Panasonic Breadmaker

recovering_spendaholic

I have been giving serious thought to getting a breadmaker and reading the stuff on here gather that the Panasonic SD253 is the Rolls Royce of BM's. I have a question though. The SD252 is considerably cheaper and the only difference I can see is that it doesn't have the nut dispenser thingie. Costco have the 253 at the moment for £78 including VAT and I can get the 252 off of Amazon for around £40. Which would you go for?

apple_mint

I've got the one with the nut dispenser. OH has adapted a recipe which is 50% wholemeal / 50% white flour and has seeds added (sesame, poppy, pumpkin and sunflower (the last 2 chopped smaller)). The seeds are automatically dropped into the mix part way through the mixing cycle.

I'm assuming with the non-seed panasonic that you have to remember to add the seed some time during the cycle. As we make our bread overnight, that would mean one of us having to get up to add the seeds .... not likely to happen :rolleyes:

odowdchr

You can also use the tray for things like sun dried tomato's, chopped olives..etc..
It's nice to have it for the variation, even though i don't use it all the time.

Got to say...the best tasting bread i've made is the simple rapid-bake white bread. It's a little heavier and makes great toast....

urbanlegend11

We have the nut dispensing version and to be truthful havent actually used it yet.Maybe in the future we might so it it up to you whether you think you will use it or not.Brilliant breadmaker by the way you just cant go wrong with this baby perfect loafs every time.

pollys

I have the nut dispensing one and have used it once. We do prefer just a normal loaf though. If you like to experiment and like different breads etc it is probably worth getting. It is an excellant breadmaker, mine is on at least once a day.

torridon_2

I also have the nut dispenser and use it all the time. I make a 100% wholemeal loaf with poppy, sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and pine nuts.
I got the SD253 as I used to buy seeded batch loaves rather than plain ones so thought I would use it. The Panasonic is a great breadmaker, only failures have been due to my own mistakes.

shoperholicnot

I have the 253 with dispenser, I dont use the dispenser a lot but when I do its great. It gives you a lot more variations of recipes that you can use, rather than basic bread.cinammon and raisan is fantastic!! and it beats having to sit by breadmaker waiting for beep to manually chuck things in. I know its a lot cheaper on amazon, than on the high street. worth getting to me.

shoperholicnot

especially if you want to make a fancy loaf during the night, it is def better to have the dispenser...saves having to set the alarm for 3 in the morning

chickadee

I have the 253 and I use the dispenser all the time. I love the cinnamon and raisin bread and the 5-seeded loaf is excellent too. Like other users, I put the BM on timer overnight and the smell is wonderful in the morning. Worth the extra imho.

JayneH_3

I have the one without the dispenser, and have promised myself that when it eventually wears out I will replace it with the other one. Mine is fine for straightforward bread recipes, but if I want to make olive bread etc. I have to remember to put the olives in when the beeper goes. Also, we like to make bread over night, so we can really only make the plainer breads then. I still love my breadmaker though, and would hate to be without it.

atrebor

I bought the nut dispenser one as there was only £20 difference when I looked at them and I use it maybe every third loaf. My kids love raisin or apricot bread and all the other recipies in the book have been really successful too.
I umed and ahhed between the panasonic and other cheaper models as they are considerably cheaper but I am so glad I went for this. I have not had a failure yet - even on the rapid bakes. Also really rate the Doves Farm yeast (£1 packet from lakeland - keep it in the fridge. cannot tell you how many loaves you get out of it because i haven't used it up yet)