Right my wife became the first master baker in our house, she bought a Morphy Richards bread maker about five years ago for about £80, baked about 10 bricks with it and gave up, she then dumped it under the stairs and next thing we knew the glass top was broken, so it worked out at about £8.50 ... Read review
(+) The best bread you will ever taste, on a timer just ready in time for breakfast. (-) If you can't wait since it smells so good... you might burn your fingers like me!
Advantages: Super bread, good family sized loaf Disadvantages: none that i can think of.
...for sale. I noticed the panasonic all boxed up and at the bargain price of £40, so I though I'd give it a go.
To be honest i couldn't wait to see if I could do a better job than the wife. We went into the local supermarket and bought sachets of yeast and also strong white flour, I rushed home and opened the box, to find it well packaged with the breadmaker, measuring cup and spoon, instructions and recipie book.
The first loaf ... ...it turned out great it was massive and tasted wonderfull.
now the breadmaker is very basic to look at, it looks like a big white box, it sits 35 cm high, 35 cm wide and 24 cm deep and if you use it as much as I use mine you really need to devote an area on your worktop for it.
Look at the photos supplied, I have put a bottle of beer in front of the machine to give you an idea of how big it really is, but keep in mind ... more
Right my wife became the first master baker in our house, she bought a Morphy Richards bread maker about five years ago for about £80, baked about 10 bricks with it and gave up, she then dumped it under the stairs and next thing we knew the glass top was broken, so it worked out at about £8.50 per brick made, and they should have carried a public health warning.
Last June my wife and I were shopping localy and found a shop having a mad closing down sale, with various household electrical items for sale. I noticed the panasonic all boxed up and at the bargain price of £40, so I though I'd give it a go.
To be honest i couldn't wait to see if I could do a better job than the wife. We went into the local supermarket and bought sachets of yeast and also strong white flour, I rushed home and opened the box, to find it well packaged with the breadmaker, measuring cup and spoon, instructions and recipie book. The first loaf I made was as per the panasonic recipie book, and it turned out great it was massive and tasted wonderfull.
now the breadmaker is very basic to look at, it looks like a big white box, it sits 35 cm high, 35 cm wide and 24 cm deep and if you use it as much as I use mine you really need to devote an area on your worktop for it.
Look at the photos supplied, I have put a bottle of beer in front of the machine to give you an idea of how big it really is, but keep in mind that this machine bakes big loaves see photo.
right the functions of the bread maker are as follows
sizes baked medium 400g large 500g x large 600g mixing/baking cycles pre set Basic bread wholewheat multigrain french Bake only standard baking cycle 4 hrs min rapid baking cycle 1 hr 55 minutes Sandwich loaf 4 hrs min rasin loaf 4 hrs min dough only 2hrs 20 min
timer function upto 13hrs crust selection Dark or light start stop function 550w energy consumption.
There are two main cycles I use on the bread maker, the first is a rapid cycle, having 3 teenage sons this is really handy. I have got the baking cycle down to a fine art, I bake that much now that the flour is bought in 16kg sacks from my local trade market ,for about £7.50 a sack, I buy the yeast in 125g packs from Tesco at about 99p per packet, miles cheaper than the sachets, and if kept in an airtight container in the fridge will last at least a month. The flour I actually keep in the sack in a bin, just to keep away any unwanted ingredients. So how do I make a basic white loaf, I started measuring everything exactly and it worked fine, but now I just use a simple measuring system.
On a rapid loaf I remove the baking pan from the machine, add 3 heaped ladles of flour, 1 heaped teaspoon of yeast, 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 desert spoon of sugar and 2 dessert spoons of cooking oil and finally one large mug approx 1/3rd pint of warm water, the warm water is needed to get the yeast activated quickly for the rapid bake, this takes less than 2 minutes to do and away the breadmaker goes. 1 hour and 55 minutes later and the breadmaker bleeps 3 times to let you know the baking cycle is over.
It is important that you remove the loaf as soon as possible and leave to rest to ensure a nice crusty loaf is produced. If you forget to remove it the machine will keep it warm, but it shrivels slightly and becomes very damp around the tin, not very nice.
Another tip for this time of the year is once the loaf has cooled down put it in a bread crock or plastic bag to prevent it from drying out completely.
The other cycle I use is the timed cycle, it's wonderfull to wake up in the morning to freshly baking bread, the timed cycle on a basic white requires the same ingredients as the rapid the only difference is the water should be cold and the water and oil shold be addd first, then the sugar,salt,flour and last the yeast. This prevents the yeast from being activated before the mixing process and will ensure a good loaf is made.
I have experimented with various types of mixes with this machine, the pizza dough is fantastic, and wholemeal bread is a treat although to be honest I do tend to make mainly white bread because it is so quick and easy.
The bread maker is over 13 months old now and has baked at least one loaf a day since I bought it, this has been without complaint, now I calculate that to be about 10p per loaf add 60p for ingredients and cooking electricity and it works out at 70p per loaf. I never bought the bread maker to save money on bread, but I know that what the kids eat are free from artificial stabilisers and preservatives ect, and they taste really good. The machine shows signs of discolouration in the oven part, but hey this machine has worked very hard snce I bought it.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this machine to anyone, just don't buy it unless your prepared to bake regulally with it, they are an expensive fad as my wife proved withour first machine
Sorry forgot to mention about care and maintenance of the machine, The machine has never needed any repairs and has no damage, the outside if the machine can be easilly wiped clean with a warm damp cloth, the inside of the machine has only ever had a few crumbs in the bottom which can easilly be tipped out. The lid has browned inside with age but this does not affect the overall functioning of the machine, the browning is clearly visible on the photographs. The bead tin inside the machine is teflon coated, I have never had a loaf stick in it, this can be washed in the sink if required.
Advantages: Easy to use, good results every time, easy to clean Disadvantages: Bulky, heavy, short lead
What led us 20-somethings to buy this breadmaker? Well my husband was saying how lovely the smell of homebaked bread is and I was a bit concerned about the rubbish in mass produced bread. We were scratching around for presents to add to our Debenhams wedding gift list when we saw this breadmaker...
A kindly relative bought it for us and when my new husband was returning from a weekend away I thought I need to make more of an effort at this wifey ... ...fresh bread for his return...
I unpacked the breadmaker and was suprised at how bulky and heavy it was. Had to move a few items around on the work to make room for the breadmaker as couldn't place it under a cupboard because of the lid lifting upwards and needed to be fairly close to a socket as the lead is not very long.
The breadmaker includes a little plastic measuring jug and a handy double ended plastic measuring spoon which measures teaspoons ...
whitepoppy 26.11.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Panasonic SD252
Advantages: Easy to use, easy to clean, makes great tasting 'real' bread. Disadvantages: Long cooling times.
Before the Panasonic SD252 I had previously owned a Prima breadmaker, which made rock hard loaves with huge holes in the centre! Many of my friends and family have tried different breadmakers, from many different companies, and we all agree this one is the best. I bought my SD252 from Amazon, and tried it immediately as soon as it arrived. It was extremely quick to set up and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. The included recipe book ... ...adventurous, so you're able to choose the most suitable. You're also able to choose between three sizes of loaf and how dark you want the crust! It's simply a case of pouring in the ingredients (measuring equipment provided), pressing the buttons - which are are clearly labelled - and then sit back and wait. Most breadmakers I've seen make bread that smells wonderful, but very few make really tasty, fresh bread that is just like a 'real' loaf. There's ...
lindsayjayne 15.03.2006 (21.05.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic SD252
Advantages: Outstanding bread! Disadvantages: Make sure you use the right yeast!
I saw this breadmaker on offer in John Lewis just before Christmas and I simply had to buy it. It was half price and came with a free bakery book.
I've had a few bread makers in my time and, in terms of appearance, they all look pretty similar. The white finish and control panel on top with waterproof buttons and a small LED display make is a pretty common theme among bread makers so I shall not dwell on it here.
What really distinguishes one machine ... ...programmes available, useability and, of course, the quality of the bread!
Now, I am something of a bread-aholic, and I am pretty choosy too! I only like really soft, crusty, freshly baked bread, and that was what I was hoping for when I bought this breadmaker. I was not disappointed.
1) Range of programmes available
The bread maker is extremely well designed and has a vast range of combinations of types of bread. You can vary the bread by varying ...
jacksonsuffolk 28.02.2007
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic SD252
Advantages: Fresh, delicious bread. Reliable results every time. Disadvantages: No nut/raisin dispenser on this model.
This is an excellent breadmaker which is reliable enough to produce great results every time. Loading it with ingredients is a doddle. I put the bread pan onto my scales and weigh all the ingredients straight into the pan (no need to mess up your scales bowl). You can choose from three loaf sizes: Medium, Large and Extra Large (surely Small, Medium and Large would have made more sense?)
The machine bakes a basic white loaf in 4 hours, wholemeal ... ...a little longer. If you're in a hurry, you can do a perfectly acceptable (better than shop-bought bread) quick white loaf in 1 hour 55 minutes. For the best quality loaf, though, use the longer time setting and set the timer so that you can wake up to freshly baked bread every morning. The only disadvantage of this model is that it doesn't have a nut/raisin dispenser - instead, a beeper goes off to tell you to add nuts, raisins, seeds, sun-dried ...
cazzac 21.09.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic SD252
Advantages: Lovely consistent results. Disadvantages: Longer baking time than my previous breadmaker.
...breadmaking experts, I knew that Panasonic machines have a great rep, so this was the one!
We have not been disappointed. This machine produces lovely consistent bread, possibly because it's baking cycle is longer than my old machine (4 hours for a normal loaf, 5 for wholemeal) and I have had no craters or lop sided loaves (yet).
It does have a rapid bake option which I haven't used yet. I mainly use it on timer to be ready for breakfast. The timer ... ...few!), you simply set up the machine as normal, then use the time button to add time until you want it to finish. (So last night I put it on at 11, on a wholemeal program (5 hours). I then pressed the timer button, which keeps adding 10 minutes until the readout said 9 hours. Then I pressed start (VERY IMPORTANT) )
At 8am this morning I awoke to the melodious sound of heavy diggers on the building site next door, and the gorgeous smell of freshly ...
samc 23.08.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Panasonic SD252
