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.

The Sage bread machine is excellent and looks beautiful. A great deal and fast reliable delivery by the best courier . Will definitely buy from here again

Makes great bread but is the noise at the start as it should be? Ive posted a vid

Brilliant!! So easy to use.easy to clean. I’m useless at cooking much more than baked beans. This is as simple as pouring in the ingredients in order ( all explained via the sage PDF ) press a couple of buttons and away it goes Even clean up is easy. 10/10 Like the delayed start means we start the morning every couple of days with the smell of fresh bread. Shop bread no longer appeals at all ( all the extra stuff they throw in bread now is the main reason for buying this machine ) Obviously you lose a bit of convenience as Fresh bread only lasts a few days before starting to got stale very quickly ( so we find ourselves making smaller loafs more often….benefit of this is house always smells nice. It just tastes and feels so much better. Won’t go back to shop bread ( well maybe the odd Gail’s designer bread ) Oh yes also it has a little light in it so you can check and watch it do its thing. Most don’t have the light and viewing window but it’s weirdly exciting to have a sneaky peak. Looks smart, feels ok made. It’s big takes up a good patch of counter top real estate but guests always comment on it Only down side is suddenly everyone thinks we are baking them a fresh loaf…..

I’m adding an update now in February 2025 to this review and reducing the stars I gave it. Not only did the collapsible paddle not work but after about 16 months of light use the whole bread making process became unbelievably noisy as there was a constant knocking/banging noise while it was mixing. The noise became so bad the dog barked at it every time!!. The cost of replacing the mixing tin was too high - so I’ve given up and am buying a cheaper machine - at about the same price as the replacement tin would have cost. My son also had this model and his did exactly the same at around the same age. He too has now bought a different make. Very disappointing for us both. This was an expensive breadmaker and I originally thought it was sturdy. However the collapsible paddle didn’t collapse which was disappointing. I hoped it would sort itself out. As you can see from my updated review it didn’t work itself out - it got worse. The bread it made was good - but not worth the price nor the hassle of putting up with the noise.

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.

I bought this bread maker in June 2023 as a replacement for a Panasonic, I have several Sage appliances and decided this should be good, which it is apart from the stupid collapsible paddle, and the Blacksmith Hammer on Anvil impression it makes when it's mixing - Listen to attached video, impossible to sleep through anywhere in our house when it is mixing, so I never use time delayed baking overnight. And the paddle works a treat for several loaves, but the bread mixture eventually works it's way into the paddle bearing and seizes it up. It's impossible to clean it out without dismantling the paddle. Sage will be happy to sell you a new paddle, but they are expensive. Much cheaper to buy a 1.5mm Allen Key and partly disassemble it. Remove only the grub screw in the side of the flat paddle part, not the bottom of the end that fits over the shaft in the machine. The grub screw will be a tight fit, it seems to be fitted with some thread lock, intended to stop it working loose - after all, you wouldn't want it to end up in the loaf. Once they are separated the parts of the paddle are easy to clean. Once clean and dry, refit the paddle parts together - without thread lock, I dismantle and clean it after every bake, checking each time I remove it, that the screw is still attached. So far it has always stayed put. When you replace the grub screw, make sure the paddle is on the small shaft far enough that the screw can be screwed in enough to enter the little groove in the the small shaft - that's what keeps the collapsible paddle part in place. DO NOT screw it in as far as it will go, it will bear on the little shaft and stop the paddle collapsing at all, just screw it back until it is flush with the surface of the paddle, or a little below.

Using a strong bread flower this makes loaves better than the shop. Top quality kit.

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.