Sunbeam Compact Bakehouse BM2500

I had a $100 voucher to use at Appliances Online so decided to take the plunge and buy a bread maker. This one was the cheapest at $109 and it had good reviews so that was enough for me. This is the first bread maker I've ever used and by my third loaf I have perfect sourdough.

I tried the sourdough recipe in the manual first and the consistency and flavour were nice but it only rose halfway up the pan so was a little small (next time I'll try more yeast). Since then I've been using the Laucke Sourdough mix and although the pre-measured sachets are too big (600g) for the Sunbeam Compact Bakehouse if I use 400g of the Laucke mix with 280ml of water and 1.25 tsp of yeast I get a fluffy loaf with a crunchy crust that rises just over the top of the pan (but doesn't reach the lid). I've been using the "Medium" crust setting.

One of the other reviewers recommended gently removing the kneading blade with wet hands just before the final rise and I agree with that, if you don't remove it it's hard to remove the bread from the pan, hard to remove the blade from the pan (unless you soak it to soften all the dough stuck in the connector) and it leaves a hole in the bottom of the loaf. It's not hard to remove and if you do it before the last rise the loaf rises nicely again. Don't do it after the last rise or the loaf will fall and then the bake cycle will start and you'll end up with a small dense loaf.

I don't find it noisy apart from the loud beeps about 20 mins in and when the baking cycle finishes which means I probably won't use it overnight, I really wish there was a volume setting. But apart from that minor issue I'm making bread every second day now for myself and my partner and am very happy with it.

No problems at all after 12 months heavy use-easy to use, compact and bakes a perfect loaf every time. Handy hint for first timers-when baking a white loaf with medium crust set an alarm clock and remove the paddle when there's 1.45 left on the breadmakers countdown after you hear the quick reshape of the dough, I use a clean wet hand to just reach under and twist and pull the paddle out then gently reshape the dough, you can work out the time to do that on all the different bread settings by using the timetables in the manual-it means that you don't leave a big hole in the bottom of the loaf by taking the paddle out after the bread is baked. Hope this helps!

I am not sure if it's my recipes problem or what but I only used this machine couple of time and only less than 50% of the time the bread turn out ok. I used it to mix dough after that, as the bread I made was always too hard. To be fair it might be just my recipe problem....I don't know. But the noise it makes during the dough mixing is so loud that we can't have it program to delay (make it overnight) as it could wake the whole family up in the middle of the night!
Instead I used it to make dough and proof the dough and that turns out alright.

It is a really good product with reasonable and affordable price, it saved me a lot of time and effort on baking, the function is simple to understand and use, I have been using it for more than 2 years. Only one problem, the bottom of the container leaks after using for a while, but I think this is ok.

I have always tried to follow recipe measure for measure. The machine is easy enough to use.
I particularly wanted to bake my own bread to save on the cost of buying Gluten Free bread. I have never had a positive result. For this reason i haven't used the machine often, however now the Crust button has stopped working.

Bought this bread maker and have used it nonstop ever since. Only problem I've had is the top of the loaf sinking after baking. Although I've troubleshooted this it is still occurring. Unknown why as I have been using exact measurements. This however does not affect the taste of the loaf. Very easy to use. Would be great to have a doughnut dough recipe though!

Compact better than the competition quiet compact "BEST IN CLASS SIZE & SIZE." Could come with a better measuring spoon and cup. as the teaspoon linking only meansure 1-1/2 & to small to read while excluding the critical 1/4 measurements needed as the cup ml font also in tiny writing forces me to use a magnifing glass and purchase other tools in my kitchen like Pyrex's measure cup. takes up little space doesn't bounce or make noise like I have experienced with breville. While lid is easy to remove & clean for beginner user error s with good viewing window. great that comes in white as lasts longer that way like most electricals when purchased in white replacement gurantee was great being a heavy duty user baking 3 loafs 1kg a week using Laucke premix

This breadmaker replaced an Akai. However, the Akai did have a 2 year warranty which was needed as it went faulty after 18 months.
The Sunbeam's removable cover, which is a great idea for cleaning does not always close properly. If that happens the oven loses temperature resulting in an undercooked loaf. If you are aware of this, and check it, there is no problem.

There is IMHO a weird delay in Whole Wheat menu in that you START, and it sits warming the pan for 30 minutes which possibly is not really necessary but could make user wrongly think the Wheat function is faulty (see other reviews).

Compared to the Akai Breadmaker: its not as noisy; in fact its quiet. Loaf size of 750g is what we call a standard loaf in NZ and is more than adequate. There is reasonable headroom from the pan top to cover, which means if the loaf rises too much its less likely to stick to the top.
I'd like to see Sunbeam up its warranty from 1 to 2 years as 2 years is becoming more common.

As a follow up a month later, using BM2500 at least every third day: Wholemeal/Plain Flour mix, despite trying reduce yeast, change yeast to different type, reduce water, reduce sugar it either does not rise properly, or rises then collapses when Bake starts. Have tried both wheat and plain menu, makes no difference. Plain flour is no problem and loaves are consistent.
Later.... I found the inconsistencies were due to it being very critical with Yeast and water quantities. Akai breadmaker using same ingredients never gave this problem. Now Ive got it sussed, I really like the bread its producing. Sadly, it has now developed a faulty pan lock on the base support which makes the pan very loose and bangs around when its kneading; eventually the support will totally destruct.
Others have commented about it being a noisy machine which would be this soft steel part. When new, it was a very quiet machine.
Fortunately, its only 3 months old and Sunbeam have excellent product support.

Positives: a mostly well made machine, convenient size which if mentioned issues were sorted would be excellent.

Summary: Extra features which would be very easy to implement are a) menu/default settings; actuated by a long press of one of the buttons AFTER preferred settings are made. b) custom mode whereby user could select variables desired and set as the custom mode (which could also be a default setting). To date, I have not seen a machine with those features.

This breadmaker makes perfect small or large loaves which are very crusrty. That is how I like my bread. I usually make my bread with walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds kibbled rye and whole linseed and as I don't measure just put in what I think, I sometimes put a little too much and the bottom crust ends up covered but that is delicious.

After 12 months the paddle sticks in the bread and does`nt come out cleanly . I have tried canola spray and oiling the paddle any ideas please otherwise very satisfied with the bread maker

I like my Sunbeam Quantum Smartbake very much. I've had it about two years and use it quite a bit - not every day, but three or four times a week. It has always performed well until two nights ago, when it woke me with a huge noise. The pan had jumped out of position and was rattling around inside the machine. I pushed it back several times, but it repeatedly jumped out. The finished loaf was lovely, as usual, but only because I manually held the pan down in position in the machine. I am in the process of making another loaf, and the same thing is happening. I have held the pan in position whilst it goes through the mixing process, and am leaving it whilst it rises the dough.
Have you any suggestions as to how we can fix the problem?

I've been making bred the manual way with my Sunbeam mixmaster (20 years old). Decided to try to automate this with the BM2500. First use part way through my first loaf heard a pop sound and saw smoke coming from machine. Appliances online are replacing it but I notice they have stopped carrying this model. Maybe a subtle message there. Will try replacement but if it fails I'll go back to manual process.
Cheap
Blew up

I bought this based on the reviews here and it has not let me down. It's easy to use, makes great bread and is nice & compact too. There are pre-mix packets of bead mix available at Woolies for $1.49 and they make great loaves. Starting to experiment too with Almond meal and other additives to enhance flavour. It's not too loud and for the $ there wouldnt be a better breadmaker out there
Compact, easy to use, makes great bread
Can be a bit hard to take the loaf out after cooking as it gets stuck on the mixer

We bought this a couple of weeks ago, and have been using it nonstop ever since. Love having fresh bread smells wafting about the house! It was one of the cheapest makers I saw at under $100 - appliancesonline.com.au were amazing as usual at dropping it off for me super quick, and for my first breadmaker I have been wowed at how easy it is to use and how great the bread has turned out. We've been using premix Laucke and adding yummy bits and pieces like kalamata olives and sesame seeds, I did a fruitloaf too which worked out great - only problem is everything seems to be packaged for 1kg machines rather than 750g. But we've worked out the adjustments and all is going great. Would definately buy it again and recommend to friends. I like the 750 g loaf - but it's just the 2 of us, so if you had a family you might want something bigger.
easy, cheap, great bread
most premix bread seems to be designed for 1kg loaf. But easy to adjust.

Originally bought a second hand older version of this which had seen some use but loved it. This machine is an easy size to manage, especially for smaller kitchens, smaller families or couples. We use a Laucke premix multigrain with a dash of white flour mix and the bread is light and fluffy with a nice crispy crust. Have only baked bread at this stage, so cannot comment on jam, pizza/pasta dough. Great price in comparison to many other breadmakers and would happily recommend to anyone not sure if a breadmaker is for them. Very hard to find this model in stores around Adelaide which is sad as it's a great breadmaker.
Inexpensive and easy to use. Makes smaller bread size
Instruction book covers this and another model which bakes 1kg loaves. This model only bakes up to 750gms

We bought this breadmaker in december 2011. We started using it right away, but found that "bread flour" resulted in flat breads, so we swapped over to just regular flour. This right away gave us lovely fluffy breads. If you follow the recipes that come with the bread maker and use regular flour, the sour dough bread comes out absolutely perfect. However , over many many recipes, we have not been able to find a recipe that rises, They all end up flat and hard.
easy for bread and good recipes
not much, but cakes are hard.

I purchased this in March this year and it makes an OK loaf (my previous Breville was better). However, the accompanying booklet indicates you can make a 1 kg. loaf as well as the 750 g. one. I doubted this but tried one yesterday. It's far too big for the machine and made an almighty mess which took ages to clean up. It would seem that they don't check their recipes. I would not buy this again. Also, a foot was missing when purchased and the one they sent in response to a request from the shop was the wrong one.
OK loaf.
The booklet which came with it.

This machine is simple to operate and by loaf 2 I had perfect bread. The size is equivalent to half a high-tin loaf. Made great pizza base and now looking forward to making my first batch of rolls. This machine couldn't be simpler or less fool-proof. The only thing you need to do is measure accurately, and by testing the consistency of the dough during first knead process you can adjust the blend. The crust is fabulous. Have only tried the recipe for plain white bread so far (no packet mix) and it was so good I haven't had to look any further. I used the bread improver and would highly recommend this. Fresh flour, fresh yeast, no problem at all. I highly recommend for household of one or two persons.
Easy, crusty, consistent over entire loaf
Would suggest maker could print a table in the instructions that tells how long each stage takes so I know what is happening at each stage.

I have never used a bread maker before and this one does all the jobs I need. So far it has been performing really well. The menu is easy to use and it's compact so doesn't take up too much space. The instruction manual contains only a few recopies. It'd be better if it has more. Besides, it's a bit noisy. I don't know how other bread makers perform, but it's quite loud.
compact size, easy to use
noisy, menu contains few recipes