AIBU to ask which Panasonic Breadmaker?

[Ichangedmynameonce]

I bought a cheap Argos breadmaker during lockdown and the bread is horrible. And the loaves are tiny.

Everyone says get a Panasonic- but there are loads of models.

AIBU to ask WHICH PANASONIC?
Please recommend or reject specific models.

I want:
Decent , tasty bread, including brown bread

A decent sized loaf, that will feed 5 of us.

Please don't recommend I do it by hand - I just don't have the time.

Thank you
ps I'm thinking the SD 2511 model

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MNHQ

I've considered getting a Panasonic many many times and probably will at some point

There's a reason they get good reviews. Any of them will probably be ok. Ours is old now but was the basic/ white model. With a raisin box. The SD2511 will be fine.
We had a cheaper breadmaker before, the Panasonic is in another league.

I also have a Panasonic. I think it's the 2051/2501 (can't be bothered to get up and check. Anyway, it has a timer which is really important. I had a different make before, just to check that I would actually use it.

The Panasonic makes so much better loaves.

thanks everyone for taking the time to comment- think I understand the point of different models better now.

thanks @haffiana and @YoniAndGuy for the detail

Hi OP The recipe that I posted it one that has been gradually crafted over the years and the yeast currently being used is Fermipan very reasonably priced considering the little that you get from other sources.

I would not use Spelt flour in the breadmaker did not work for me.

Something to bear in mind is that if you make anything other than a M sized loaf, the loaves are taller than average and slices might not fit in your toaster. The loaf size only alters the height (obviously! 😂)

just another vote for the Panasonic - not sure what model ours is but we've had it for about 5 years and the only time it's produced a duff loaf was the time I omitted to add the water.

I tend to make white loaves as there's a fair amount of resistance to roughage in this house, and find a tbsp measure of powdered milk (as per the Carrs recipe on the bag) makes all the difference.

New Year's resolution is to experiment with some of the 8 million recipes in the Panasonic booklet - although some seem a bit useless: I can't work out how you'd line the tin effectively for cakes, even with the kneading mechanism removed. Anyone done that with success?

@YoniAndGuy

Oh and you get a massive recipe booklet with loads of info and a million recipes with different size options.

We use whatever flour is available - as folk have said, they're really forgiving on everything.

Never had a bad loaf.

I did once have a bad loaf when I forgot to put the water in!

I have a Panasonic SD2511. It has many settings but I tend to use a bag of wrights bread flour mix and use the dough setting so I can shape and bake rolls.

I now have a Panasonic SD-ZB2502BXC which was £179 this summer. It replaced an ancient SD255 which I got second hand about ten years ago!

I echo that Panasonic bread makers are so much better than others. With other brands I usually ended up giving it away as it didn’t get used. This doesn’t get used as often as it did initially but is still used every week. We like the French dough recipe best but bake it in the oven.

I’d definitely recommend.

Yes we also do a lot of rolls and also pitta bread regularly.

I've had a couple of Panasonics over the last 10 years, I just bought the "standard" one with the seed dispenser and it's been fine. The recipes that come with it work fine.

If loaves come out small and flat that may be the yeast - I've found doubling the sugar helps when the yeast tub has been open for a while. And I misread a rye bread recipe and added 2 tablespoons of sugar instead of 2 teaspoons and the loaves came out risen instead of hollow so I've kept to it! The Panasonic has a separate paddle for making rye bread by the way.

I got rid of my bread maker in favour of a food mixer with a dough hook. Now I have a kitchenaid but I had a dualit before that.

The paddle shaped hole in the bottom of the bread is enough for me to never use a bread maker, not to mention the amount of space it takes up.

You can put ingredients into the stand mixer and leave for five minutes, kneed for a couple of minutes on a board, stick in a tin and leave to prove. And the quality is far superior to a bread maker.

Another Panasonic user here. I previously had Russell Hobbs and the results weren't a patch on the loaves I get from this one. Again my only dud loaf was when I forgot to put the water in !

@101namesforme When you make rolls and pitta the bread maker does all the kneading/proving then you take the dough out, form the shapes and bake ? Or do you prove after you've taken the dough out of the machine ?

BaiblesandBawbags: I have successfully made cakes in my bread maker by lining the bread tin with baking paper, then putting the cake mix in. Can be a bit fiddly but the cakes turn out OK after baking. I think one of the reasons that Panasonic bread recipes turn out well is that they use basic yeast - Dove’s Farm is great - rather than the crappy sachets with flour improver in them. I love my Panasonic bread maker and it’s getting replaced with another one the second it breaks.

I have the SD2501 and it's so good I have to hide it away so I don't make and eat a loaf a day.

Matthews Cotswold Crunch makes a fabulous granary loaf.

I'm planning on having a go at brioche (just the dough) today.

Oh and you definitely need to buy the yeast regularly (the bread maker yeast, not fresh yeast), it doesn't last long once the pack is opened.

I've got the base model, 2500 is it?

Waited a while for it to drop to around £80-90.

It's brilliant, never had a duff loaf. I hardly wash it either. Just turf it out ready to go again.
I've heard that keeps the non stick coating good.

We have a Panasonic SD2500. Is great. been very reliable these past couple of years. Lovely bread. I have a loaf on the make now. Will post photo later.

Panasonics are amazing and last for ever.

I won't bother giving you my model number as it's now 25 years old but still going strong. I occasionally look at the fancy new ones that have jam making options etc but I just can't justify a replacement

@TheDogsMother
The machine does the first prove and then I shape and prove again. With rolls it’s only for 20-30 mins while the oven heats, with a loaf it is longer.

Pittas are ideally proved for 15mins but can go straight in the oven I find.

I wfh anyway before covid so it’s easy enough to do the quick stages but would be a pain if I worked outside the house.

Another vote for the Panasonic here. I have been using the SD 206 for well over 20 + years, its brilliant but obviously does less than the machines you get today. Its been used almost every day since we got it, it looks a bit worse for wear but it still going great.

Thank you @101namesforme, that's great advice. I also wfh so can attend to the different stages. I need to get a bit more ambitious with the different dough types and extend my repertoire.

@Elphame

Panasonics are amazing and last for ever.

I won't bother giving you my model number as it's now 25 years old but still going strong. I occasionally look at the fancy new ones that have jam making options etc but I just can't justify a replacement

Mine is also 25 years old and has a raisin/nut dispenser AND makes jam! It is an SD253 and looks to be more or less the same as the current newer models.

Mind you, why anyone would want to make jam in a breadmaker is utterly beyond me...

not to mention the amount of space it takes up.

In complete contrast to those food mixers which famously take up no space at all 😂