Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker

The first thing you’ll notice about the unit is that it does not have a viewing window in the top. Realizing that nobody sits at their counter and watches their bread bake, Panasonic has removed the window and replaced it with an internal reflector, which results in better baking and a crisper, less soggy top crust. Another innovation you’ll find on the top of the machine is a YeastPro automatic yeast dispenser. This ensures that the yeast is added to the machine at the perfect time, and coupled with the 13-hour delay timer, you’ll never find that your bread under- or over-rises again.

Bread is an interesting product; it bakes very differently depending on what type of flour you are using, what the local humidity levels are, and how high above sea level you are. The Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker gives you a large range of options to control your baking results. Choose the Sandwich option to give you a firm slicing loaf with a soft crust; the French setting will result in a crisp crust with a chewy crumb; and your basic whole wheat and white breads can be fine-tuned with the Loaf Size and Loaf Darkness options. The digital LCD display panel makes it easy to find and set the correct options for the bread you’re baking.

Where this breadmaker really shines is its ability to properly knead dough, with appropriate resting and rising times. There are settings for any type of dough you might want to make; it will easily handle pizza dough which requires a lot of kneading in order to stretch the gluten for a thin, crisp crust, but it’s gentle enough to create dough for oven rolls that suffer from over-kneading. As well, there are settings for quick breads, such as banana bread, that enable you to skip the whole kneading stage and go right into the baking of the bread. Smart little machine, isn’t it?