What a machine, believe me when i say you don't need to buy the 255, if you want to add things just put them in at the beginning of the cycle.
The 254 is just as good but without the £100 price tag. The instruction are comprehensive but the cycles can take some getting use to but after the first couple of attempts it came automatically. The white loaf is brilliant but the wholemeal loaf is light and delicious, especially with a nice topping of butter and jam and it also toasts very nice.
If you want to know just what is going into your food then you can't miss out on this, you can never get bread tasting like this from a supermarket, there are no addertives or preservatives in your bread, and you know just how much sugar and salt you put in.
This is one of the best machines on the market, there are other more cheaper macines but if you want consistancy then this is the one for you. It is like everything else if you want the best then sometimes you have to pay that bit extra.
Did some research and this one seemed to be the best. It is one of the most expensive and having now tried it realise it is value for money, especially as having bought it on ebay, got it at 2/3rds the rrp. I have not bought a loaf of bread since receiving it and have experimented with various recipes, only one failure and that was my fault. Comprehensive recipes and very easy to follow. My one tip is to buy an electric knife as it is difficult to slice when so fresh. The panasonic is a deep machine so does not take up a large area of the work surface compared to other bread makers.
This bread maker is the business. It makes a consistently good loaf and the kneading blade does not leave a big hole in it at the end. There are loads of recipes you can try in the instruction book. I am saving about £1 on every loaf I make so I will have my money back in no time.
This is a great bread making machine. I bought after read a load of reviews about it - and it doesn't let you down.
I don't think I will ever buy a loaf of bread again - it is sooo much cheaper to make your own, and with the added bonus that the quality is better than any shop bought bread.
Works just like my aging 253 which has been making a couple of loaves each week and some other things like hot cross buns and pizza for the past 4 or 5 years, reliable as clockwork. ..... GREAT
I read the reviews b4 i brought mine of ebay and so far it has been great i have used half hovis granery half hovis white with fantastic results,and it keeps fresh for three days and freezes well sliced.
This Bread Maker has taken the effort out of making bread in our home, very easy to use, a lot of less mess, it can be loaded in just 3 minutes, their is no cleaning up afterwards like when a food mixer was used. now all I have done is premeasured all of the ingredients in to small zip type polythine bags, so when you want to make a loaf of bread I just empty the yeast, the salt, some sugar, and last of all the water, switch the Panasonic Bread Maker, Select the size, how Dark you would like the Crust, start it up and 4 hours later a fantastic loaf with beautiful fresh smell of bread. Graham Dowse Southampton.
Having tried a cheaper make previously, I am on my 2nd panasonic machine. For perfect results you must weigh ingredients properly. I use a variety of flours including rye and heavy seeded, and mix them together where I use a fair bit of white to get good results. I would definately buy a panasinic again.
I love this item, the smell of fresh bread is lovely, it makes a perfect loaf, its so simple to use, you just throw everything in. I bought this item because lots of people were raving on about it, now i can see why! Its just fab.
I bought it because of Panasonic breadmakers' reputation LIKE. it does indeed make good bread. It is compact and fits well in my limited space kitchen. DISLIKE. it takes ages to do it Guide book is not the clearest. ADVICE TO OTHERS spend about £20 more and get the 255 model,which has a rye bread mixer blade and an automatic seeds/raisins etc dispenser.
I have just purchased this machine and my first 2 attempts have been 100% successful, I cannot rate it highly enough, just make sure you measure your ingredients correctly and by using the RAPID setting you will have perfect bread in just under 2 hours.
Been meaning to get a breadmaker for ages - been advised by most people with one which maker to buy so bought this and are enjoying home made bread without the additives, the panasonic has performed flawlessly, lets hope it is in 2 years time!