When it comes to bread machines, Breadman is often a name that crops up quite frequently. They have released a variety of different models over here years, all which seem to go down well with consumers. One of their more popular models in recent years is the Breadman Ultimate Plus Bread Machine. This model was released almost ten years ago, so can it still measure up against the competition today? Let us take a look at that below.
Product Features:
First off we are going to have a look at the design of this model. Now since this model was released around 2005, we think Breadman did quite a good job on the design. While most companies were still putting out glossy white models, Breadman decided to go for a classy stainless steel and black design. It paid off well, and the TR2500BC design helped it to stand out from the competition at the time. Nowadays though it still looks quite good in our opinion, and it certainly doesn’t look dated at all. The main unit is stainless steel, while the top of the unit has a black finish.
The main control area on the right side is mounted on a silver face, which has the lcd in the center. The built in recipes are listed to the right of the lcd for easy reference, while the main control buttons are below this. The lcd screen is a decent size, and shows your currently selected program and settings with the time remaining. Above the baking pan is a nice sized viewing window which allows you to keep an eye on your cooking progress. The size of the machine is more or less standard, with the dimensions being 13″ H x 17″ L x 10″ W. Overall it is still a nice design today, and we can’t find any faults in it.
Now lets talk about the features this model comes with. The TR2500BC can make three different loaf sizes including the small 1 lb, the medium 1.5 lb and the large 2 lb. The bread shape you are left with is rectangular, although the larger 2lb loaves come out a little shorter and taller than your conventional store bought loaf. The bread pan has a non-stick coating, although Breadman do say in the user manual that this is not dishwasher friendly. There is no mention of what size motor powers this unit, and a single paddle mixes the ingredients.
This machine comes with a nice set of 11 built in recipes, as well as a further 5 recipes which you can program to your needs. These include White, Whole Wheat, French, Sweet Breads, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Quick Breads, Jam, Dough, Pizza Dough and Bake Only. Overall this is a nice selection of programs, and the 5 custom recipe options allow you to perfect your ideal recipes and save them for future easy use. One of the less mentioned features of this model is the built in dispenser which certainly deserves some praise. This little compartment which is built into the lid allows you to dispense any additional ingredients such as fruit of seeds at the required time automatically. This was one of the first models to introduce this feature, and the automation it allows is definitely an advantage of this model. Like most other models the TR2500BC has a built in delay timer, which can be set up to 24 hours in advance. Most models offer in the range of 13 or 14 hours, so points go to Breadman for offering an impressive 24 hour delay with this model.
The Ultimate Plus bread machine does come with a variety of good features, but does the performance match the enticing features? First lets talk about the cooking times. If you use the White program with a 2 lb loaf size and a medium crust, the total cooking time will take 3:10. If you use the Whole Wheat program with a 2lb loaf size and a medium crust, this will take 3:35 in total. These above two recipes are standard cooking times compared to competing models, so no real advantages or disadvantages here.
In terms of the cooking results, most of the user feedback is largely positive. The crust control is said to work very well, and the bread crust is said to cook evenly throughout. The texture is said to be very good, with the programs creating a variety of texture perfect breads. The taste is said to be very good too with the built in programs . It sounds promising so far, but there have been a few issues reported with this machine. The first issue is that it can hop around on the counter, especially when using denser recipes such as the gluten free. A solution to this is to ignore the user manual, and instead insert the liquid first and then the dry ingredients. This places less strain on the mixing paddle, and makes the mixing process less strenuous on the motor.
Another reported issue is that the baking pan can snap out of the springs which hold it in place during the kneading phase. This seems to be a manufacturer fault, so there is no way to remedy it apart from replacing the part. There are also reported faults of the machine not turning on, and again this seems like a manufacturer fault. These last two issues haven’t been widely reported, so it doesn’t seem like too many of the models out there are affected. However in the interests of transparency we feel like these are worth mentioning.
So that is a quick look at the Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate bread maker. It comes with a number of nice features, and with a retail price of around $100 it seems like a decent model for making bread at home. Most of the user reviews have been good, so this model seems like a good choice.
User Manual: You can find a copy of the user manual over here.
Pros:
- Nice design
- Large lcd
- Large viewing window
- 3 loaf sizes
- 11 recipes & 5 customable programs
- 24 hour delay timer
- Ingredient dispenser
Cons:
- Not dishwasher friendly
- Some reports of machine not turning on / baking pan unclipping during kneading
Summary:
The Breadman Ultimate Bread Machine has a number of nice features, and has a large amount of mostly positive user feedback. With a price of around $100 it looks like a good option for making bread at home. It comes standard with a two year warranty, and you can read some of the hundreds of user reviews and get more info on it over at the Amazon product page.
| Our Rating: |
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| 4 |