I've had mine for about 6 months and love it. Although the price tag is hefty (£95-100 new from mainstream retailers, £80 ex-display or refurbished) it is honestly worth it if you love bread.
Size: 37x34x26 - imagine a miniature microwave turned on end. Then you have to have space to open the lid, as it's "top loading". The pan sits inside; you can make M, L or XL sized loaves. The smallest size is similar to unsliced loaves in Sainsbury's. To feed a couple, I make one probably every 5-6 days.
Options: once the ingredients are in, you can 'rapid bake' a loaf in 3 hours, or standard bake in 5 hours (the crust will be crispier and nicer). Or you can program your bread to be ready later - up to 13 hours (ready when you get up!). You can also ask it to mix and rise the dough without baking it - great for cake, pizza and bread roll making. The pizza dough recipe makes enough for 2 medium pizzas, and seriously, you will never go back to supermarket oven pizza again.
If you want the breadmaker to be going overnight, shut the kitchen door - it clanks at 3am!
You can have white, wholemeal, rye, Italian or French style bread in a wide variety of recipes, or invent your own. You can also add any nuts, seeds, raisins etc using a special timed dispenser. Personally I can't get enough of rye bread from the breadmaker, which I never gave the time of day to before. Add 'herb seed mix' or similar to make it even better, and make sure no-one's watching when it comes out, so you can break off and eat all the strange bits of crust that will be sticking out of it. For ordinary wholemeal bread, oregano is a nice addition.
Be warned that the dough blade occasionally does spin off and will be nestling inside your loaf of bread! Also, you need to be around when the cycle finishes, as the bread won't be as good if you don't take it out sharpish. My patented technique for this: lift pan out by handle, using a tea towel, then turn upside down - hold the bottom of the pan (it's hot! use oven gloves), let the handle hang down, and shake until the bread shoots out and is caught by the handle. Voila.
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You nearly got an exceptional rating from me as you have made some very very useful comments about the machine. I am just about to buy one!
Thanks for the info!
Cheers, Sue.
Advantages: Variety of breads it can make, simple instructions, lovely taste, well made machine, idiot proof Disadvantages: A little bulky, can't slice bread
ScottishWestie 08.10.2007 (08.10.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Panasonic SD 255
Advantages: Variety of breads it can make, simple instructions, lovely taste, well made machine, idiot proof Disadvantages: A little bulky, can't slice bread
ScottishWestie 08.10.2007 (08.10.2007)
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Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Panasonic SD 255
Jul 16th, 2008
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