anyone out there got a panasonic 255 bread maker???

[wideratthehips]

mine has just arrived, been saving for a while and now its here i'm a bit scared! ...i read lots of reviews which said it was excellent...very excited. have been labouring for a couple of years making bread by hand and it has always been very dense. what recipe would anyone recommend to do first...to give me a confidence boost

It's easy! No need to worry. Try a simple granary/ white/brown loaf. We use ours all the time. Couldn't live without it now. Enjoy!

mine came with a book with recipes in it - def try those - they will work perfectly

if in doubt you can try the bread mixes that are out there - they are so easy too

Hi wider, almost posted earlier asking for advice on breadmakers. How did you decide on the Panasonic, and if you don't mind my asking how much was it? Thanks

thanks! i'm so excited (good grief!) i was the same though when i got my lovely kitchenaid mixer. i'm looking at the booklet now which seems a bit overwhelming but i'm sure i will get to grips with it...

first place i checked of course was on mumsnet and this model number kept coming up, so i then started looking at places on the internet and i think argos has about 40+ excellent reviews for it...everywhere is sold out (john lewis was the cheapest at £85) but currys etc have no stock...got mine from amazon at £95 but i have a free trial on amazon prime for some reason so i have free next day delivery..and here it is!

I have the 254, and before that had never made a loaf.
The recipes in the back are great, have now done basic white, 50% wholemeal and dough for rolls and all have turned out great, really light, good crust.

I haven't bought bread since Xmas - enjoy

also another reason i went for this one was after checking with sil who has a morphy richards one she said get a bigger one as hers isn't enough for 2 plus three small children and so she has to buy shop bread also..which i don't want to do...this one does medium, large and ex large loafs

Thanks for that. I'll get down to John Lewis. Am in no rush to get one straightaway.
Happy breadmaking

I find that DD1 and I can get through a large loaf in a day, no problem. If you have a big family, try the extra large!

TheShipsCat...do you use any of the cake recipies? i know i'm getting ahead of myself but the apple and ginger one sounds nice...as does banana and walnut!

I haven't yet, no. In fact, I hadn't even thought of it as I quite like making cakes the normal way. Its kneading I loathe!

We do make the foccaccia one, which is good (if you get the thickness right), and brioche is handy. I love the fact that its easier to make a loaf at home than pop to the shops and buy one.
I would recommend that you buy flour in bulk from somewhere, those little bags from the supermarket go in no time at all. Happy baking!

well, made my first basic white loaf and it was........nice. not very flavoursome but light and spongey in middle with a crispy crust. made an extra large which i think might see us through breakfast and not much further...not very big at all.....equivalent to a 2lb loaf.

not really a white bread eater so i'm sure once we move onto more exotic flours the bread will improve.....also the kneader was imbeded in the bottom of the loaf.is that normal?

It does sometimes get stuck in the bottom - though I found not as often with the Panasonic as my old Breville.

You've definitely bought a good one - even my non-baking SIL has one now, and she gets decent bread out of it!

Pizza dough is good - the kids love putting their own toppings on.