Panasonic SD253 Bread Maker

BAKING BREAD
Very easy to use, it takes about three minutes to load up the machine for a standard loaf and then 4 hours cooking. Measuring the ingredients exactly doesn't appear to be crucial but of course guarantees the best results. The bread produced is better than that from the shops without a doubt and produces a light airy loaf, a crusty golden crust with good keeping qualities. Unusually for a bread-making machine, the bread is just as good when toasted.

USEFUL FEATURES
The recipe book is comprehensive and easy to understand. We tried the French Bread feature and it produced very good quality bread. The Panasonic BD253 bread maker is very versatile, baking very tasty nutty, seeded and even honey bread. Our only failure was with the banana bread - far too soggy. We skipped the Curry and Mango recipe though!
The timer feature is superb - load up the bread machine in the evening, set the timer and hey presto you have fresh bread in the morning plus the lovely bread aroma. The only thing missing is a dough timer.
There is a quick bake feature that produces acceptable results, but definitely not as good as the standard setting.

RELIABILITY
We haven't conducted any reliability tests of our own but Panasonic has good ratings for reliability and looking at other reviews on the inernet there appear to be no real reliability problems with the Panasonic BD253.

OUR RATING
The best bread-maker on the market by quite a long way.

TIPS
If you're not keen on brown bread, use 1/2 white flour and 1/2 brown flour in the wholemeal recipe - it's great.

FEATURE LIST
The key features of the Panasonic SD253 bread-making machine are:

Raisin Nut Dispenser
Gluten Free Programs
French Bread Program
3 Loaf Sizes - medium, large and extra large
Pizza Dough Option
13 hour digital timer
Non stick bread pan coating for easy cleaning
Rapid bake mode
Overheat protection system
10 minute power interruption protection
Measuring cup
Measuring spoon
Comprehensive recipe book
Crust colour control