Breadman TR444 2-Pound Rapid-Bake Horizontal Breadman

We're pretty heavy bread-maker users and when our old machine died after 7 years of hard use we picked up this model. We've been very disappointed: It's inconvenient to add ingredients (they need to be added in a specific order), it's very noisy, and the bread has the consistency of cake. I'd look elsewhere. Our machine is going into our sell-at-next-garage-sale box.

I used this bread machine 4 times successfully, on the 5th time it malfunctioned, fried the electronics and it no longer even turns on! I had to pry the lid open with a screwdriver because the plastic melted. It could have started a fire if I had not been home! The customer service dept are worthless - they will only repair it (ha ha). Best bet to return it from where you bought it.

I wasn't sure if I really "needed" a bread machine so I wanted to try one of the more inexpensive ones first, in case I ended up never using it. But I got this for Christmas and have made bread every day since then! This machine works great, the pan and paddle are totally non-stick, and we have been more than happy with every loaf from it. The rapid cycle is a great bonus if you forgot to plan ahead for dinner, but the crust is not as pretty as the regular cycle, so don't plan on taking rapid-cycle breads to a party or anything! It still tastes great, but the color is uneven. The recipes that come in the owner's manual have been some of our less favorite breads, so I would definitely recommend another source for recipes. (I have The Bread Machine Cookbook by Donna Rathmell German-- 5 stars!) The kneading cycle is a little noisy, just as any appliance with a motor can be noisy, but it only kneads for 20-25 minutes total out of 3.5 hours, so not a big deal. The loaves...Read more