In this day and age everything seems to be moving at a faster pace, and this way of life has even moved over into kitchen appliances. The industry has responded accordingly with this request, and one such product that offers faster bread cooking is the Oster Expressbake 5838 Bread Maker. It claims to make a loaf of bread in a blistering 58 minutes, but can it produce a quality loaf in such a short time? We look at that in the article below, so keep reading to find out more.
Product Features:
To begin with we take a closer look at the design of this machine. Now since this Expressbake was first put on the market around 2002, the main question is how well has the design held up? The 5838 is glossy white in color, which is somewhat traditional for a bread maker produced in that period. There is generous usage of curved lines here so it doesn’t look too dated at this point. The main controls are on the front of the machine, with the lcd screen being on the right hand side of these. The lcd is a little small, but the red text against the black background makes it easy to read.
On the left had side of the control panel are the built in recipes, all which have a little red led next to them to indicate which one is currently selected. The center of the control panel has the three crust control options which includes light, medium and dark. The Oster logo is on the top of the bread machine, just below the rather nicely sized viewing window. The dimensions of the machine are fairly standard for a vertical loaf style bread maker, and these are 11.5W x 14.75″D x 11″H. Aside from that there isn’t a whole lot to write home about the design, but it is safe to say that it still looks ok in our eyes.
Now let’s talk about some of the features of the Expressbake 5838. This is a entry level bread maker since it retails around $60-$70, and this is reflected in the number of recipes and features it has. It has eight built in recipes which includes Basic, French, Sweet, Expressbake 58 min, Expressbake 80 min, Wholewheat, Dough/Pasta and Bake. Also included is a 13 hour delay timer, which is great for baking bread overnight or during the day while you are out. Once the bread is finished cooking, the 1 hour keep warm mode will kick in. This is a vertical style bread maker, and the bread is cooked in an aluminum tin. The tin has a nonstick coating, but the manual does state that it is not dishwasher friendly so care must be taken when cleaning it.
This baking tin and kneading paddle should be cleaned with a damp cloth according to the user manual, and dried afterwards. This model can make two different loaf sizes including the medium 1.5lbs and the larger 2lbs loaf.
Bread is made in the traditional way in this machine – liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients and finally the yeast on top. The cooking times vary between recipes, but the basic recipe for example will take 3 hours from start to finish. Obviously the Expressbake recipes are what will interest many people, so more on that below.
So now we need to determine if this is a worthwhile purchase or not. From what we have read it seems the reviews of this machine are mostly positive. The texture, crust and taste all seem to be mostly positive. When it comes to the standard recipes such as basic and wholewheat, most folks seem to be happy with the results. The Express bake recipes are also largely praised, although the texture of the bread is said to be denser due to the single rise (which is to be expected).
On the other hand though there are some complaints about the bread collapsing during the baking phase. This seems like a common complaint with this particular model, and reports have suggested it may be linked to a faulty circuitry which makes it too warm during the last rise phase. Bear in mind that this particular complaint is not that largely spread, but we feel that it is certainly worth mentioning. Perhaps do a bit of research into this issue first if you are seriously considering purchasing this model. Aside from that minor issue however, it seems like this machine does do well for an entry level model.
So that is a quick look at the Oster 5838 Expressbake bread maker. It is a bit old now, but it still has a reputation for making decent loaves of bread. With an affordable price tag, it is a quick and easy way to make bread at home.
User Manual: You can find the user manual for this model at this site.
Pros:
- Affordable
- Large viewing window
- 8 Recipes
Cons:
- Some reports of the loaf collapsing (using the longer recipes such as basic, wholewheat)
Summary: It may be over a decade old, but the Oster 5838 Expressbake is still considered to be a decent entry level bread maker. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of modern machines, but the results from it are mostly positive. It comes standard with a one year warranty, and you can find out more about it over at the Amazon site
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| 3 |
