Morphy Richards is quite a big name in the home appliance business, though more so in Europe than in America. However several of their products do still make their way over here, so they are certainly worth checking out. Morphy Richards makes a variety of different models, and the 48280 Fastbake model is one of their best sellers in this product line. It was initially released around 2004 which makes it about 10 years old now, so does it still do a good job compared to newer models? More on that below.
Product Features:
To start things off we begin by taking a look at the design of this model. First impressions are not too breathtaking, as this is a very ordinary design. The bulk of the unit is a glossy white color, while the main control area on the front is on a silver trim. The Morphy Richards logo is below the control panel area, but it isn’t too big or obnoxious. The main control panel area has the built in recipes at the very top, and below those is the lcd screen. The lcd screen is a bit small, but this is somewhat expected from a bread machine made in this period. Below that are the main control buttons, all which are well labelled. The top of the machine has a large viewing window, which was a design trend on these older models. The dimensions are quite average, with the measurements being 12″H x 10.5″W x 15″L.
Aside from that there is not much worth mentioning about the design, but it does still look fine ten years since it was first released. Now we move onto some of the features of the 48280 model. This can be classified as a horizontal bread maker, although the baking tin is not quite as long as some of the other horizontal bread makers we have seen. The tin has a nonstick coating, but you must wash it with a damp cloth as the manual states it is not dishwasher friendly. There is a single paddle to mix the ingredients, and the 600W motor powers it. This model can make three different loaf sizes including the small 1 lb, the medium 1.5lb and large 2lb. As with any other model there are also the three crust options including light, medium and dark. This model has 12 built in recipes including Basic White, French, Wholewheat, Quick, Sweet, Fastbake 1, Fastbake 2, Dough, Jam, Cake, Sandwich and Extrabake. The different between Fastbake 1 & 2 recipes is that the first one is designed for making 1.5 lb loaves while the second one is for 2lb loaves.
Once the baking phase is finished, the machine will kick into Keep Warm mode which keeps the bread warm for up to 60 minutes. Like most other models this machine has a delay timer which can be set up to 13 hours in advance. This is great for anyone who likes to wake up or arrive home to a fresh loaf of bread. The machine beeps once it starts, when it is time to add any additional ingredients, and again once the baking cycle has finished. The beep is quite audible, so there is no real chance of missing it if you are nearby.
The last feature is the Cool Touch exterior, which is definitely a great safety option if you have inquisitive kids!
So the big question on everyone’s mind is how well does it perform? When it comes to cooking times, these are quite ordinary. The Basic White recipe takes 3:00 in total to complete, while the Whole Wheat for example takes 3:40 in total. This is more or less in line with what other machines take to finish, so nothing groundbreaking here. The Fastbake modes both take 58 minutes, but the results won’t be as good as the ordinary bread recipes due to the different ingredients and hastened cooking time. Being such a popular model, there are a huge amount of user reviews available. It seem safe to say that the overwhelming majority of the user reviews are positive. The built in bread recipes are said to come out tasting really good, and the texture is said to be very nice.
The fast bake modes aren’t that highly praised, but this is true of any other “fast modes” on competing bread makers so we can’t take any points away from Morphy Richards on this. However it does seem like the 48280 produces some great results, which will explain why it is such a popular choice. There are a some complaints about this model, but these mostly seem to be down to defective units which is bound to occur with any model. So it doesn’t seem like there are any obvious common defects with this machine.
So that was a quick look at the Morphy Richards 48280 Fastbake bread maker. With a retail price that hovers around $50 this is quite an enticing purchase. Also included is a measuring cup, spoon and a nice recipe book. The 48280 comes standard with a two year warranty.
User Manual: You can find a copy of the user manual over here.
Pros:
- 12 Recipes
- Affordable
- Cool Touch exterior
- Makes 3 loaf sizes
- Works well
Cons:
- Not dishwasher friendly
Summary:
The Morphy Richards 48280 Fastbake bread machine comes with a number of features, and seems to produce some good results. It is quite affordable, so it seems like a good buy in our opinion. It does seem to be a little hard to find for sale brand new these days, and the best bet of finding one is to check on Ebay.
| Our Rating: |
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| 4 |