Fresh home made bread (Panasonic SD254 Breadmaker)

Member Name: kelebhutu

Product:	Panasonic SD254 Breadmaker
Date:	03/05/09 (633 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: several

Disadvantages: a few

I invested some of my amazon vouchers from my dooyoo miles and spent a bit more in buying the Panasonic SD254 breadmaker a month or so back and read on to see what I have to share with you(sorry its not the bread itself).

Whats in the package:
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The machine itself which is white and would look lovely in most kitchen. It looked huge in the picture on the website but isn't that big once out of the package .Sitting smugly on my kitchen counter its dimensions being .. w=10", l=10" and a height of 14" is just the right size for a medium sized kitchen. It weighs roughly around 7.75kgs, so not it can be shifted from one place to the other easily .

There are four suction-feet which sort of suction-positions the breadmaker to the counter. The breadmaker bakes in three sizes large, medium and extra-large and has three different crust settings too.
It has a wattage of 505-550W.

It has a touch-key programming panel on the top-front which is again user-friendly and informative in itself . It has a flashing button that enables you to know whether the breadmaker is in operation or not and blinks when the bread /dough is done. The clear LCD screen show the time left to finish when on and the different programmes you could set up. You could re-programme if you've made an error by pressing the on/off key ..its very like the panel on a digital microwave , nothing too difficult once you've played around a bit and have got the hang of it.

Inside is a non-stick heavy metal bread tin with a handle and a dough/mixing blade . This is easy to wipe clean with a damp cloth . or simply moisten the adhering crust by pouring in some warm water and scouring gently with a sponge. You have to remember to remove the blade if embedded in the loaf before slicing otherwise you might end up scratching the blade like I have done.


There is a recipe/instruction booklet which is very easy to follow and made setting up(which was a simple task in itself) of the machine very easy .All the instructions are printed in large a font which would be nice for elderly people preferring large prints too I assume. There are recipes for all sorts and types of bread and several for dough for some breads and cakes that can be further oven baked.

A small plastic measuring jug and a measuring spoon-set. These are not dish washer safe, but I just rinse them and wipe clean .

Placement:
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Naturally it has to be placed near an electrical socket and though it does not dance around/vibrate while doing its job , the manufacturer recommends that it should be placed at least away from the edge of the counter .Again it should not be placed near any other heat source and should have a gap of at the back and sides for the air-vents (mostly on the sides)to work properly , saying which maybe it shouldn't be placed below any wooded cabinets/storage either as they might get spoilt from the loads of vapours that get vented while the bread is being baked .
One is not supposed to touch the breadmaker when it is switched on .


What do you need:
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For a basic bread all you need is strong bread flour, butter, yeast , salt, sugar and water. Just place the ingredients in the breadpan as instructed in the manual .Then you choose the setting you wish to bake the bread in and just switch it on. Once done take it out immediately(bread goes harder when system goes into the keep-warm function) from the tin and place it on a cooling rack or within a cold oven wrapped in a cloth otherwise the crust and sides go real hard.



Does it do its job:
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Well that is one loaded question, but yes it does the job... like I have said I had done a very thorough background research and had come to the conclusion that Panasonic breadmaker is the 'BREADMAKER' everyone should have.
Out of the 200 or so reviews I had read nearly 75% reviewers raved and ranted how excellent it was etc etc. However after using it for two months I would like to differ , in the sense that it isn't what I was looking for in an appliance with that hefty price-tag. Here I would like to clarify that I have been baking bread in an oven for some time now but this is the first breadmaker I have had. Most people perhaps compare its efficiency with another breadmaker they have had before which wasn't that great but as this is my first and only one I have nothing to compare its performance with. I haven't made all the types on the recipe-book but have tried most of the basic and everyday loaves and the conclusion I have reached is as follows:

Rapid bake mode :
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I had a doubt about how good this mode would be as people using breadmaker often say that the bread -crust does not puff out . The mode is almost very good in my opinion and I use it most of the time if I haven't pre-planned about making a bread as the bake time is just an hr and 55 mins , it saves energy and time. The drawback of this mode is that you can't have a light crust , you have to set it at a medium or dark crust otherwise the bread comes out heavy and the top soggy and under-cooked. This again makes the side crusts thicker and harder than desirable (have to decrust for my little one). I would give this a 4 star.

Basic bake mode:
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Both the white and brown basic bread mode are excellent. I find the large size too small and of half a loaf size so I stick to the large or extra large mode . This is the only mode I have found to produce quality bread each time. Five star

Sandndwich mode:
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To be honest in my machine this mode is utterly dysfunctional . I am very disappointed with this and consider it a major drawback as we usually eat sandwich bread in our house and even after several experiments I have failed to produce anything close , I end up with a brick each time. I give this mode a negative star(if that exists).

Dough-mode:
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You have to make alterations to the amount of water in most of the recipe provided in the booklet but usually when you have successfully worked out the ratios of ingredients the end result is out of the word..so don't give up and keep experimenting. Maybe 2.5 stars , as I love the pizza base dough mode.


Delay timer-mode:
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One brilliant feature of this appliance is that it has a 13 hour delay start-up system and the pamphlet directs you as to how you should go about setting it if you want to delay the start of the process so that it finishes baking whenever you want the bread to be ready and waiting... this is really great if you want to serve fresh warm bread to your guests or if you want warm bread first thing in the morning. Again a 5 star.

You can not however bake a milk-bread or some more speciality breads in this setting as the milk/ingredients will spoil when kept out for that long.

Gluten-free mode:
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This breadmaker has a brilliant gluten free mode to boast of , but as none of my family members have gluten-intolerance this is one mode I have yet to try and comment on but I think would win brownie points with some users.

Also thrown in are a keep warm function and a 10 minute power-cut sensor automatic function. The raisin/nut timer alerts you when to put these in as this model does not come with a built-in nut dispenser.



For a medium sized bread requiring 500gms bread flour the cheapest I can work out is (25p for flour, 10p for butter and 10p for yeast, salt, sugar) plus as it has a very high wattage consumption around 550W , so on an average to make a basic bread it runs 4hrs so about 20p, that's a total of 55p and then a few pennies more to be fair if you take into account that you need petrol to get to the supermarket and on water meter for washing/adding ... you can buy a same sized Danish bread or a supermarket bread for around 40p upwards . So what it does and how efficiently depends on what you are looking for .

It does bake a decent bread but I still miss my Hovis sandwich bread . It can hardly be called energy efficient as it has a relatively high wattage , more so as it runs for 4-5 hrs at a stretch. As an appliance in itself it is not that great but compared to the other breadmakers in the market it is of superior quality from what I have read so far.


Whats in it for me:
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Pros:
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Isn't noisy when its switched on , just the low hum of things being mixed .

The bread tin is easy to clean.

I don't have to run to the convenience shop if I have run out of bread.

Just about the right size.

I get the home-baked freshness as a bonus.

I know exactly what is going into the bread , no bleach , no chemicals.

I can wake up to the smell of fresh baked bread and a warm perfect loaf everytime I use the timer mode.

The recipe booklet is full of so many different bread which are easy to make if you just have the ingredients like, brioche, croissants, pizza dough, onion loaf, almond and apricot loaf , dough for rolls and buns etc are a few to name.

The environment/temperature within the breadmaker is so maintained that the dough proves excellently .This is one feat I have yet to achieve unaided in the ever changing British environment.

Cons:
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Leaves a hole and two inch sized cut at the bottom. Not a big deal if slices are thick unless you are making a sandwich for a child , where the thin slice tears along the line.

The smallest sized loaf (L) is an absurd size for a bread the tin could have been a bit more longer than high in my opinion.

The blade gets easily scratched if you forget to take it out before slicing and it's a £13 alone to replace it.

Bread/crust goes hard if kept in keep warm function, calls for immediate removal from bin.

I need to hunt around for the right ingredients and stock them.

A bit expensive but then I suppose it must be better than the low-priced ones.

The lid just sits down lightly and there is no way of locking it when in operation , I have to make sure that my inquisitive little one doesn't pull it up and have a look inside...it would be nice if they made it a bit more child-safe.

It doesn't have a nut dispenser but this is minor as you save £20is when buying compared to the upgraded model with nut-dispenser and this model does have a nut/raisin timer option too.


Price and availibility:
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It cost me £67.03 from Amazon , but can be obtained at any price between £60-£90 .

Readily available from most places selling home appliances and a few places even sell the spare parts like the blending paddle/blade.

On a final note-
I have to admit that the bread that comes out of a breadmaker does smell a bit more yeastier than a shop bought one and does not stay fresh for as long but this is not a fault of the breadmaker in itself but because of what has or has not(preservatives) been added There is nothing like having a slice of fresh warm bread with your cuppa in the morning .

Still if you want the truth this is one appliance I could do without specially as I already have a very good dough-hook/maker already sitting at home , but if you are one who depends on a breadmaker or make loads of different types of bread this is a very good one to go for .

Summary: Top range product but maynot be appreciated by all buyers

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