Idiot proof bread making - Best Bread maker by far (Panasonic SD255)

Member Name: CeltP

Product:	Panasonic SD255
Date:	17/09/09 (221 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It works every time, it's simple to use, quiet, great quality bread.

Disadvantages: Very big machine, no viewing window

After using a Lidl bread maker for the past 3 years I finally upgraded to the Panasonic SD255. Wow what a difference! With the Lidl bread maker I would use it for pizza dough and 2 or 3 loafs a week. The bread paddles in my old bread maker always stuck in the bread. Which meant after fishing around for them there would be two fairly big holes in the loaf.

Since buying my Panasonic SD255 a month ago, I haven't bought any bread. I've made white, wholemeal, 50/50, dough, fruit loafs and loads more. All without a single failure. The quality of the bread is in a completely different league and easily competes with any artisan shop bread. All 6 in our family love the bread from the Panasonic.

One of the best things about this bread maker is the timer delay. My old bread maker had this function too but only turned out inedible bricks the following morning. With the Panasonic I set it up before I go to bed. Even the most complicated recipes take no more than 5 minutes. I add a timer delay so we wake up to fresh bread each morning.

This bread maker only has one paddle and so far it's remained in the tin. So there is only a thin tare in the bottom of the loaf.

The loaf sizes are smaller than my previous bread maker with the XL being 2lb. But because the shape is different it slices better and goes further. The smallest loaf the M size is 1lb and I get between 14 and 16 slices from this. The L & XL loafs are taller but pretty much the same length.

With my old bread maker I rarely got a proper shaped loaf. With the Panasonic it looks like a traditional loaf every time.

The programs seem to take between 4 and 5 hours on average. Which is longer than my older bread maker. But the improved quality makes up for it easily. There is a rapid bake which I think is under 2 hours but I haven't tried this yet.

This model is also very quiet. Mine is sitting on my kitchen counter and I hardly notice it when it's on.

The SD255 model has a raisin dispenser. For us it was work the extra as we like a lot of fruit and nut breads. You can't add anything sticky or soft to the dispenser, so things like chocolate chips still need to be added at the raisin beep.

You do need to follow the instruction book and recipes provided, as Panasonic have a difference way of doing things. My old bread maker and any of the books I've read have the wet ingredients in first with the dry and yeast last. In the Panasonic it's the yeast and dry first. Loads of recipes in the booklet, you won't need to buy a separate bread book

Can't comment on the life span, as we've only had it for a month. But I know that replacement parts can be got easily and from various places including eBay. This was important to us as this was an issue with our last bread maker.

In terms of improvements the only things I would recommend would be to make the overall machine smaller and add a viewing window. Neither of these is critical but would be good enhancements. This bread maker is very tall, make sure you have somewhere to put it.

Overall extremely pleased, this appliance has been added to our household's can't do without list.

Summary: You won't be disappointed - might put on a few pounds from eating lots of lovely bread!!

Processing/Quality:
Reliability:
Ease of use:
Features: