Here are some sample reviews of this Top Bread Machine:

From Henry of Santa Clara, CA

“The Panasonic SD-YD250 is pretty much the state of the art in bread machine technology in mid-2003. It’s one of the larger units around with a 2.5 lb. loaf capacity. This size will also eat up your counter or cupboard space: you need just under 14″ of width and height, and 10″ of depth, so keep that in mind when you order.

The bread consistency is excellent. It’s even pretty good in the “rapid” mode, though the results are a bit better in the standard bake mode so that’s what I generally use. Also, the “rapid” mode for whole wheat or multigrain bread is 3 hours (vs. 5 hours standard), so it’s not like you can start the machine at the beginning of a meal and expect completed bread before you leave the table. The fastest full cycle — “rapid” bake mode for white bread — is 1hr 55min.

The SD-YD250 is quieter than most earlier bread makers; however, you’ll still hear the clicking and whirring as it mixes and kneads the dough. It’s a neat idea to wake up to the smell of freshly-baked bread but the machine isn’t quiet enough to run in the bedroom unless you’re a VERY sound sleeper.

The options for this machine include the following:
o basic/rapid bake
o immediate start/timer delay
o white/whole wheat/multigrain
o sandwich (soft crust)
o crust color light/medium/dark
o raisin (pause and beep to add fruit or nuts)
o dough knead without bake
o bake without dough knead

Note that not all of these options can be combined. For instance: you only get crust color selection for white bread, and sandwich mode for white and whole wheat; multigrain bread always has a dark, tough crust (although the bread inside the crust is moist and well-textured).

The container inside really is nonstick (based on my not-so-lengthy use since I bought it) and the kneading blade does very little damage to the finished loaf. Ease of use and cleanup are both excellent.

Bread results are quite sensitive to variations in the ingredients in either weight, consistency, or age. Always use fresh BREAD flour and fresh yeast (bread machine yeast recommended) and the right amount of salt, sugar, and flour. The recipes in the included book specify flour weight in units like 16 3/4 oz., so it’s HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you get a digital kitchen scale for good results. Note that this will require still more counter space.

Summary: a very good machine, but you’ll need a fair amount of counter space and attention to details to get the best results from it.”

Timothy of Albuquerque, NM wrote:

“I purchased this machine as a replacement for a Philips bread machine I’ve had for a couple of years. It’s the third bread machine I’ve purchased for myself, and had bought its predecessor (the SD-250) for my Parents some time ago. My Philips packed up (the bread tin broke away from its base), and they don’t make spares, so I have to throw the whole machine in the bin – definitely won’t buy another Philips anything. My parents have been most impressed with the Panasonic, and it’s been personally recommended to me by other people, so after reading all the reviews on Amazon.com I decided to buy one.
So, to the point, I’m thoroughly impressed with this machine. It is solid and quiet. I took the first loaf I made with it and sliced it to find an absolutely even loaf (even from the 1:55 rapid mode). All the other machines I’ve had have had some level of streaking or unevenness in the bread.

As for all the other criticism of the recipe book for its use of weight rather than volume measurements for flour, it is a far more accurate way of measuring flour for any baking. Also the manual has since been updated (no doubt as a result of these criticisms), and now shows the approximate volume equivalents in all the recipes.”

All bread maker reviews are courtesy of Amazon.com

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