TR875 2-Pound Breadmaker, Stainless Steel

I got this bread machine about 6 months ago, and just realized that it is time to share a review!I did A LOT of research over quite a long period of time, and finally decided on this one. I'm glad I selected it, and I have been making great bread ever since.Should you get a breadmaker?Here's the deal. If you like gourmet breads, they usually cost about $4-$6 in the supermarket, and they still have all sorts of preservatives and random ingredients in them that help them stay fresh for a while. An easy solution to this dilemma is to buy a bread machine and make your own bread. It costs about $1 per loaf, and if you prorate the price of the machine (about $75?) out by 75 loaves, that adds $1 to the price. So, you are making gourmet bread with ingredients YOU selected! Its custom gourmet bread and its inexpensive! After those initial 75 loaves to cover the cost of the machine, you've got yourself a lot of high quality, cheap bread (and if it goes bad before you can finish it, you don't feel like you dumped money in the trash).Which breadmaker do you get?So, once you've decided you need a breadmaker, you've got a billion options. You can get a full range in prices, with various capabilities and loaf sizes. I personally hate the "tall" loaves that are kind of column shaped, so I looked for a machine that can make horizontal loaves. Again, there are a number of opportunities. I read review after review, website after website, looking for that "perfect" machine. And, this baby is it! The price, mixed with a large number of good reviews, and the quality of the product (it is sturdy, easy to use, and looks nice in the kitchen) make this a great choice.The recipes in the included booklet are pretty good, and I would also suggest you go to one of the numerous breadmaker recipe websites. My brother (whom I convinced to buy the same machine) bought a book with something like 1,000 recipes. He loves his breadman pro too, and uses it much more than I do...he makes all these crazy variations (it's awesome!), and uses all the random options (like the dough option). He did mention that it "over mixes" cookie dough, but I question the need to make cookie dough in a breadmaker (is it that hard to mix cookie dough yourself?).I should note that whole wheat flours don't rise as easily (I think they are denser), so an increase of the yeast amount helps (without tasting "yeasty") - this has nothing to do with the bread machine, just bread making in general. Also, if you know someone that is allergic to wheat, but isn't allergic to glucose, this machine does a nice job with a rye/spelt blend for the flour...it doesn't rise much, but people allergic to wheat are usually used to that whole scenario, so it's not a big deal. Oh, in case you're wondering about the reviewers who are having trouble getting their bread to rise the right amount, there's something I've noticed about the temperature of the water you add. I think there's a reason that the recipe book calls for 80 degree water, and I've noticed that too hot or too cold water will limit how high you see the loaf rise. Regarding how long it takes to make a loaf, you have a few options. You can make a loaf in 3.25 hours (the longest) and as fast as a little over 1 hour.Should you buy it from Amazon?A quick note about amazon. They sent me a machine that was clearly used once or twice. It even had some flour residue inside, and a spot was rubbed out of the stick free surface of the pan. I think this is incredibly shady, but I'm a pretty laid back guy with purchases under $100, so I just called them and told them about it, and they gave me some money back to remedy the situation. I'm sure I could have forced a replacement product, but I didn't. Just do a good check over the machine when you get it to make sure it is new!It can't be THAT great...My only issues with the machine are as follows: 1) the beeps. Why can't I shut them off? I'd love to make bread over night and wake up with fresh bread, but the beeps would wake me up in the night. 2) loud when mixing the dough. I am sure all breadmakers are like this, but I had to bring it up. 3) Dough stuck in the corners of the square tray. Again, I think this is probably standard...so I go in after the first spin cycle and kind of "help" the flour that is still remaining in the corners.Overall, a great machine at a great price. I highly recommend it!Good luck!

After reading reviews on Amazon, I decided to go ahead and get the Breadman TR875. I thought the reviews didn't really spell out doom and gloom for the TR875 like some units reviewed. The main reason I chose it was multiple programs and 2 lbs loaf capability.It arrived as expected but right off I noticed something peculiar about the shipping box. I expected to find a retail package inside of the outer generic cardboard box but rather I found the breadmaker itself inside the outer box packed in a formed foam packaging. Ok, so no problem with that it appeared.After removing the unit and placing on the counter, I was shocked to see the unit appeared to have been reconditioned and was not new as described and sold. The reason I suspected it was a reconditioned unit was due to the following hints. The clear vinyl cover on the LCD display was not present. The manual instructs you to remove it so hint #1. The LCD display also had what appeared to be a couple of hard water spots on it. I wiped them to see what they were and one wiped away, the other one would not. It is still there. Hint #2. User manual appeared to have a couple of dogearred pages. Maybe so, maybe not, not a bit issue. Hint #3 - maybe.So I debated returning the unit as unsatisfactory but reasoned I had purchased the 1 year extended warranty from Amazon so even if it was a reconditioned unit, if it worked and died I was covered. I had all my paper work and after peeling the the label off the delivery carton (can be used as a return label when flipped over) I found another label on the box stating this unit was destined for a Mervyns delivery so it appeared that it may have been either a return or a reconditioned. Hint #4.Anyway, after reading the manual and learning what it was supposed to do and not do, I set forth to create the first loaf in the new (or hopefully new) breadmaker. Using a known good wheat bread recipe I had been using I added ingredients and pressed the START button. Three hours and fourty five minutes later, a perfect loaf of wheat bread. So although the unit appeared to be a reconditioned unit, it works great and has lots of features that I'll probably get around to using someday. So far after about 3 weeks of using it (we make about 3 loaves a week) it has worked flawlessly on wheat, white, french and sourdough except the loaf when I put in too much yeast and had the loaf from hell growing in the pan - way too big.The reason I dinged the TR875 one point is the noise it makes when mixing and kneading. I can hear it in the kitchen doing its thing when I am watching TV in the living room about 35' away over the TV audio. But the unit is sturdy and sits well so it doesn't try to walk around like some I have seen. The LCD display is well placed although the mode indications and the labeling on the edge next to the LCD should line up a bit better (off an few millimeters with labeling too low). I like the window in the lid top as my old unit did not have this. Also the pan lifts right out easily and when the bread comes out of the pan, most of the time the paddle stays in the pan. My old maker always had the paddle stay in the bread which was a mess to remove once the loaf cooled down.Would I recommend the TR875? I'd have to say YES, due to the features vs price. But be aware of any possible bait and switch tactics with regards to new vs. reconditioned/used units. I try to always get an extra year or two service contract providing it is worth the cost.Gene - Ridgecrest, CA