The Toastmaster is my first bread machine and I am very pleased I bought it. It isn't perfect but it makes bread that consistently has the right texture and that tastes delicious. Maybe, if I get the baking 'bug' and want to try baking more adventurous breads, I would want to upgrade, but right now, I'm happy using my Toastmaster.

I've never baked before but got the idea of baking my own bread from my sister. I decided I would buy a cheap bread machine as I wasn't too sure if I would use it that much or if I would find the whole home baking thing just a passing fad. Anyhow, after looking at what was out there I chose the Toastmaster over the Sunbeam bread machine.

I did as the instruction book advised by doing a 'break-in' cycle. This was fine and I didn't experience any problems with excess smell or heat. I was surprised at just how quiet it is; I don't know but I expected it to be a lot louder, probably because my sister has a Breadman bread machine and it's louder; so the Toastmaster was off to a good start.

I found getting the pan out a little bit tricky, but after re-reading the instruction book and doing exactly what it said I should - pushing and holding the brackets back - it popped out easily.

It's a horizontal bread machine, like my sister's Breadman, which means you get a more traditional shaped loaf. However, I'd read - and my sister told me - that the problem with horizontal machines with a single mixing paddle is that, sometimes, not all the ingredients are mixed in so you have to give things a helping hand with a spatula at the end of the first mix. I found this was happening all the time with my Toastmaster TBR15, which was a little annoying. However, I've found that by slightly adjusting the recipes I was using I could eliminate this problem; the secret is getting the dough to be not too dry or not too wet.

Anyhow, I baked my first bread loaf using the fast bake option, nothing complicated, just a basic white flour loaf, and to my astonishment it turned out perfectly. Since then, I've made whole grain, pizza dough and honey wheat - all recipes straight out of the instruction book - which is excellent, by the way. My sister had forewarned me about how tricky baking whole grain bread could be so I was very impressed that the Toastmaster bread maker coped easily.

I do have to admit that I have some complaints about my Toastmaster TBR15. I noticed that the sides of the loaf were always darker than the top. It took me a while to come up with a solution, but I found that by placing a damp cloth over the large viewing window helped to make the top darker. I guess a lot of heat escapes from the window; not sure if this is a problem with other brands.

While the TBR15 has some useful features like its 'Quick Bread' cycle and power outage memory, I've found that the 60 minute 'keep warm' feature carries on cooking the bread. I always take the loaf out straight after the bake, but this is a little bit of a drag as I have to check to see if it's done or not.

Overall, I'm really pleased with my Toastmaster bread machine. It does everything that's asked of it. I'm also starting to understand the appeal of home baking and am now using the appliance once a week. I think if I carry on home baking I'll probably upgrade to a more expensive brand, but for now my cheap little TBR15 is just fine.

Follow the links for the Toastmaster bread machine and bread machine reviews on leading models like the Oster, Breadman and Sunbeam bread machine.