Having revolutionized the world with the release of the worlds first electronic toaster way back in 1921, Toastmaster has gone on to make a variety of other kitchen appliances over the years. They released a few bread machines over the years, but these have long since been discontinued unfortunately. In this article we are going to take a look at the Toastmaster TBR15 bread machine, which was one of the last models they released. It was on sale in the early 2000’s, so is it still an effective bread maker today? More on that below.
Product Features:
To kick things off we take a look at the design of the TBR15. The entire unit is white in color, which is typical of a bread machine made in this period. The main controls are on the top of the machine at the front, and these are mounted on a silver trim. The lcd is in the center of the control panel, and is fairly easy to read with red text against the black backdrop. On the left of the control panel are the 8 built in recipes for easy reference, with the recipe selection button below that. Directly below the lcd is the Timer up and down buttons, and to the right of that is the crust control button and the start/stop button. On top of the machine is the viewing window which is quite large in comparison to some of the other models from that time period. The machine has somewhat average dimensions at 13″W x 12″D x 13″H. Aside from that there is not a whole lot to talk about regarding the design. It is pretty basic, and more or less what you would expect from a ten year old bread machine. It does look a little dated now, but only when compared to all the modern black and stainless steel models.
Now lets talk about some of the features. This model can make two loaf sizes including the small 1lbs and the medium 1.5lbs. As mentioned above it has 8 built in recipes which includes Basic, Fastbake, French, Whole Wheat, Sweet, Quick Bread, Dough and Bake only. It has two recipes for rapid baking of bread which includes the Fastbake recipe (this can make bread in about an hour) and the Quick Bread recipe which is designed for bread baked with baking powder or baking soda (this takes 1 hour and 30 minutes). Judging by the dimensions, you will have probably guessed that this model is a vertical style bread maker. The bread is cooked in the nonstick baking tin, and the manual states it must be cleaned with a damp cloth so it is not dishwasher friendly.
A single paddle mixes the dough, although we can’t seem to find what size motor powers this unit. Once the bread is finished cooking it will revert to the Keep Warm mode, which will last up to 60 minutes. The timer can delay recipe completion up to 13 hours, so this is certainly handy for cooking bread overnight. The crust control is pretty standard as it offers light, medium and dark options. If you are using one of the recipes that requires extra ingredients to be added, a beep will sound to notify you it is time to add them in. Lastly the machine has a 10 minute memory so if your electricity goes off and it comes back on within 10 minutes, the machine will resume the cooking program where it left off.
Now lets talk about the performance of the TBR15. Cooking times on the model are fairly ordinary, with the Basic recipe taking about 3 hours while the Whole Wheat recipe takes around 3 hours and 45 minutes for example. This is all relatively similar to the competition so no big advantages here. Opinions seem to vary quite a bit about this particular model. On one hand most people seem quite happy with the performance of the machine. The completed bread is said to be tasty with the right textures by a large variety of user reviews.
On the other hand there are reports of the ingredients not mixing properly, and a lack of browning on the top of the loaf. There are several reports of these issues, so it seems like it is not an isolated problem. So at this point we aren’t sure if the problem lies with faulty equipment or simply user mistakes. With this in mind it seems a bit tough to really recommend this model due to these issues. Aside from that this model is no longer sold in stores, so you will likely have a hard time finding one in any case.
So that is a quick look at the Toastmaster TBR15 bread maker. It is a bit dated now, but most of the reports we have read have said it is a good basic bread maker. There have been some reports of potential issues with this machine however, so make sure you read up on these issues before you purchase one. If you can find one at a second hand store at a bargain price then it could make a good budget bread maker.
User Manual: You can find the user manual in pdf format at this link.
Pros:
- 8 Recipes
- Large viewing window
- 1 Hour keep warm
- 13 Hour delay timer
Cons:
- Looks a little dated
- No longer sold
- Some reports of ingredients not mixing properly, and the top of the loaf not browning correctly
Summary:
The Toastmaster TBR15 is a bit dated now, but most people seem to be happy with it. There have been some issues reported with it however, so make sure you do some research before buying one. Overall it seems to be an ok basic model. You get more info about this product and read some user reviews over at Amazon.
| Our Rating: |
|---|
| 2.5 |