We received this bread machine as a Christmas present about 7 years ago. We didn't use it much then, but the last 3 years we have used it about 3-4 times a week. We went through a phase of making our own bread instead of buying bread for sandwiches. I love the ease of the machine and the versatility. I have made many types of bread as well as dough for pizza, cinnamon rolls and hamburger buns. Most recipes are done within 3 hours and there's an Express bake if you'd like a loaf in 85 minutes. However, I find those loaves to be more dense and not as tasty as the normal cycle. I have had some problems with this machine. I will sometimes start pizza dough before leaving for work and when my husband gets home (about an hour and a half later) it should be ready for him. Sometimes the dough does not mix at all. Most of the time it misses parts on the side and then the dough is lumpy. Sometimes when making bread it does the same and with the finished bread there is clumps of flour/sugar crusted on the side of the loaves. I usually have to wait a few minutes and then assist the machine in mixing the ingredients, just to make sure it's all mixed in. This means I cannot use the delay feature for bread. I also had a problem with my bread caving in the middle. I did some online research and tried adding more water/less water and finally realized that I was using too much yeast. I was following the recipe for the 1.5 pound loaf in the Oster instruction manuel and there must be a typo. It called for 2 and 3/4 tsp yeast. I dropped it to 1 and 3/4 and haven't had a problem yet. The 2 pound loaf calls for 2 tsp so I'm just assuming there was a typo. Lately I have been making the bread recipe but only doing the dough cycle and then baking my bread in the oven. I find that I have a nice looking loaf and I don't have weird slices from the paddle. I also don't like that the paddle leaves a huge hole in the bottom of the bread. It makes slicing the loaf for sandwiches very difficult. Baking it in the oven eliminates that. Stability While in Use Over time my machine has started to wobble while mixing and it "walks" across my counter

debtfreedicus

Logan, UT

**We love our Oster Bread Machine! My husband and I received the bread machine as a wedding present (without registering for one), and at first we looked at it as a piece of equipment that just took up space in the kitchen. However, after the first loaf of homemade bread, we were hooked! There is nothing better than hot fresh bread that you know what went into it. It is also great for pizza dough, and so much cheaper than ordering a pizza. I set the machine in the morning, and by late morning I have perfect pizza dough ready and waiting.** **This machine is so easy to use. It is a matter of adding the ingredients in the order the recipe calls for, choosing the appropriate setting and letting it go. I have to admit, that I get captivated by watching the blade spin the raw ingredients into the perfect dough. I have found in the hundreds of loaves that I have made that the best setting for me is the light setting. I find that the other setting cook the bread too long and it gets too crispy for my taste. **

Avsfan

Virginia Beach, VA

I've had this bread machine for a while now. I liked it at first. It works fine. It is simple enough to use. You put the ingredients in, press a few buttons on the side, and in a few hours you have bread. When it works correctly, it can be amazingly easy. Better yet, you can time it so that the bread is finished when you want it finished. Unfortunately, the Oster does not enable delayed dough making, like it has delayed bread making. So if you want to make dough for, say, morning cinnamon rolls, you're out of luck. That is a major drawback, and one of the primary reasons I knocked this down. The other is this: More recently, the Oster has been giving me fits. Now it seems like it gets too warm, and the dough rises too much in the early stages. If you're making bread, the bread will fall. I once made dough, and the dough seeped into the cracks between the bread container and the machine, which made a mess. So I no longer use it. In addition, there are times when it doesn't mix well, or it needs help. I'm not sure if this is a common problem with bread machines. Regardless, that shouldn't happen. I'm thinking of getting a new one, though my experience with the Oster has made me a bit leery of bread machines now. In any event, I would not recommend it.

dorkydad

Saint Paul, MN

This bread machine was a Christmas gift from my husband some years ago. It has never given me any major problems during the years I've had it. I'm a bread dud. I typically make one kind of bread because it's a healthy type and we like it when it's hot -- cheese and chive bread. That's not quite the original recipe or its name; it's based on a recipe. The original calls for white flour, but I throw in some whole wheat. The original calls for cheddar cheese, but we never stock it. I use what we have. My crust likes to develop a big air bubble underneath it. I guess that's a too-much-yeast problem. Too much yeast is not like a lot of extra yeast. It's more like maybe 1/8 teaspoon too much. Adjusting the bubble out has been challenging. I've found that if I just fill and run, I end up with a crusty flour residue around my bread loaf. To solve that problem, I start the machine and then keep cramming the excess of dry ingredients into the dough ball until they are completely absorbed. If necessary, I add little drips of water to help with absorption. I use a wooden spoon for this process and keep it to the walls of the pan and the dough ball. Using the timer for delayed bread is cool, though I haven't used it much. On rare occasions, I've been known to surprise my husband with fresh bread aroma in the early morning when he gets up. I don't get up because he prefers the alone time. It's just him and the fresh bread.

fiberartist

Appleton, WI

One Christmas morning I unwrapped an Oster Bread Machine, a gift from my spouse. This made me smile. My spouse loves home made bread, and had grown up with it as a staple. At the time I received this gift of the Oster Bread Machine, I was working full-time. I also was working on Saturdays a lot too. My spouse was just as busy with a full-time plus job. With all our other obligations, we were often just too tired to make bread from scratch. The Oster Bread Machine 5834 was going to change that for us. All we had to do was to add the ingredients to the machine, and it would mix, kneed, and bake the bread  for us. What convenience!  We eagerly tried out a few recipes that we obtained from on-line recipes sites for bread baked in a bread machine. There are so many recipes that are  formulated just for bread baking machines. There are also cookbooks specifically for those recipes too. You can bake an endless variety of different breads using one of these  machines.  It is very easy to just add the ingredients and let the machine do the work for you. You can program the machine to have the bread ready for you in the morning.  Really great to wake up to cinnamon bread baking-this is a great time saving appliance.

ReviewsByEm

Simi Valley, CA

I had always wanted a bread machine, but could not afford it. My parents did not know this so imagine my surprise and joy when they gave me one for christmas. I use it all the time and love it. I make 100 percent whole wheat bread and it is wonderful. It also makes wonderful pizza dough, so quick and easy. The only one thing I would have to give a little negative to is some of the newer models look more like the loaves you buy in the store, but for a wonder loaf of bread it does great.

hendde

Galt, CA

My mother bought this Oster Bread Machine approximately 5 years ago.  At first she and her husband used it on a daily basis.  After about a year his bread making capabilities had improved so much so that he upgraded bread machines, so she gave it to me.  I have been using this Oster Bread Machine for about 3 years straight now.  I am a novice at bread making but have learned many other uses for my Oster Bread machine.  Not only do I bake bread in it but I also make some awesome pizza dough!  I use a whole wheat flour base and add fresh cloves of garlic, and fresh herbs and spices, it turns out beautifully every time.  I have also learned to make doggy biscuit dough in the bread machine.  It does all the work for me, all I have to do is add the ingredients and sit back while it mixes the dough together.  After the dough is thoroughly combined I take it out of the machine and hand roll and cut,  then bake them.  They have been quite a hit with all my dogs and doggy friends.I would recommend this Oster bread Machine to all my friends and family.

luckychrmz70

Strasburg, VA