Sage - The Custom Loaf - Bread Maker, Brushed Stainless Steel

I never thought I’d get emotional over a bread maker, but here we are. The Sage Custom Loaf Bread Maker has turned me into a full-blown carb enthusiast. It’s got a ton of features—collapsible kneading blade (so no big hole in the bottom of your loaf), a fruit and nut dispenser (yes, really), and a light so you can watch your dough rise like it’s a reality show. The controls are surprisingly easy to use. I’ve tried white loaves, wholewheat, and even an experimental maple pecan situation that made my family briefly think I’d gone pro. Loaf sizes, crust shades, and custom settings galore. Want it light and fluffy? Done. Burnt like it survived a dragon attack? You got it. My only tiny complaints: it’s a bit bulky and not exactly whisper quiet during the kneading phase—but honestly, that just adds to the drama. If you want bakery-quality bread without needing actual baking skills, this machine is your new best friend. 10/10 would loaf again.

Not cheap but perfect loaves every time and looks stunning. Not small but also not as big as some seem to say, I have a small kitchen and had no problems finding a place for it. I have never been able to bake so much as a bean but I’m already experimenting and finding that whatever I throw at it comes out great. It looks and feels extremely high quality and the controls are easy to understand.

Stunning piece of machinery. I’ve had mine for a week now and have made a white loaf, wholemeal loaf, crusty loaf and pizza dough. So simple to use and the results are really impressive. I suggest reading the manual and downloading the free recipe book ( I saved it to my kindle app on the iPad for quick reference) to really understand the process: I misread the timing chart and thought the machine wasn’t working as the preheat stage for wholemeal took longer than I thought I had read.. it can take a while so dont worry! I also invested in some Vitamn C powder (bread improver) and can say it was an amazing addition. the crusty loaf was light as a feather and rose magnificently. You can choose size of loaf, crust colour and so much more. You can make pizza dough, regular dough for rolls to cook in oven, pasta dough and even jam! I chose this model as I’m a big fan of Heston and his attention to details and can honestly say I’ve been browsing other Sage products to see what else I can save for. This is a beautiful machine.. no more shop bought bread for me, I can be sure my family’s bread is good and honest now.

Could only go as low as 1, cos it never arrived, bought 1 from another source on EBAY, about the machine itself, FANTASTIC construction , quality and all that jazz, once you've used one you won't go back to cheaper brands, but beware, if you can't get it here, there are sites charging 3X as much because it has Heston bluemental endorsement in advert

Unfortunately I was delivered a faulty item, The screen was misaligned as were the lid and top casing. Rather than send it back immediately, I decided to see if it worked correctly before returning it for a properly assembled replacement. The machine is indeed very easy to use and program and this impressed me greatly. My first loaf tasted fine, but was and ugly looking creature! This machine requires more water (or liquid total) than most bread recipes specify. I typically use a ratio of 0.6 of the gram weight of flour for the ml of liquid. The Sage started to give me a better looking loaf at a ratio of 6.6 to 6.7, although this does vary for different qualities of flour. I made plain white bread, a 50/50 mix of white flour and wholemeal and some white rolls. All of which were of excellent flavour and perfectly baked. I cannot fault the results from the machine. I checked on Amazon to see if they still had stock so that I could ask for an exchange unit, but there is no stock, so I am returning the machine, The edges of the stainless steel top casing and the lid extend beyond the edges of the main casing and sadly are sharp (due to a lack of de-burring in manufacture) which could result in cut fingers when cleaning the outside. I hope that the norm for this machine is properly fitting component parts, or this would be damaging to Sage's reputation for quality builds. Assuming that my assumptions on build quality are correct, I would highly recommend this machine to anyone keen to make top quality bread at home. Do bear in mind that some experimentation will be required to find the best ratio of flour to liquid, but try 0.66 for your first white loaf and I don't think you will be disappointed. P.S. there is an online recipe book titled 'Flour' written by the famous sponsor of this machine, a famous experimenter of strange cooking methods. Clearly he never tried any of his bread recipes in the Sage, indeed, most have insufficient liquid amounts even for hand bread making, so don't waste your time. I hope this is found useful if you already have a Sage and are wondering how to improve the look of your bread. Right now Amazon are out of stock, but I am told that Curry's have the same model for the same price. Again, if the build quality of mine was simply one that escaped quality control, then I highly recommend this machine as it is extremely easy to use, with the best means of setting things and programming things of any home bread making machine I have seen.

Love it. This Sage Custom Loaf Breadmaker is good looking and of reasonable size. Fingers leave their mark on the brushed stainless steel outer case, but are easily wiped away with a clean cloth. It is so straightforward to use. The clear digital control panel is clear and easy to navigate. I’ve made various loaves and Pizza Dough. It offers so many readily available choices for different breads. It can even mix Pasta, or make Jam; 4 loaf sizes; 3 selectable choices of Crust. The dough mixer paddle reverses automatically and folds flat at the end of its sequence, so there is only a shallow mark on the bottom of the loaf, rather than the huge hole left by some other brands. The smell and taste of freshly baked bread is wonderful. This is in my humble opinion, the best of its type on the U.K. market today. I am a very happy and satisfied customer.

Most Sage/ Breville equipment looks beautiful and works well. This is no exception. It makes great loaves, when you want them, and wakes you with warm bread and that aroma…. This machine does the same that my old Kenwood does, but the bread is airier and lighter. It has many programs for other things too. The finish is also amazing. If you need bread at home and that made easily, this is a great buy. I’ve made loaves using a stand mixer and oven and they come out very well, but there is a lot of prep work. This is as simple as add your ingredients and press a button

Excellent quality, still happy after 1 year

Makes Amazing bread! I have just made wholemeal bread though... The best thing is the modification button on the existing recipes. Works like a charm.... Only 2 reasons for giving it a 4 star is after the nut dispenser opens up we have to shut it manually. Because the 1st time I didn't close it there was a smoke coming out... so following that i have made sure to close the dispenser. secondly, it is a bit of a challenge to clean the collapsible paddle because the dough gets stuck on it, but because of this mechanism, I think the dough gets a nice massage and it doesnt create a big hole at the bottom of the bread. But the baking is evenly done even in the lightest setting and it gives me the most fluffiest breads... i love it!

I received an open item which is clearly a returned product From someone else. I can’t use it as what if that person damaged it and then I get stuck with it

Received today and have already made a great gluten free loaf but had to search the internet for recipes. Most appliances come with at least a few basic recipes to get you started. Internet reviews of this machine showed a recipe book. Disappointed with that but pleased with how the machine works.