We bought the Panasonic CD256 because the original bread machine gave up the ghost one Saturday morning when my hubby was creating the dough for his amazing french bread rolls which were our weekend treat. I'd seen the Panasonic at my mum in laws the week before and commented at how neat and compact is was compared to our old clumpy machine which had been bought by my mum a good 6 years previously but she had never used so passed it to us.

The day it arrived, we opened all the packaging, and was amazed at just how quickly you could put it all together and get it powered up and ready. Over 80 recipes come with this machine and because it has a raisin and nut dispenser it's so easy to add any extra ingredients you want to add. It tells you exactly how long you have to wait before you need to add any extras, so all the hype about this machine was definitely worthy. You don't even need to go out to buy an extra recipe book as you have all you need right there in the packaging.

The bread it makes is delicious (takes about 4 hours, but it's soooo worth the wait) and it's just as if you are getting it fresh from the bakers. My hubby's crispy, light french bread rolls are even more scrummy now as the crust comes out a lovely golden colour due to the 3 different crust settings without having to add any egg wash to them!

This is one machine that gets two thumbs up - and if you're in two minds whether or not to buy it - don't be. You will not regret this purchase ever!