a tool is included that helps you pull it out with minimal tearing of the loaf. I have to say that if someone is not experiencing great loaves of bread, it's a strong possibility that it's because of user error.



I highly recommend this bread machine and wish you happy baking!