Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker
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I did alot of research before buying my Breadmaker. The reviews of the Panasonic helped me to decide. It came so quickly. This is my first breadmaker, so it's difficult to compare it with another brand. A week after I got it, I was wiping out the oven. The little white ceramic bracket that holds the heating element, broke in two. I got on the Panasonic website to locate a dealer and found out that the nearest dealer is 2 or 3 hours away. I fixed it myself with heat resistant glue. Living in a rural area can be a problem if you need service I guess. It makes great bread. I love the smell of fresh baked bread.
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I have never written a review for anything before, but this machine is so good, I couldn't resist. I've owned it for over a year now, and I agree with all the good things people have to say about this. It has never spoiled a single loaf yet.
I have used the Bake, Sandwich, and dough modes for both Basic and Whole Wheat types. Haven't tried the pizza dough or raisin feature yet. I have also used the Bake Only mode, and that worked great too! Plus, I've set it on delay timer for over 8 hours, and the result was just as good as baking it right away.
Pros:
- Very quiet : In any cycle, it only knocks about 7-8 times continuously, while it kneads, and that's all. Other than that, you can hardly hear it.
- Yeast dispenser: This helps keep the dough at the optimum temperature for best yeast action, which results in requiring less yeast. I have tried another machine before which required 4 times the quantity this one does.
- Easy to clean : The non-stick pan and blade are super-easy to clean, just rinse them off in warm water, I rarely need to use any detergent.
- Whole wheat cycle : Most whole wheat bread recipes call for some amount of white bread flour or gluten flour to improve texture and height. This machine works wonders with whole wheat bread flour alone. I usually add gluten flour for the nutrition, but I have seen no change in height/texture with or without the extra gluten. It does keep a little longer if you add gluten, though.
- Weighing instead of measuring : What some people see as a con, I think is a huge pro. It's much faster to just weight the flour, and it produces much better results than with using measuring cups. I use this scale : Polder 933-90 Digital Add'N'Weigh 11-Pound Kitchen Scale, White It's good enough for this machine's requirements.
Cons:
- a little expensive, but I found it worth every penny.
Tips (from personal experience):
- Always use the same location to place your machine when baking bread. As it says in the manual, choose a spot away from vents. I use a corner of my kitchen floor, that is protected from direct ventilation.
- Freeze wheat flour and yeast. Although this is not a bread machine tip, wheat flour stays fresher longer when frozen and results in better bread.
- Using dried herbs works just as fine, just reduce the amount used. If the recipe calls for 1 tbsp of the fresh herb, use 1 tsp of the dried one.
- Be extra careful when measuring water or any other liquid.
- If using bread machine recipes other than the ones in the manual, make sure you use the same quantity of yeast as given in the manual for a bread size close to the one you are aiming for. So, for example, the recipe bakes a 1-lb loaf, then use the same amount of yeast as indicated for a size M bread.
Overall, it's a very easy-to-use machine, and gives great and, most importantly, consistent results. I would highly recommend this to everyone who is fond of home-made bread.
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I bought this machine a couple of months back and I love it.
Every loaf that it has made has been wonderful.
Good:
- Quite
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
Bad:
- Even the 'light' crest is not very light or soft. I am not sure if it is just the floor or something else. ( I have tried couple of different brands of flour).
I wish it had following:
- A smaller size option. (In that case I can bake a bread everyday for breakfast.
- A transparent top cover. (So that I can see my bread rising :-))
- A better beeper for signals for 'raisin' mode.
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I've had this machine for almost two years, and haven't had a failed loaf yet. The key feature is the yeast dispenser. It allows you to prep the machine well ahead of time without the yeast becoming inactive.
The main downside of bread machines in general is the loaf shape. To mix properly, the pan can't be too wide. The pan in this machine is actually quite good, if you use the small loaf setting it's almost like "normal" bread. Despite baking hundreds of loaves, each loaf comes out effortlessly. Just wash the pan by hand, not in the dishwasher
I accidentally dropped the machine on the floor, and the lid broke off. After a bit of superglue, the machine was back in business, it's still going strong. Durability is not a problem.
-> Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker
I purchased this machine one month ago. I've already tried to bake several types of bread (maybe baked ten breads)and it was really good. Before I purchased it, I read all the reviews on the site that I could possibley find. Some of them said sometimes it didn't work well, but it is really easy to bake fresh bread! I don't have to hesitate on what kind of bread to buy in the market anymore! All you have to do is insert dry ingredients then wet ingredients according to the instructions and set the machine...and Voila! you can wake up with fresh bread smell in the morning!
I never doubted my decision! It was the perfect choice. Great machine, I love it! Thanks Amazon! perfect shipping and customer service (quick response to my answer...)
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I love the machine. It's quiet and very easy to use. However, I'm on a salt restricted diet, and I assume that's why the loaves don't always rise adequately. I plan to play with recipes. Have had 1 perfect loaf, though even the "sad" ones have been very tasty.
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it si great bread maker. it is so easy.(i`m not good at baking^^;;)
but it is a little bit big for my kitchen . but it is still great!!
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This bread maker was purchased to replace an earlier model Panasonic bread machine (SD-YD205) whose kneader mounting shaft disintegrated after eight years of several-times' weekly use. I generally use only the dough cycles on the bread machine because I dislike the shape of bread (and the hole made by the flapper) baked in the machine. This new machine has a number of improvements over my old machine, notably the addition of "French" bread and dough cycles and a special cycle to mix pizza dough. The French bread cycle produces a dough with a more open crumb than the regular cycle and the pizza dough cycle which begins mixing the dough as soon as the start button is pressed. It also retains useful features like the yeast dispenser and a timer delay for mixing and baking bread up to 13 hours later. And the price is right. Even with the improvements, the price is less than I paid for my old machine with fewer features.
The new machine does make good dough on all the cycles that I have tried, and on the one loaf I baked in the machine, it was nice to be able to control the crust color. My one quibble is that the machine allows almost nothing in the way of manual control over the cycles. On all the programs except the pizza dough cycle, there is a delayed start "rest" period which is impossible to bypass. Once a cycle is selected and Start is pressed, nothing happens for a period from 20 minutes to over an hour. Further, a cycle cannot be manually paused or resumed once it has been started (for example, to allow time for an autolyse). If you press Stop, the cycle is aborted, and the only way to resume is to begin the cycle over, including that annoying rest period.
Of course, most of the reason for having and using a bread machine is to get quality, homemade bread without a lot of attention and effort, and in that, the Panasonic SD-YD250 excels.
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So far I love my new bread machine. It does everything that I expected.
My only wish is that the loaf was a little smaller, but the bread turns out so good I can't complain.
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I love this bread machine. This is the first one I have ever owned so I wasn't sure what to expect. The bread comes out great. I make about 3 loaves a week. I couldn't be more pleased with this product.
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This is the third Panasonic bread maker I have owned. The previous one, which was virtually the same as this model - except for some new programming features that have been added - gave almost 8 years of service. We used it on average at least several times a week. I replaced the belt a few times from normal wear (it's easy to do yourself) and the paddle mechanism gradually wore out. But overall my Panasonic bread makers have been very durable. And they make great bread, though we mainly use it to mix dough that we bake in the oven.
I did notice that the old one was made in Japan and the new one is from China, so we'll see if the new machine holds up as well. No problems so far.
With this machine and a baking stone in the oven it's like having a French bakery in your kitchen.
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Best product for the job and best company to buy it from
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I am very well pleased with the SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker. I have made the medium loaf as well as the large. They came out beautiful and delicious. I previously owned a smaller Panasonic Machine that I just loved. My home was hit by lightning and put it out of service. I was so afraid that I could not get a suitable replacement. I liked the menu panel on the old one better - it was easier to read. That is just a small thing.
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I haven't had this machine for long, but so far, I like it. My one disappointment is that you can't put the dough setting on the timer. This is unfortunate because I mostly use my bread machines for making dough and I OFTEN used the timer on my old model so that the dough would be ready when I woke up, got home from town, or whatever. With this machine, I have to let the machine bake the bread if I want to put it on a timer. Also, the time to get a completed loaf of bread is quite a bit longer than my old machine as it has a "rest cycle" that you can't turn off...this allows all the ingredients to come to the proper temperature before mixing, supposedly. It does make a decent loaf of bread and good dough, so maybe this is a good feature, but sometimes I'm in a hurry and just need to get on with it. In those times, I simply turn the machine on before I begin putting my ingredients together so that some of that "rest" time is counted off as I prepare. Other than those little inconveniences, I think it's probably a good machine. I like the yeast dispenser and I like the general quietness of the machine. Mine squeaks a little, but I'm hoping this will stop as it's used more. It cleans VERY easily and all the recipes I've tried so far have worked out really good. I don't care for the weight measurements, but I tend to ignore them and round the 11/16 type measurements either up or down, whatever is easier and the breads still turn out great. I've even used old recipes from my old machine (a Toastmaster) and they've turned out good as well. Since I usually use it for dough, I'm mainly looking for something sturdy and reliable and long-lasting and my experience with Panasonic over the years has assured me that this will perform well for many years to come.
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I really do like this breadmaker.It is so quiet when kneading,mixes really good. I love the way the yeast dispenser works. And the bread is really good. I feel like it is so much better for us. Even if I don't always bake the bread in it, I love the way it kneads the dough and it rises really good. I haven't bought a loaf in several months.
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This is the first bread machine I have owned so I don't really have any basis for comparison. However, there are several features I like. This machine is very quiet during operation even when kneading. There is a variety of options for type, size, etc. of each loaf. The instruction manual is very thorough but I wish there were more recipes.
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If you are thinking about buying a bread maker, this is the one to buy! It's easy to use and makes delicious bread. I started using it since the day I got it and I've made different kinds of breads, all tasty. I love the timer option; I set it for 2:00 am and have fresh bread at 6:00am.
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We've only had the bread maker a few weeks but so far our experience has been great. The bread is terrific. Nice and crispy on the outside with a wonderful texture on the inside. Panasonic has always made reliable products and so far this is the case with the breadmaker. If there is one drawback it would be that the express bake mode is a full 2 hours as compared with 1 hour for our previous model. However the wait is worth it as the bread is swell. It just takes a bit more planning and you can't try to bake a loaf for dinner on the spare of the moment. Otherwise the loaves are large enough that they last for a few days and even after a few days they bread is still delicious. Only time will tell if the bread maker will last longer than our previous model but for now we are totally pleased.
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This is the second Panasonic we've purchased. We bought the first about 10 years ago and it is still running fine. This model has more surface area at the bottom of the pan so it works better with denser breads. It also has higher capacity and many more features than our original. The bread maker is very forgiving. It mixes well so hand mixing isn't necessary. The heavy aluminum pan provides uniform cooking and repeatable results.
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This bread machine is amazing! The best thing about it is the wheat bread, it's awesome, it turns out so velvety and light - I can't even get those results making it by hand and forget about getting those results with a different bread machine, yikes! I've gone through 3 other machines, all different brands, and the wheat bread is way heavy. This machine is SO worth the investment I can't think of a single thing I don't like about it.
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It makes a 2.5 lb loaf, and has never screwed up a loaf. I experiment with different grains I mill, wheat, kamut and others to make bread with, and this Panasonic takes them all. It's easy to use. Although it comes with a recipe book, all you need to do is toss in about 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of water, 2T butter, 2t salt...I use eggs, milk, powdered milk, dough enhancer, and gluten. I've also ground up flax seeds to put in, a handful of calcium 1000 mg tablets, vitamin C, and even tossed in vanilla whey, which has a lot of protein and very low fat.
The bread always comes out yummy. The bread just dumps out when you turn the pan over. The baking pan is made of heavy duty aluminum, and this machine also has a yeast door in the lid of the maker which dumps the yeast in at just the proper time.
It bakes a delicious loaf of bread in 2.5 to 5 hours, but I use the 4 hour basic mode on every type of bread. If the price goes down, I'm buying another. I paid $119 but the price is dropping now. Wonderful. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.
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I miss my Welbilt terribly. After spending months reviewing machines I settled on this one and am disappointed. I never let a machine do the cooking - I only use them for the dough setting because I am picky about the texture - so I went for something less complicated and less expensive than the Zojirushi. It is okay for white bread or pizza dough, but a dough that is more dense (i.e., wheat of any kind and ratio) will bog down the motor and stop it. I have tried two wheat loaves with different ratios of white to wheat flour and both did the same thing. The pan also does not lock into place; this does not seem to cause problems, but is just weird. I had my Welbilt for over 10 years and it never had a problem with any dough and I really put it through some big, heavy loaves!
The yeast dispenser on this one is utterly useless - it only holds a teaspoon. Most of my breads require 2t - 1T of yeast. Maybe I just need more time to figure it out, but hesitate to move on to my more complicated artisan loaves. I probably should have coughed up the extra for a Zojirushi since I make a lot of bread.
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I have been using this machine for almost 9 months now. I owned a BreadMan before and returned it. With the Breadman i had 5% success in making breads but with the Panasonic almost 90% of the breads came out to be good and other 10% was, i admit, our mistake :). It's also very handy to make tortilla dough and we can mix healthy stuff with the dough like Tofu, Spinach etc. We also made a Spinach Pizza. I also like the Yeast Dispenser. I don't have to worry about putting the yeast with dry stuff if making the bread overnight. I am very happy and satisfied with the Bread Maker.
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Atkins diet? Never heard of it. I have had this machine for a month and made several loaves. I have had no issues with the machine, it functions fine. It is silent for most of the 4 or 6 hour baking cycle, except during kneading. When the blade runs in one direction, a pleasing mechanic hmmm is heard, when that blade reverses, a sharp clack is heard for each revolution. If you sleep near your kitchen, over-night bread might be an issue. As for the bread, it cannot compare with hand made loaves, it does not acheive the thick crust or deepness of baking that a baker can. BUT it is good bread, much better than a grocery store loaf. The crust has character and the center is light and chewy, it's best for sandwiches. I make lunch everyday for may family, so bread was something I always had to buy, so this unit has helped me out very well. I will try the "dough only" mode and make bagettes, that might be closer to what I was hoping for.
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I have tried 3 other brand bread makers sense 1990 and then i bought a Panasonic. I used it until this year and thought I'd try another brand :-( i used it 1 times and gave it to my daughter-in-law and ordered my new panisonic from you on line. never again will i try others. i don't expect to have to even own another one as this brand is so good.
Thank you for it.
Rosemary Hopper
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Excellent bread maker. Easy to use and quite versatile. I have a loaf baking right now and it smells so good.
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I love the bread maker. I use it to make ALL the bread my family eats and each loaf is delicious. THE ONLY THING I would am not too happy about is that there are only 40 recipes and when I called customer service to see if they had additional recipes elsewhere they said they no longer provide additional recipes. I have tampered with some of my own recipes but because of the yeast pro dispenser and how the machine gets everything to the right temperature before it mixes, my own recipes aren't turning out as I'd like them too. Anyway, I'm doing more trial and error and I'm sure I'll find a solution. The recipes that are included have been great--I guess I'm just greedy because I want more!
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I just had to talk about this machine. I read all the other reviews, and that is why I picked this one. I live at a high altitude - 8500 feet, and since moving up here, I have been unable to make bread. I was skeptical that this machine would fail where I failed. But from the first loaf, everything has been perfect. I made no high altitude adjustments to the recipes other than making my own flour mix of about 2/3 regular flour, and 1/3 hi gluten flour. And I am not even certain that I need to do that. So far I have made basic white bread, french bread, and a cracked wheat bread. Each one was perfect, with the most awesome texture and crust. I did buy fresh yeast at the Vitamin Cottage. I am so in love with this machine, and unfortunately, I am eating way too much bread !!!! All in all, this is a wonderful machine. It is quiet, the bread is very easy to make, and clean up is so simple. It takes up a lot of room in my pantry, but it is hardly ever there cuz I am making bread every other day. I highly recommend this product.
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This replaced my DAK bread machine...one of the first on the market...and the difference is night and day. The old machine was noisy and you had to practically chain it to the counter it moved around so much. The Panasonic is so still and quiet I thought it was broken at first. The old machine would not make anything with a crusty crust. The Panasonic makes unbelievable French bread! The only thing I miss is being able to see the bread as it's being made...the DAK had a transparent lid. Aside from that this Panasonic couldn't be better.
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I have had this Panasonic breadmaker for several weeks after using and wearing out 2 other brands. There has been trial and error, and it really is necessary to measure the flour by weight not by cup. It makes a very large loaf even using the sandwich directions, but it is a light and well formed loaf. I have only tried the white bread so far.
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Our experience was perfect bread every time. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. The only thing we did that wasnt outlined in the INSTRUCTIONS was sifting all the flour. This made the loafs huge and light. This machine will make perfect bread every time " IF YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ". I didnt know bread was this easy to make. I no longer eat bread out of a plastic bag. I would wish good luck but you wont need it " IF YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ", thank you Amazon and Panasonic.
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After I moved in the Hawaii Island, I noticed everything is very expensive including some bread. Also I have to do long drive to get it. I decided the purchase a bread making machine and check around. This machine has the place for east , so the east will automatically drop into the bread. Also there are many different function, but it is easy to use. The best thing is easy to clean. The bread is as good as one I can buy at a store. I also enjoyed making pizza dough. I just need to wash one pan inside the machine and there is no dough stack it. I can make dough without mess the kitchen or my hand. I will try to make other kind of bread from now on. There is timer system too. I am so glad I chose this Panasonic one.
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This product arrived just before New Year's Eve. It was my husband's Christmas present and he was delighted to be able to make his first loaf of bread for his family who came to visit over NY's. We love it. He researched the net to get the best one and we feel good about our choice.
Just made a more complicated loaf and it turned out great. He's made three loaves so far.
Awesome machine.
->Best Price Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker
I have had other bread machines, and this one tops them all!!! I even bought one of these for my daughter for Christmas, and she remarked also how nice and soft the bread was. It is such an easy machine to use, the water is always at the right temp, and the yeast is added at the right time so the bread comes out perfect every time. Its a must machine for a person that uses there bread machine as much as I do. Highly recommend it!!
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I have had three previous breadmakers over the years going all the way back to DAK. I have really enjoyed the bread I was able to make with each one, and have saved the recipe books from each. The Panasonic SD-YD250 is the best yet by a comfortable margin. The recipes which came with it which I have tried are excellent, but the breadmaker also does great with the recipes from all the other breadmakers--just add the dry ingredients first. The rapid bake option works very well making large, light loaves. There are controls for the loaf size, crust color and style of baking. They are easy to learn. The instruction manual helpfully provides times for all the cycles of all the different types of baking--which lets you add raisins or cranberries to a rapid bake loaf at the tail end of kneading with excellent results. The french bread gives you few options, and surprise, takes a full six hours, but the soft interior and crunchy, chewy crust are well worth the wait. One slight caveat--the crust gets a little more done than I like if the bread is left in the baker on the warming cycle for more than 5 or 10 minutes, which is something to consider if you were going to start the breadmaker and not be able to get back to it for a 5 or 6 hours. That said, I don't think I would have another type of breadmaker now--the Panasonic is just the best.
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This is my third bread maker and it gets used approximately every two or three days. It has been holding up very well after about 3 month of constant use so far. Even though it doesn't look much different than the models I had before, it just works better: the non-stick coating is very effective and the bread very easily slides out of the pan after it has been baked. The bread pan can be inserted and removed very easily. The kneading blade doesn't get stuck in the bread as with my previous machine. The yeast dispenser works well and somehow the machine seems less sensitive to slightly incorrect amounts of ingredients and the bread comes out well anyway. So I can highly recommend this one.
->Best Price Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker
I read a lot of reviews about bread machines before making my purchase and am so glad that I listened to the people that said this was the best one for the price. This is my first bread machine and I am so happy with my purchase. I love making bread but I have a cool house so rising the bread has always been hit and miss proposition. That is all over now that I have my Panasonic SD-YD250. As long as I don't screw up the recipe, which I've been known to do, it turns out a perfect loaf every time.
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highly recommended fairly quiet and browns just right
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Start baking with great success at first try. Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker is very easy to use with recepies provided or your own. I bake bread with all organic ingredients and my whole family enjoyed this. Good product I recommend it any time.
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Breadmaker has many different modes of baking. The fast mode works very good. I have tried to bake a rye/whole wheat loaf which turns out like a brick even tough I add extra gluten. Its not the breadmakers fault its just a matter of figuring out the ratios. All the recipes that we tried from the instructions work well.
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This machine is great. We have been using it more than once a week for the last couple of months without any problem. It is extremely easy to use and set up. It is extremely quiet and you can have your bread done in almost 2 hrs. The recipes are very easy to follow and in less than 5 min you can start baking your bread. Great product so far, we are very happy with our purchase.
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Gerat bread maker is all it is and more. Exactly as other reviewers described. Does great job.
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We received the bread maker in good condition and in reasonable time.
Every thing works fine and we are happy with it.
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I spents hours reading reviews of bread making machines available on the market. Every one of them had both positive and negative points to make. Somewhere in all of those reviews was one from a consumer who had purchased the Panasonic SD-YD250 and loved it. They later bought a newer different bread maker that had more "bells and whistles" on it, hated it, and wished they had remained with the Panasonic.
Every bread recipe that I have made on my SD-YD250 has turned out deliciously. I prefer the results using the Medium size loaf recipes. The owner's manual is very clear with good directions for programming the machine...the programming is also very easy. It recommends using weight for measuing many of the dry ingrediants, and I also suggest following that advice.
I have only two very small complaints. The machine is a bit noisey during kneeding (but most are noisey). I wish the programming allowed up to 48 hours rise time to better permit the length of time that "sour dough starter" breads need. But these two issues are very minor and should not prevent you from choosing the Panasonic. I highly recommend it.
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This is a very reliable and easy to use bread machine - every loaf is perfect. The recipe book has a few quirks, but I suspect it uses British measurements and I have simply made my own notes for the recipes. I would highly recommend this machine for ease of use and consistency of results.
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I bought this machine after a lot of research because I needed something that would produce good breads using gluten-free flour. I've used it for a couple of months now, making about two loaves a week, and gotten very good results.
This machine produces excellent loaves using flours such as sorghum, potato, corn, tapioca and rice. Since non-wheat flours only rise once instead of twice like wheat, I use the "rapid bake" cycle on the Panasonic, which I have come to believe has only a single rise because the entire baking process takes just under two hours. (The "bake" option takes nearly five hours, so I assume that it includes two rises.)
I am using recipes from a cookbook that I purchased here on Amazon written by Carol Fenster, who is a well-known expert on gluten-free baking. I have also used the machine to make regular, wheat flour breads, which come out great. For those, I am using the basic wheat flour recipe that is included in the manual that comes with the machine.
I agree with the reviewer who noted that the large-size loaves from this machine are an ungainly and inconvenient size. But that is really the only thing about the machine that I dislike. Everything else -- its cycle options, its non-stick bucket, its relative light weight, and the consistent loaves that it produces with a wide variety of flours -- are above the expectations I had when I bought it.
As I understand it, not all bread machines can be set to cycles that will work well with gluten-free flours. And, since I have never owned a bread machine before, I have not had any experiences to compare with those I've had using the Pansonic. But, for the price and the convenience of use, it has proven an excellent purchase for me.
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I do not recommend this product due to the poor customer service from Panasonic.
We were happy with the quality of the bread, but the machine broke down after 10 months. The repair process with Panasonic is lenghty and less than satisfactory. Supposedly, the one-year warranty covers repairs only, but what happens when the machine still doesn't work after the repairs have been made?
All commands on the machine stopped working after 10 months, only off/on worked, so we had to bake only at the preset settings (no timer, adjustments of loaf size, etc.) So we shipped it off to Connecticut and waited over one month for it to be returned. They replaced the PC board, and it worked for ONE loaf only. Then the same problem happened.
It has been very frustrating trying to get in touch with Panasonic. I have spent over one hour in the past 2 weeks on hold, and usually have to hang up without reaching anyone. They say they only cover repairs, but what when the repairs have been done? And should we have to wait another two months and pay further shipping charges to have the same machine fixed for the same problem? We need to have a bread maker and will probably have to buy another one, as Panasonic doesn't seem to stand behind their product. We will not buy another panasonic product. I am still holding out hope that they will do the right thing, we shall see.
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I bought this item because I was intrigued by the reviews of other buyers. I have to say that for the most part, I was not dissapointed. I will not repeat here what has already been said by others, but I would like to add a few observations of my own.
Firstly, the item is extremely easy to use and clean. All the bread recipes included with it, come out very well. However, I would like to point out that what you in fact get, is a sandwich type bread. A very superior sandwich bread, but sandwich bread nontheless. The reason I mention this is that several people mention "crispy crust and tender crumb inside" especially on the french bread, which lead me to believe that this machine was capable of producing artisanal bread. This unfortunately is not true. The crust is a little crisp (certainly more crisp than a store-bought loaf), but this is NOT artisanal bread by any means (the kind that has rustic hard crust, and chewy crumb). I have tried many rustic recipes from other sources to achieve this type of bread in this machine, but thus far none have worked. Don't get me wrong. This machine might not have the capability to make a rustic loaf, but it still works extremely well with the type of bread it does make. In fact, when I can't make my own rustic bread by hand, I would much rather eat a loaf made in this machine than any I can buy at any supermarket or deli or even a bakery. The only store-bought loaves I actualy prefer are very fancy artisanal loaves from a specialty baker.
Now, there is one thing about this machine that drives me absolutely nuts. The loaf pan is very vertical, so whenever you choose any size loaf other than the smallest, you get this ridiculously tall loaf, which I personaly find extremely annoying. A slice of this size loaf is basically 2 slices from a "normal" bread (it's as though you laid one loaf on top of another). This wouldn't be a problem except for two things: a)I don't always want to have 2 slices, and b)it's hard to slice. I would have really appreciated the idea of being able to make a big loaf that would last several days, but this is actualy so inconvenient here, that I end up making small sized loaves more often. This, however, is a relatively small inconvenience and I would still highly recommend this product.
I also highly recommend using high quality flour. I find that the best flour is an organic flour that still has its germ. This makes a huge difference in taste (plus is very healthy), and it need not be expensive at all. Since I bake all of my bread now, I get a large 25lbs. bag, once every few months, from somethingbetternaturalfoods dot com for around $12, which comes out to less than 50 cents a pound.
Lastly, I would like to address a concern I read in someone's review. I believe one person mentions that all they get is hard lumps instead of loaves. I believe that the problem here is probably the type of recipe used. When you use a bread machine, you must use recipes developed specificaly for baking in a bread machine. Machines use ratios of ingredients that are very different from oven recipes, and most of the time, a regular recipe will not work well in a machine. If this does not resolve the issue, then the problem is most likely that the internal settings of that particular machine were not set correctly at the factory, and an exchange for a properly functioning one will fix the problem.
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This is my first bread machine and I liked it when it was working. The bread was coming out just perfect. Unfortunately after two weeks of use the bread suddenly stopped to rise. I though that there is something wrong with the ingredients so I spend another 2 weeks replacing all the ingredients with fresh once. No luck. The machine is kneading and is baking as usual but stays too cold during the rising cycle. Then I left the machine to prepare the dough, took it out and left it in a warm place (around 100F) to rise for about an hour. The dough rose perfectly and then I bake with the bread machine. I'm now convinced that there is problem with the rising part of the cycle. I called Panasonic (they don't have a web support for this product) and they told me to send the machine to a service center and pay for the shipping. I don't have much of a hope that I'll get it repaired but I'll give it a try. In conclusion - great machine, but I guess I had a bad luck.
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It arrived yesterday,I made the first loaf today.The family polished off the first loaf in minutes.So much better than making bread the old fashioned way.My waistline is DOOMED!
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I bought this item because I was intrigued by the reviews of other buyers. I have to say that for the most part, I was not dissapointed. I will not repeat here what has already been said by others, but I would like to add a few observations of my own.
Firstly, the item is extremely easy to use and clean. All the bread recipes included with it, come out very well. However, I would like to point out that what you in fact get, is a sandwich type bread. A very superior sandwich bread, but sandwich bread nontheless. The reason I mention this is that several people mention "crispy crust and tender crumb inside" especially on the french bread, which lead me to believe that this machine was capable of producing artisanal bread. This unfortunately is not true. The crust is a little crisp (certainly more crisp than a store-bought loaf), but this is NOT artisanal bread by any means (the kind that has rustic hard crust, and chewy crumb). I have tried many rustic recipes from other sources to achieve this type of bread in this machine, but thus far none have worked. Don't get me wrong. This machine might not have the capability to make a rustic loaf, but it still works extremely well with the type of bread it does make. In fact, when I can't make my own rustic bread by hand, I would much rather eat a loaf made in this machine than any I can buy at any supermarket or deli or even a bakery. The only store-bought loaves I actualy prefer are very fancy artisanal loaves from a specialty baker.
Now, there is one thing about this machine that drives me absolutely nuts. The loaf pan is very vertical, so whenever you choose any size loaf other than the smallest, you get this ridiculously tall loaf, which I personaly find extremely annoying. A slice of this size loaf is basically 2 slices from a "normal" bread (it's as though you laid one loaf on top of another). This wouldn't be a problem except for two things: a)I don't always want to have 2 slices, and b)it's hard to slice. I would have really appreciated the idea of being able to make a big loaf that would last several days, but this is actualy so inconvenient here, that I end up making small sized loaves more often. This, however, is a relatively small inconvenience and I would still highly recommend this product.
I also highly recommend using high quality flour. I find that the best flour is an organic flour that still has its germ. This makes a huge difference in taste (plus is very healthy), and it need not be expensive at all. Since I bake all of my bread now, I get a large 25lbs. bag, once every few months, from somethingbetternaturalfoods dot com for around $12, which comes out to less than 50 cents a pound.
Lastly, I would like to address a concern I read in someone's review. I believe one person mentions that all they get is hard lumps instead of loaves. I believe that the problem here is probably the type of recipe used. When you use a bread machine, you must use recipes developed specificaly for baking in a bread machine. Machines use ratios of ingredients that are very different from oven recipes, and most of the time, a regular recipe will not work well in a machine. If this does not resolve the issue, then the problem is most likely that the internal settings of that particular machine were not set correctly at the factory, and an exchange for a properly functioning one will fix the problem.
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This is my first bread machine and I liked it when it was working. The bread was coming out just perfect. Unfortunately after two weeks of use the bread suddenly stopped to rise. I though that there is something wrong with the ingredients so I spend another 2 weeks replacing all the ingredients with fresh once. No luck. The machine is kneading and is baking as usual but stays too cold during the rising cycle. Then I left the machine to prepare the dough, took it out and left it in a warm place (around 100F) to rise for about an hour. The dough rose perfectly and then I bake with the bread machine. I'm now convinced that there is problem with the rising part of the cycle. I called Panasonic (they don't have a web support for this product) and they told me to send the machine to a service center and pay for the shipping. I don't have much of a hope that I'll get it repaired but I'll give it a try. In conclusion - great machine, but I guess I had a bad luck.
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It arrived yesterday,I made the first loaf today.The family polished off the first loaf in minutes.So much better than making bread the old fashioned way.My waistline is DOOMED!
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Great product and works as mentioned in the manual. Bread smells really
great
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I'm not very good in the kitchen - at least I don't bake a lot. With this machine the bread came up perfect the first time I tried it. I just added some more salt the second time. I'm trying different recipes now and all of them worked! I thought that this machine will add up with my chores, but in fact it takes just 5 min /or less/ to put the ingredients in it then just press start and in 4 to 6 hours there is freshly baked bread on the table and the whole house smells wonderful! We eat bread with every meal so we had to go to the store to buy bread almost every day or two.. Not any more. Well worth the money!!!
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I've been using this machine for over a year averaging 1 loaf a week. I used to make bread by hand, but this machine makes that an exercise in futility. I get my mixes on-line and they're all just fine. The bread from this machine is ALWAYS perfect, inside and out. Now, this machine is only $110. If you like bread, this is the best Christmas gift you could buy yourself!
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I have been wanting a bread maker for awhile now and did a lot of on line surfing to find the best one. After about 3 months of reading, this machine had the best reviews on all the different sites. It came down to this one and the Cusinart one... but the Cusinart one had a ton of people saying that the bread was too dark. I ordered the Panasonic and I am glad I did. The machine fits nicely on my counter and each loaf I have made has come out just fine. I have followed some of the recipies in the manual as well as some store bought box mixes for bread and they have all turned out wonderful. I had to laugh... the first loaf I made was gone in a day! We all had some the night I made it and the next night when I got home from work, I went to have some with my dinner and my room mates had all eaten it!
So far this machine has not let me down and I have had it for about 2 months. It makes just the amount of noise I would expect from a bread maker and stays still during the whole process. It does not move around the counter like some of the other machines might do. The automatic yeast feature is another reason I bought the panasonic. You can put everything in and just walk away.
Take it from someone who has done the research... this machine is great.
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I've owned two other bread machines, the latest being a Sunbeam. They sounded like a washing machine sitting on the kitchen counter with all the whirring and clunking but this Panasonic is a quiet and smooth performer. This bread machine makes excellent bread; the crust actually cooks the way the machine says it will, not burnt when you select the medium darkness mode. The machine adds the yeast automatically after mixing and tempering the ingredients which ensures the yeast won't be negatively affected by the temperature of the liquids. The mixing paddle does not get stuck in the bottom of the bread loaf (it is straight, not curved as some others are) making it easy to extract the cooked bread loaf from the baking pan. The machine is fairly easy to operate with simple menu commands input from the electronic keypad.
Included in the box are a measuring spoon and cup (nice touch) and an instruction/recipe book. The recipes are simple and the ones I have tried worked quite well. The machine is no larger than the other machines I have had. This is the easiest bread machine to use and is well worth the slightly higher price as compared to some of the competition.
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My unit just arrived today and I opened it up, quickly read the instruction booklet, threw in the ingredients -- and 4 hours later out popped a perfect loaf of bread. I'm impressed. Sure, it's just one loaf -- and we'll see how it goes as I try different recipes and the unit ages. But right out of the box, it worked perfectly.
Ok, so, now more than two months later, I can report that I use the machine at least three times a week to make all kinds of bread and it has NEVER failed to produce a great loaf. I found that the 2-hour cycle is just as good as the 4-hour, though the French bread requires six hours. My favorite has been the focaccia -- the machine makes perfect dough which I then bake in the oven. The machine has performed flawlessly and is a snap to clean up. I liked it so much, I bought my sister one for Christmas. If anyone writes a review saying they don't like the machine, either they are using it incorrectly or have a defective unit because mine works flawlessly.
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The Panasonic Breadmaker creates very tasty bread, better than any previous breadmaker I've owned. It has one difficulty: the shape of the loaf, as it gets bigger, simply becomes taller but the width doesn't change. This makes for an unusually shaped slice of bread. The only way around it is to make small loaves.
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I am a great cook but not a good bread baker. This machine is a joy, a godsend, I love it. Easy to use, easy to clean and it never fails. Buy it now-you won't be sorry. I had 2 different breadmakers before this one-they shall remain nameless-just buy this one. I have had mine for 2 years this Christmas-what fun I have had with it!
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I have owned this bread maker for two years and I love it. A couple of months ago I stopped buying bread and bread products and make everything myself. This machine consistently produces great bread.
The only drawback is that one cannot program the bread to start at a later time--you actually have to be there to start it. Other than that, it's wonderful!
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This is my second bread maker. I bought Cuisinart's one last year and had used it for about a year. I had no idea how different each bread maker was at that point.
Cuisinart's one has obviously some problems:
1. Bread tends to be darker so quickly and becomes hard.
2. It is very noisy during kneading cycle as I can not hear the music from the audio.
3. Paddle is caught in the bread and hard to remove it if you do not remove it before baking cycle starts.
4. Some basic cycle have no "Pre-heat" cycle. It means I need to prepare exactly appropriate temperature water to make yeast work nicely. But it is very hard and sometimes I fail.
5. The design of the case is not great. Some unmixed ingredients are left on the corners and baked as it is if I do not mix it using a spatula.
One of my friends owns Panasonic bread maker and showed it to me. I was so surprised at it as the thickness of the case is very different. She has never had such a problem which I have had. Then I decided to get Panasonic one although my first one is still working. The bread maker was delivered in 2 days. I tried same recipe which I often used for Cuisinart's. The bread came out amazingly nice and much nicer than the one from Cuisinart. Bread is nicely blown, crispy outside and soft, fluffy inside. It is just perfect. I guess these difference come from mainly these things:
1. The case is very thick so that bread can not be brown so quickly and keep the inside of bread soft and flavorful.
2. "Pre heat" cycle adjust the temperature of water well. I do not have to make appropriate temperature's water any more.
3. This machine has the special room for yeast. It works very well to keep yeast away from the water particularly using the timer.
I think I never back to Cuisinart although I miss some points (Sophisticated design or the window on the rid which I can see inside of the case through) of Cuisinart a little bit. I highly recommend this bread maker.
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I have made now a dozen loafs of bread with this machine. Every one comes out the same: delicious and perfectly brown. The recipes are good, I use the simple white bread recipe as my standard one. Works well.
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This is the third breadmaker I have owned. I have to say I did not have very good luck with the other brands I have owned in the past but after reading the reviews on Amazon, decided on the Panasonic as a replacement. I could not be more pleased with my purchase! I have used it 3x a week for a month now. The bread has turned out perfect every time! I use 1/2 wheat flour with the white. It is like eating cake! It really is that good! One thing I love about this bread maker is that it is so quiet. Also, from other reviews, I thought I was going to have to get a scale and measure all the ingredients but I just use my regular measuring cups and spoons and every loaf has been perfect. I even used Smart Balance margarine today instead of butter and you could not tell the difference! The bread is soft and delicious! The bread comes out of the pan so easily and even the little paddle does not stick into the bread like my last breadmakers. The loaf looks so perfect - you'd think I spent hours making it on my own. I highly recommend this breadmaker over the more expensive ones. You will not be sorry!
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I grew up eating solid bread. By that I don't mean something hard but a bread of some substance, as opposed to the flimsy bread you find at the store. As in if you hold the bread by the edges, the middle of it isn't going to droop down.
The first bread I made with this here machine is somewhat complex in that it has virtually no equivalent in the supermarkets. It's a Russian dark rye bread, somewhat bitter and sour to the taste. Very solid, stout bread, no need to baby it with some serrated knife worrying it will crumble to pieces.
If you are looking for a machine that can handle your dark Russian and German rye breads, go for it.
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I bought a Zojirushi BBCCX20 bread maker at first. Because it was making loud noise during kneeding, I returned it after a month of usage. After comparing reviews about various bread makers, I decided to try Panosonic. It turned out to be a good decision for me.
The panasonic bread machine is very quiet compare to Zojirushi and Breadman. The bread quality from Panasonic seems to be the best too. The baked bread came out a lot easier than Zojirushi. The machine itself has very good construction. It meets or exceeds my expectations in many ways.
I have a few minor issues with this machine. When making raisin bread, a few raisins always come out of the pan during kneeding and get burned during the baking process. The button layout on the control is a bit confusion at first. The LCD display is not as clear as Zojirushi. Sometimes, it makes it harder to add raisins to the machine because the timing is not always fixed. You need to be around when it beeps for adding
raisins/nuts.
Nevertheless, I still think Panosonic bread makers is the best bread maker in the market today. I highly recommend Panosonic over any other brands.
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This is just for the record, and to prepare you for a disappointment if you have my bad luck. My first Panasonic breadmaker gave me about 12 years of good service and just slowly died of old age; I had no complaints. I was just sorry to see it go. I bought this new model breadmaker (SD-YD250) last December (2005). It has been producing SUPERB bread (about two a week, wheat or cinnamon-raisin). I have been immensely pleased with this machine. But now it has just suddenly failed. The manual is useless when it comes to trouble-shooting, and the website is a gigantic run-around: I think there is no help at all for Panasonic breadmakers on the Panasonic web site, though it takes some time to find this fact out. But now I am getting quite a run-around trying to get some action on the warranty. I am disappointed with Panasonic. I had thought they were a better company. It could be that I am just a very unlucky person, but I thought I would put my experience on record.... (Panasonic automatically sends me to a repair facility which says it does not repair breadmakers, and also says I should contact Panasonic....I am locked in a loop!)
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After 7 months use, still getting great bread everytime. If you've ever been to Japan, you know the Japanese make good bread, and the Panasonic SD-YD250 is no exception.
What we've learned:
* measure flour, water perfectly.
* don't use old flour (old meaning left open in the fridge for 6 months)
* use bread flour, seal well after use, store in fridge
Here's our favorite whole wheat bread recipe:
2 cups whole-wheat bread flour
1 cup white bread flour
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp SmartBalance (beats butter any day)
1 1/4 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast (yeast receptacle only)
(settings: size small, bake, whole wheat)
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Excellent product, best breadmaker for the price, reliable, excellent bread and very easy to use.
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All of the other 5 star reviews are spot on. This bread maker not only cooks bread perfectly every single time, it also cures cancer.. Well maybe it isnt THAT amazing, but it is the best breadmaker i have ever owned. The machine is very very quiet, (about 20 DB when working) You can use it to bake only, make dough or do both. So, buy the breadmaker, get some garlic and olive oil buy some good red wine and go to town.
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I got a panasonic bread bakery for a wedding gift 15 years ago and have moved at least 6 times. I used the bread maker all of the time and I have to say, 95% of our loaves were perfect and I do believe the other 5% were human error. The machine has finally baked its last loaf and we have purchased this newer model and so far it is showing to be as great as the last one. I bought 2 other bread machines (seduced by the marketing ex..2 loafs at once ect...) and they were junk. I still kept going back to this one. So if you want a machine that will last and last and give you great bread even if you are not a chef, this is the one for your family.
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After killing two cheaper bread machines, I found the Panasonic here on Amazon, with its very positive reviews. We bought it in 2002, and we've been making 3 to 4 loaves per week with it since. I can't believe how well it has lasted, and the bread we make is still excellent.
We took it with us to France when we moved here in 2003, and we regularly amaze French guests who can't believe our delicious bread didn't come from a nearby boulangerie. It even still looks like new. I add various whole grains (including wheat berries, quinoa, sunflower seeds), which have somewhat marred the non-stick surface around the paddle and on the paddle edges, but there's no problem with bread sticking. It's always easy to clean the tub.
It was a quiet machine in 2002, and it's still a quiet machine today, after making us nearly 1000 loaves of bread. The only thing that might wake you up about it doing its job is the smell of hot fresh bed wafting into the bedrooms. Yum.
As with any bread machine, small variations in leavening, flour types, and water can make a big difference in how well it rises. To experiment with different mixes, don't stray far off your beaten path of success. That's worked for me. My only big flop was trying to make my own sourdough leavening the old-fashioned way. I got extremely tasty sourdough that was only 3 inches tall. LOL.
There's only one additional feature I would like to have, and that would be to be able to make that dark, heavy, dense German "Roggenvollkornbrot" with it. Whenever I drive to Germany I buy a dozen and toss them in the freezer. If anybody knows how I can make German bread in a Panasonic, please send me email.
I still hear horror stories from friends about fickle, fragile, noisy bread machines, especially here in France. But our Panasonic just keeps going like an Eveready Bunny. I don't know if Panasonic sells a 220v version here in Europe yet, but they should !
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We ordered our breadmachine on line and it came with a cosmetic dent. We kept it anyway. The machine is amazing; you can not make a bad loaf of bread! Panasonic has figured out the bread machine. We have had experiences with a number of other "name brand" machines and none can come close to the success you can get from this machine. I would only recommend this one. The rest will end up in the top cupboard, along side your other slightly used gadgets. This will stay handy so you can have a fresh loaf in the morning. It takes all of about 60 seconds before you go to bed to prepare a loaf that comes out perfectly in the morning.
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We use this bread maker at least once a week and it's so easy! The bread usually comes out just right and it honestly takes less time to throw the ingredients together than to run to the store. AND it's really easy to clean to boot! We aren't big kitchen gadget people, but this is a home run in our house!
One shortcoming: if you plan on using this regularly, it does take up a fair amount of counter space and it only comes in white, so it may not match your kitchen.
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I can't add much that hasn't been aldready written about this fine Panasonic breadmaker. I have owned it now for about two months and the loaves I have made have been perfect..foolproof really. I've tried some recipies from the book that came with it and some from online and they have come out very good. There are a ton of recipies available for free online so buying a book of recipies is really not necessary.
I don't think there is another that can top the all around performance of this bread maker and certainly not for the price.
It will need a tall space on your counter though so keep that in mind. I have a small kitchen and I usually just pack the machine up in the box and put it in the closet for storage.
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I have had this machine for over a year and am very happy with it. I grind my own wheat and have only made whole wheat bread. I have modified the recipe using a cup of white flour for better raising, added chopped walnuts & pecans and increased ingredients a little to get a full loaf every time. I make a loaf every week for my wife and I. The machine is quiet compared to my old machine which I threw out.
One thing I do to get consistant loaves is to mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon before turning on the machine. I also get my yeast at the health food store. The packaged yeast did not always work well.
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This is a very good bread machine. It is great for making pizza dough in 45 min. As for bread, when I have left it unattended, it has burned a couple of loaves of bread, even on Light Crust cycle and that is why I am rating it as 4 stars. I find that I have to remove the bread a little early from the baking cycle and then it turns out great! I have found that the Basic Rapid Bake cycle (1hr 55min) works for most loaves, including 50% whole wheat. The 4 to 5 hr cycles are too long for me. I use SAF Perfect Rise yeast (red package) and get excellent, consistent results versus the other well-known brands. Check out the King Arthur flour website for some great recipes.
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This breadmaker makes consistently great loaves of bread and the white bread recipe that comes with the breadmaker is fantastic. One reason that I gave it only 4 stars is that when making raisin bread, and you add the raisins at the proper time, the kneading process will tend to eject a few raisins onto the heating element and when it starts to bake, it'll smoke like crazy. Definitely not a good thing when you live in a dorm like I do with a smoke dector in each room, and having it go off will evacuate the entire dorm. Luckily for me I caught it in time.
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I have owned several bread makers over the years and all have fallen far short of my expectations, until I got this one. Loaf after loaf came out perfect followed by rave reviews from my family and friends. My family goes crazy over my roasted garlic and parmesan cheese bread (this bread is to die for.)
Making good pizza dough by hand is an art form and takes too much time. This machine accomplished the task with ease which allowed me made the best pizza and delectable crust that I had ever eaten.
Some things with the Panasonic took me a little time to get used to. Unlike most other bread makers that began the bread making as soon as the Start button was pressed, the Panasonic has a delayed start allowing all ingredients to come to ambient temperature. The first time I used the Panasonic I kept unplugging the machine and starting over because it wouldn't start immediately. Note: When all fails read the directions (LOL.) Then there is the snapping sound around five minutes into the cycle. I thought the machine was stripping its gears until I learned that it was the automatic yeast dispenser being tapped to dispense the yeast (Doh!.)
Where other machines ended up unused and unloved, this machine has earned a very special place in my kitchen. It is now a trusted and indispensable item that I would truly hate to be without. Thinking about a bread maker? This smooth and quite breadmaking marvel will not disappoint. Get one.
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delicious and easy... a five year old could do it! make sure you have a scale to measure the flour though.. cups just don't measure correctly!
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This product is good for my family, especially for my child. I can bake fresh bread anytime for her without any hard work. Also, I'm satisfied with the quality of this product.
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Machine is a robot, loading reagents, choosing program, getting product, cleaning for the next cycle.
I chose Panasonic over competitors brands for build quality and mechanic reliability. Machine is great, but might be difficult (as well as any other bread machine) for people lacking cooking and technical skills. For cleaning fill up pan with water and let it soak. Do not submerge outside of the pan in water (it has open bearing), do not scratch it. Cleaning of yeast dispenser is also easy, despite of previous reviews.
The recipe book is not very broad. Rye bread has only 5% of rye, but you can substitute wheat with rye and gluten (3 table spoons of gluten per cap of rye flour, up to 50% of rye in mid size rye and onion bread). If yeast is not very fresh use little bit more yeast.
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Every once in a while ..you get what you pay for. This is the case with this superb bread maker.I have quickly made bread as soon as it arrived. Perfect every time. Having bought Panasonic products since 1968, they always perform. The is one manufacturer that I'm glad to have around. Now...on to more bread!!
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We found that it lived up to its reputation. Good bread from the first loaf. Makes a larger loaf than our previous breadmaker. We are very pleased.
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I have never used a bread machine before and am amazed at what the
Panasonic Bread Bakery will do. I tested with several of the instruction booklet
recipes and then ventured to online and recipe book suggestions.
Such delicious, healthy creations and fun to experiment. I am impressed with ease of use and clean-up . I have baked (rather the machine has) wonderful unique breads. If you enjoy food preparation and are looking
for a reasonably priced, not high end, machine I would suggest this
bread maker.
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I have tried other breadmakers, Mr. Breadman and Williams Sonoma store brand, and this is by far the best. Panasonic has done a great job with this product.
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About as good as it gets! Instructions are clear, performance is flawless. Note: In breadmaking, measurements are critical.
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In 15 years we have baked over 1500 loafs of bread and enjoyed every one. Plan on buying another SD model in case other one has to be put to rest. dcl
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Our new Panasonic Bread Maker is great! It is quiet, it is dependable and the bread is as near perfect as you can get it. This may cost a little more than other models but the results are worth it. The yeast seems to be released just at the right time and I think that must make the difference.
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This is a great product if you want to make your own bread but don't have a lot of counter space. It can make pizza dough too. Great product.
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I just used my Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker to make a loaf of honey wheat bread and it turned out fantastic! I'm telling anyone out there wondering what bread maker to choose, you cannot go wrong with this one! It makes great tasting bread every single time and it is so easy to use! I am so happy with my purchase and you will be too!
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I asked for this for christmas after thinking spur of the moment I wanted a bread machine, I read some reviews and then went for it.
I love it. The first loaf was perfect. I have been making the basic sandwich with weat, white, walnut and a few other recipies that come with the machine. They have all been perfect and it takes about 10 minutes to measure and place ingredients in machine. The timer works great, I wake up to fresh bread. Cleaning is so quick, it is quiet and easy to use. It is tall, so if you have smaller cabniets you might need to measure. But it is light. If I had known making bread was so easy, I would have gotten one a long time ago. I look forward to trying more recipies.
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I love this bread maker! It makes delicious bread and it is very easy to make.
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Got this for xmas - been making 1-2 loaves of bread a week since then. Rapid Bake only takes 1 1/2 -2 hours and makes perfect bread. Not much noise for a bread maker.
So far I have not experienced anything bad - bread has always come out perfect. Don't give any bread to neighbors or friends - they will start pestering you for more bread.
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I am one of those who had a crappy machine before (Regal Kitchen Pro) so researched this machine to death. The best bread so far is the basic white. I did get a kitchen scale off of E-bay to measure my flour which is so much more accurate than measuring cups. Also highly recommend the Cuisinart CEK-40 electric knife to slice your bread. This Panasonic is a super machine, so stop reading about it, buy it and get it over with. Alice
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This is the worse bread machine going. I had a Breadman for many years. It was alway consistent and made wonderful bread. When it broke after many years I got this Panasonic. I may get 1 good loaf of bread out of 7. The few loaves that came out ok did not come near to the taste of the Breadman. And yes, I did make it the way the manufacturer suggested. I stopped making bread. In fact, after writing this I am ordering a Breadman. PLEASE, PLEASE don't make my mistake. Also if you have a small kitchen area this is not the machine for you --- it takes up an awful lot of room.
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I had this maker since oct 2002, I use it 5 times in every 2 weeks, has been working well w/o problem.
One post down below claims with bake has scotch and almost go into flame, may I ask do you really clean the bowl after each use (very easy)? Do you add (dump) suger to make your bread as sweet as dessert? That's not the way a bread should be and not healthy also.
One tips I noticed is that no matter you cook whole wheat bread or non-whole wheat, I always choose the non-whole wheat setting, always choose light crust, this will bake the bed perfectly match with those you seen from grocery store.
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I ordered this Breadmaker on Amazon after doing some research and figuring out that it would be the best deal for a bread maker.
First breadmaker did not turn on at all, LCD screen worked, but nothing else would work. So I ordered a replacement from Amazon.
The second breadmaker was cracked on top. The bread maker was sent in the original box and had no other extra packaging. Very poor job packing the breadmaker. Waste of time, so I just got the refund.
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I have had my breadmaker for almost a year now and I use it at least 3 times a week. In other words it gets a workout. The only bread failure I had was once when I forgot to put the yeast in the dispenser. It is quiet and dependable. Have gone through three other bread makers and this is, beyond a doubt the best I've ever had. Costs a bit more but it is worth every penny.
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Pros:
It doesn't get flour all over the kitchen like I used to do when I made bread by hand. Its as cool to operate as a slow cooker, so I can bake bread in the summertime here in the south without overloading the air conditioner. It works great with regular yeast or with the sourdough starter, and its pretty user friendly to operate. It makes the best sourdough bread I've had since I left the west coast!
I wish it had:
A way for me to tell it "knead 10 minutes and then turn yourself off" so I didn't have to hover over it when I'm doing the sourdough.
Overall, I love it.
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Makes some wonderful and tasty bread (unlike most cheaper brands some of my friends own.) The timer works well and allows you to get some fresh bread every morning. Just too bad that it has a tendency to mash up fruits (such as dryed apricots) even if you add when you are asked to, but it works well with grains.
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I love the Panasonic SD-YD250 Bread Maker. It makes wonderful loaves of bread every time. I have been on a bread making binge, taking loaves of bread to work so I can have an excuse to try another new recipe. No matter how much I change the bread recipes, they have all turn out wonderful.
I previously owned a Toastmaster Bread machine that I never could make a good loaf of bread with. In conrast, this Panasonic Bread Machine continues to turn out one wonderful loaf after another. I can't say enough good things about this machine except: Thank you for allowing me to read other satisfied customer reviews!
Enjoy!
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I've owned several bread machines in the past, but this is the best one I've had. After using its conveniences and tasting its product, I realized, "Its definitely worth every penny."
Paul Dwayne CALVEY
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I have a 12yr old Panasonic BreadBakery and still works great. I recently bought this newer one for my mom, who's not had good luck w/ bread makers. Before I gave to her, I tested and made a large loaf...it turned out perfect, though a little large! I think in future, she will likely make med-sized bread.
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This is the first bread maker that we've had that has made consistently excellent bread at our altitude of 6,700 feet. Part of it may have been the instructions (included) to weigh rather than measure the flour and water. We have had to adjust our recipes for altitude as we did with our previous bread maker. But whether we would get a good loaf from the old machine was always a question. After having had the Panasonic for 6 months, we have no doubt that the loaf of honey oatmeal bread that wakes us up with our coffee in the morning will be just perfect. The Sandwich Bread recipe that came with the machine is the best and slices perfectly, too.
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I purchased this machine with high hopes. The first few loaves turned out well. After three weeks, the loaves and the bread bucket began to get scorch marks and the bread too had black marks. I was getting nervous that this was going to cause a fire.
Panasonic pre-paid to have this machine sent for repair after I used this machine for three weeks. The repair shop kept it for 10 weeks. When it was returned, they did not replace the burned bread bucket, and it was still scorched. After baking bread again, the burning was getting worse on the bread, and it looks like burnt toast on the crust. Panasonic is sending the machine back for repair again. It has been four months now, and I have only had this machine for use for three weeks. After it is repaired this time, I am going to put it up for sale on amason.com and purchase a Zorishee...or however it's spelled.
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We have had this bread machine for about 6 months and it has performed beyond expectations. I had spent several years trying to make bread by hand but couldn't achieve the results I wanted and couldn't even come close to the texture and flavor that my mother achieved. The bread from this machine is consistently of excellent texture and flavor. I would swear it was Mom's in a blind taste test. We also make our pizza and dinner roll dough with this machine and haven't looked back. The only minor gripe is that the XL size for bread is pretty much useless, when we have tried to make that size, it ends up smaller than the L size loaves. It seems the machine isn't large enough to allow a full rise. Otherwise an excellent machine.
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I was going to start out by saying this bread machine is idiot proof but that might shine a poor light on all those folks that wrote reviews that started with something like "Can't make bread!" :-)
This is BY FAR the best bread machine I have ever used. I have NEVER made a bad loaf of bread (I know that sounds grandiose, but it is true!). The yeast dispenser is worth the price all by itself (the first time it makes the POPPING sound as it dispenses the yeast is a bit startling, though [be prepared for it!]). You will need to get a digital kitchen scale for measuring, but most cooks worth their salt (pun intended) should probably look to get this particular gadget anyway.
If you plan on buy this machine I would do four things in preparation of its arrival:
1) Start looking for sales on digital scales.
2) Start looking for recipes online and books that give weights as measurements for the flour.
3) Start laying out the butter and bread knife so that you can slice into your first perfect loaf (you can never be TOO prepared to eat!).
4) Start salivating NOW! (I have a loaf of french bread in the baking phase as I type so if this review suddenly stops in mid sentence you'll know the drool hit the keyboard!)
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This is the best maker you can buy. I have tried them all and I am not kidding. The best feature is the YEAST-PRO where it drops teh yeast later. I suggest setting the machine to pizza dough initially to check the dough. Then turn it off and then add the yeast and set the timer.
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Opened it yesterday afternoon, bought flour and a few ingredients, set it to make French bread, and then stayed up until 2 am smelling delicious aromas waft throughout the house. I took it out like it said, and removed the bread basket (read: bucket) by its handle. The bread came right out and was placed upon a wire rack to cool, and it is a beautiful thing. Nice color and just a perfect form. I was very concerned that the machine was going to be noisy, but the most I ever heard out of it was a bit of whirring as it was kneading, and the dog looked at it in a concerned way but never once barked. I was playing piano in the next room and never heard a thing. Just set the timer and forget about it for a few hours, and you're done. All in all, it makes a great loaf of bread out of the box and is quiet as a church mouse. What it does 5 years or 500 loaves down the road, I can't say, but I have very high hopes. I can't wait to go home at lunch and messily devour a perfectly-wrought loaf of French bread!
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We bought the panasonic SD-YD250 about 8 months ago and have used it to make a loaf of bread almost every day since. We have 3 teenagers and we go through a lot of bread (toast). This bread maker makes perfect loaves everytime. The loaves are quite tall and two slices might be too large for a normal sandwich, but cutting one slice in half is about right. It did take almost 2 months to receive the breadmaker from Amazon so be patient or buy locally
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After much research I purchased the Panasonic. I noted some people had trouble with what (I can only guess) must have been defective machines. I have now made three different types of loaves, all turned out great.
The biggest challenge was whole wheat, where I found the dough needed more water than called for in the recipe. Too little water with a dense loaf such as whole wheat clearly strained the motor and made for ineffective mixing until fixed.
I find the timer convenient and easy to use and programming likewise fairly easy. While a glass cover or window would be nice, its easy to peek inside anyway. Overall, seems to be a well constructed machine that is fairly quiet. I would recommend it.
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This is a great breadmaker, which I bought as a Christmas gift for my sister; however read the fine print if they offer you a rebate. You only get one month to send in the receipt, yet I didn't receive the item until at least a week later and of course I didn't cut up the box to get the UPC until after Christmas. They rejected my rebate of $20 and I am very frustrated.
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I just had to write a review on this breadmaker--although my parents are on their second Panasonic (used every other day and the first lasted a long time!) I couldn't believe it til I bought my own and tried it. This machine works perfectly every time, even with 100% whole wheat recipes. I owned an Oster previously which worked about 25% of the time so this is a wonderful treat to put the ingredients in and actually get a perfect loaf of bread! I recommended this machine to a friend who immediately ordered one and raves about it too. I think the secret to the Panasonic's success is the yeast drop, the yeast isn't mixed in until needed so is more effective. The recipes also call for less yeast than other machines. The machine is quiet too, we were wondering if it was working the first time we used it. I guess if I could think of any drawbacks it's that the XL loaf of bread is so big that it's hard to find a bag to put it in. We've gotten past that by using the "sandwich" size recipe which fits in a gallon size zip-loc bag. Overall, a really good machine that will become a much used tool in the kitchen.
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I bought this to replace a Zojirushi BBCC-V20 machine that never got the crust done well. The Panasonic does do the crust well, but that's about the only good thing I've noted so far.
I'm only using the smallest loaf setting (cooking for two, anything bigger gets stale), and so far they've all come out very dense, as if the single paddle can't knead it well. (The Zojirushi has two paddles.)
Also, it takes about 5 hours to make a whole wheat loaf, apparently due to exceptionally long hold time for temperature stabilization. Too bad for you if the temperatures are already right, and too bad they didn't think to warm the ingredients instead of just having them sit there for an hour.
I also haven't seen any way to program it for your custom cycles. (Another thing the Zojirushi had, which was useful for fast loaves when the ingredients were already at the right temperature.)
Finally, I went to make banana bread today, and found that it doesn't mix the ingredients, and wants you to take the paddle out and line the pan with wax paper for baking. Um... if I wanted to do all the work myself, I wouldn't be using a bread machine. I wound up tossing the mix in a regular pan (sans wax paper...ew) and baking it in the regular oven.
All in all, not very good, and I'm not sure why it's getting such great reviews.
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This is my first bread machine and I absolutely love it! The first loaf I made came out perfectly, as all subsequent loaves did. Our favorite so far is Raisin Egg Bread, which makes a fabulous breakfast food item (follow the egg bread recipe from the manual, but bake it with the raisin cycle and add raisins).
Cleaning is also no hastle - nothing sticks to the pan, so I just wipe it with a damp paper towel - no problems!
The only thing I miss is a transparent lid. But it is not a big deal - you just can take a peak by lifting it shortly.
Highly recommended! For the price at Amazon, it is a bargain - you will actually save money by not buying bread at stores, but making your own trans fat & preservative-free loaves.
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Originally posted February 2005:
I just acquired this machine and have only used it twice, both on the Pizza Dough setting. My impressions are mostly based on my comparison to the Breadman (TR777-SPR) that this replaces.
The pan for the Panasonic is deeper and not as long as the pan on the Breadman. It's also heavier and feels more durable. One reason I purchased the Breadman is that I liked the idea of a horizontal loaf; however, in practice I found that the ingredients frequently didn't mix. I'd have to use a rubber spatula to push dry ingredients from the corners of the pan into the center--not a big deal, but not very convenient. Since I use my bread machine most often to make dough, the horizontal loaf isn't a major factor for me.
The Panasonic is extremely quiet! With a normal household noise level, I don't even hear it until the end-of-cycle beep.
I also noticed that the Panasonic seems to get the ingredients mixed within the first few minutes. Neither of my previous machines was so quick. I'm sure the pan shape helps. I wonder if it also has something to do with the different sequence of loading the pan (dry ingredients before liquid, instead of liquid first).
The yeast dispenser is a good idea, especially in delayed-start mode. This keeps the yeast dry and separate from the other ingredients until mixing is underway.
The instruction booklet for the Panasonic isn't the most user-friendly I've ever seen, but I appreciate the fact that it has cycle breakdowns. For example, it doesn't tell you only that the Pizza Dough cycle is 45 minutes long; it tells you that the cycle includes 10-15 minutes of kneading, 10-15 minutes of rising, approximately 10 minutes of kneading, and approximately 10 minutes of rising.
Some cycle times, according to the instruction booklet:
Basic: 4 hours (includes 30-60 minutes of rest time)
Basic Rapid: 1 hour 55 minutes (no rest)
French bread: 6 hours (incl. 40 min to 1 hr 55 min of rest)
Basic dough: 2 hr 20 min (incl. 30-50 min of rest)
French dough: 3 hr 35 min (incl. 40 min to 1 hr 35 min rest)
Pizza dough: 45 minutes (no rest)
Update (June 2006): I have now been using this machine for more than a year, and I'm still happy with it. I rarely let it bake the bread, but use it about twice a week to make dough for pizza or French bread. The results are consistently good unless I mess up the measurements.
Update (September 2006): After 1-3/4 years of using this machine regularly (at least two or three times every week), it's starting to show signs of wear. The motor struggles at times, and the kneading blade doesn't fit tightly on the spindle. (It has too much "wiggle" to be as effective as it should be.) I did some quick searches online and found that the replacement blade costs $23 plus $5 shipping! In contrast, the blade for another brand of machine is $7. This just might be the downside of this machine! If I could change my rating, I'd lower it from five stars to four, for this reason.
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I got my Panasonic Bread Maker 2 weeks ago and I am still amazed by the results that I have being getting. The bread comes really good and it is SO easy to use and clean. And the pizza dough is a dream. The machine is pretty quite (the only time that you can hear some noise is when it is mixing the dough but still it is not that bad), easy to use and deliver amazing results.
I made a great research before getting this one and I am very glad I did. I hardly recommend this machine.
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I really like this breadmaker. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is the shape of the bread, I would really have preferred a more horizontal loaf. Also, I almost always end up with bread that rises too much for some reason even though I follow the recipies exactly. In any case, the bread tastes great, it is easy to throw the ingredients in and turn it on and I use it quite often.
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I used it twice since I got it and it seems a well-built machine. The crust is pretty think even using light option. When using extra large option, the center was not done. It might be my fault since I pre-mixed a little bit but I seriously doubt it.
PS After 6 months usage, it seems that it was my fault mostly for the thick crust. I added more water and now it's much better. Of course, I had followed the recipe book closely so it was the recipe's fault actually. But the machine itself works nicely and should not be blamed for (receipe book IS part of the deal though)
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Very good so far, give 4 stars because the durability has not been proved.
Esp likes the french bread. Just need to remember you need to start in the morning before you go to work...
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I have had this bread maker for 3 weeks and made at least a dozen loaves. I haven't had a bad loaf yet. I've used several different settings and recipes. They have all turned out great.
I used recipes that came with it as well as recipes from a friend's bread machine book. If I were to get really picky, the baking part of the program is about 5 minutes too long. I just take the bread out 5 minutes before the timer goes off. The bread stays moist longer.
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A simply fine, fine product. After 10-12 years of constant use
it has finally gone wrong on me....I am about to replace it with this latest model.
I would not hesitate to recommend it to the serious and/or some- time bread maker.
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The SD-YD250 does not revolutionize bread makers, but it has significantly better features than most of its competition:
- Thick pan: even rising and baking, good crust
- Thin, flat blade: the loaf slides out and you don't need to fish the blade in it.
- Yeast dispenser: contributes to a very even loaf, and makes timer operation more reliable by preventing early yeast activation
- Whisper quiet operation: even while kneading wholewheat loaves this machine's noise level is amazingly low. The loudest noise you'll hear during the whole process is a few clacks from the yeast dispenser.
- Recipes give volume (easier) and weight (more accurate) amounts for flour.
- Supports slightly larger loaves than most machines (2 1/2 instead of 2 lbs)
Having used other machines before I was surprised how effortlessly baked loaves slide out of the pan, probably because of the flat blade and the good quality pan.
Also, the crust color is perfectly even from top to bottom, whereas on most other machines I've used the crust is darker at the bottom near the heating element and lighter at the top, another benefit of the thicker, better quality pan.
Finally, Panasonic makes spare parts available.
This is a well-rounded, high quality machine at a very reasonable price. You will not be disappointed.
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Bought this at the end of October when a rebate offer made the price competitive with the Breadman TR2200C Ultimate. Should I have gone with the Breadman instead? Beats me.
Here are the pro's for the Panasonic as I see them. As others have mentioned, I am impressed by the quality of the breadpan. Not only is it solid, but the kneader mounting shaft is designed to be replaced - attaches with screws, not rivets. This makes it theoretically possible to repair if the gasket fails. (OTOH, the current price for the (new) replacement part appears to be around 1/2 what I paid for the machine. But maybe you could do better on eBay?)
I've had good luck with the recipes I've tried and haven't produced any true duds yet ... a couple of marginals, but nothing that was unusable/inedible. One does have to be careful when experimenting to check the consistency of the dough as it kneads. There is no window on this machine, but you can (should) lift the cover while kneading a recipe you haven't tried before to make sure the flour to moisture mix is correct. One of the things I really like about the machine is that it provides mild heat while the dough is rising. (Some of us simply do NOT have a "warm place" for dough to rise).
What do I like least about the machine? The fact that all the cycles are hard-coded and cannot be modified. It's nice that the machine has a preliminary "rest" cycle which allows the ingredients to warm to room temperature. But it's also irritating that you MUST go through this cycle even when you know it is not needed. It would also be nice to be able to program an extra rise cycle or to change the length of any of the cycles.
However, this machine is simply not intended to allow you to do those sorts of things. If control is important to you, then maybe you want to consider the Breadman Ultimate (or the Zojirushi if price is not a concern for you). This Panasonic is much more of a load it and leave it affair. And as such, it is working quite well for me. If that's all you want in a bread machine then I think you'll be happy with this one.
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My original breadmaker lasted 6+ years. When it "died" I decided to go online to see what was available and read the reviews. I was very impressed with the Panasonic SD-YD250 reviews so decided to order it. I LOVE it!. I used the same measurement of ingredients I have been using in the past, not expecting the first loaf to come out very good. It was perfect! I just made the second one, and it also turned out perfect. I like the idea of using cold tap water and having the yeast automatically drop in from the dispenser. It is a very, very quiet machine too. The bread slips off the paddle very easy, not leaving a large gouge in the bottom of the bread like my old one did. The heavy duty bread pan is also a plus feature. I feel that this breadmaker is constructed very well with my husband totally agreeing on this. I would recommend this to anyone as a very good choice.
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I bought the first bread maker from National/Panasonic in 1986 when I lived in Japan and I thought it was the best thing ever invented for the kitchen. This model is so much better now that it has updated functions and bakes a larger loaf (2.5lbs).
The bread comes out perfect every time, as long as you follow the direction carefully. I recommend weighing ingredients (as the supplied directions also recommend) as the recipes are not scaled to be very friendly (.."4 and 5/16 cup of bread flour"). It comes out much better.
The best part of this bread maker is the aroma! The smell of freshly baked bread is worth getting up in the morning.
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