For Jeanette - and any others who may be looking for a new breadmachine:
Hi! My DAK R2D2 bit the dust about 6 weeks ago - after 6 years and more than
600 loaves. So I had to go shopping. Figured all the Consumers Reports and
stuff were no longer valid as so many new machines on the market and I had not
seen a discussion on BBD for a while. So I figured I was on my own.......
First stop was Wal-Mart where we finally chose a 2# Sunbeam Deluxe bread and
dough maker, Model 5841, for $68.94. We live at 6,200 feet and altitude has
always been a problem in making bread. The first loaf was a disaster, trying
to use the old DAK recipe. But the second loaf was right from the Sunbeam
book but using a smaller amount of yeast than called for. It was totally
AWESOME! Every loaf since has been a winner and we are so pleased. I never
had a "perfect" loaf from the DAK even when we were on the desert, although
those loaves were better than the ones at altitude. We would heartily
recommend the Sunbeam!
A NOTE: The same day we bought the Sunbeam we also looked at Foleys and
brought home a Breadman which they said sells for $99.99 but was on sale for
$79.99. After REALLY looking over both machines and reading their manuals, my
mechanically trained husband deemed the Sunbeam the better of the two. And
certainly their 75 page manual-cookbook was MUCH nicer, had loads more recipes
and Sunbeam seemed to have put more thought into their booklet, and sprinkled
their 800 number throughout the pages. Breadman had a website, which I went
to, and found that they classified that particular machine "for the person who
makes bread once or twice a month." This certainly gave me pause and I really
wondered how long this machine would last. Also, they said the list price was
$79.99 - so Foley's had overpriced the machine to begin with! Needless to
say, we returned the Breadman. I believe it was model 444. Breadman has a
"jillion" models which they put into three classifications - the top one being
for professionals. But my feeling is that many of the models differ only by
their numbers and they make them for different stores so they can charge
whatever they want and cannot be compared to the same model at another store.
This in itself turns me off!
Here's hoping you are totally satisfied with whatever brand you decide upon,
as we are with the Sunbeam!
Jean