Panasonic SD-257

Best bread I have ever made! Fantastic machine – I purchased this machine second hand, near new, and have baked a couple of loaves. Use Lacuke Crusty White bread for the best home made bread you have tasted. This is my 6th bread machine and the best by far. Have been making bread for over 20 years. I tried the timer function today and it was great to set at 7am and come home to freshly baked… Read more

bread. Has lots of functions, I love the crust function as I love a crusty crust.

One tip: If you select a cycle it is impossible to cancel it (even leaving for an hour or turning on/off etc).

Use this: Hold down START?STOP pad until display goes blank. Take finger off. Then reactivate by pressing SELECT. The display will look the same but you can now move through the programmes to where you want to be.

The basic cycle takes 4 hours, however, there is a quick cycle which I havent tried yet. Makes lovely crusty white bread and can even cook cakes, Was annoyed the manual did not give instructions to reset machine if wrong cycle was selected, rests for an hour first

Lots of potential, one massive and very annoying flaw – Good mode gluten free bread (and pan size good - mixes well). Easy care. My really annoying issue with it is that it is very very easy for the machine accidentally start a cycle (ie. sometimes you use the start button to turn it on and it automatically goes into the basic cycle) - the trouble with automatically starting the basic cycle is that it… Read more

is 4 hours and there is no abort, no way to reset... nothing (i have found it helps to unplug and replug at the powerpoint to turn on and off to minimise the chance of this happening). I have confirmed this with Panasonic support staff - they confirmed that once a cycle has begun, you have to just wait the time out (powering off for 1/2 might work - the memory lasts > 20 mins at least though). Very frustrating given it is so easy to do . Too bad if you needed bread by a certain time. If they fixed this one major flaw it would be quite a decent machine. (I may/may not recommend it, depending on whether this problem would annoy my friend). Good size and cycle for Gluten free bread. Small total size and looks nice - does not take up too much bench space. Very easy to start in the wrong mode, and machine cannot then be used until the cycle is finished or memory resets - no way to abort or restart = can't make bread.

Love It! – A friend has had a Panasonic for more than 20 years, and it's still working beautifully. After reading many reviews, I decided on the SD-257 instead of the newest model because it gives a choice of 3 different loaf sizes. (Other reviews here talk about not having that choice, and I can only guess they're posting at the wrong Panasonic site. The… Read more ·  1

SD-257 DOES have 3 loaf size choices!!!!) The one down side for me is that the loaf sizes are M, L, & XL. There's just two of us, so we would have really liked a "Small" choice (and really can't imagine why it's not given.) But the other benefits really do outweigh that quirk. We just put half into the freezer as soon as the bread is cool enough to cut! The unit is tall, 38 cm / 15"; it's not a problem for me, but might not fit under shelves for someone else. It's very quiet, and we haven't had a loaf that isn't perfect. That's using both box mixes and my own recipes. The fruit and nut dispenser is very nice and works beautifully for raisins, etc. All in all, I really love my Panasonic SD-257! Quiet operation; choices in loaf size, crust color; kneading blade doesn't stick in bread! Will make M, L, XL loaves, but not Small

I love it – I love my SD-257 breadmaker. I have been using it for about six years, and have been delighted with the results, although not always perfect, due to my experimentation. I continue to vary the ingredients for bread, and continue to experiment. I have not used it for dough, although that will be happening soon. I am very sorry Panasonic has decided to discontinue its manufacture.

Brilliant – I have been using my Panasonic SD257 constantly for 5 years now and it is still working perfectly. I haven't bought a loaf of bread in all that time using it up to 3 - 4 times a week. Everyone raves about my bread. It is the best and most used appliance in my kitchen and I really couldn't be without it. Absolutely brilliant.

Great Machine – Bought second hand in perfect order. Makes wonderful bread and dough. Super easy to operate and clean. Use Edmonds, Bin Inn & Laucke bread mixes, all great and also done many from scratch. No failures.

Failure in time – After three years of excellent results using 300g of Laucke mix, my SD257 began failing almost constantly with flat bread despite varying the ingredients, quantities, water and temperatures. Mechanically it seemed normal but I suspect the kneading blade and/or its drive shaft bearing have worn resulting in insufficient kneading. Otherwise, why are… Read more

replacement parts available for $$$? I chose not to drive 70km out of a capital city for an authorized repairer to check. Now I'm about to try an SD2501 with the same sized bowl and paddle but with distinctly different specifications in a similar manual..

Excellent product – We have been using this bread maker for the last 2 years. Most of our use is for Laucke brand bread mixes. The vast majority of our breads come out excellent. The ones that were not good was our mistakes. The machine performes excellently every single time. It starts showing some wear and tear but we had no problems baking with it. I don't know what warranty is like because we did not need it so far. Easy to use, reliable

Pummeled for nearly 6 years and still chugging along – Been using this bread machine for up to 4-6 times a week for bread and dough, and it hasn't skipped a beat. Only minor flaw is sometimes the flour sticks to the corners and you end up with crusty clumps on the side of the bread. Not as huge issue, usually only a small amount. Followed three recipes in the manual at first, but then learned to… Read more

replace/add some ingredients. Our daily loaf is a combination wholemeal and rye. Pizza dough every week. Paid for itself many times over. She's a ripper! Consistent and reliable

Unreliable – 1 Creates odd sized loafs that don't fit any standard toaster. 2 You can't clear selections once made. Once you hit START that is it. I needed to clear the selections because the paddle would not mix and wanted to try and reseat it. (Supposedly powering off the machine for 10 minutes should clear the memory but took about 40 mins or more. A… Read more

pointless setting even in a power failure because it would ruin any mixture regardless.) This leads me to my third issue:

3 Sometimes the paddle won't operate.

4 Hard to clean correctly

5 The number of functions are vast which makes the display hard to read or follow and you need the instruction manual on hand a lot of the time.

2 in 2 years – Great bread maker when working ,1st one died 3 weeks after warranty ran out ,after complaining to panasonic they finally agreed to replace it , now 12 months later same problem, motor will not kneed or mix the bread . Can not believe my luck bought on reviews and panasonics great name like i said when working great machine bread fantastic, but 2… Read more

in 2 years not good enough i feel totally ripped off.

Today bought breville custom loaf pro comes with 2 years warranty plus payed for extra 3 years 5 years in total look what you have done to me panasonic no trust .

Breville good reviews top of the range expecting nothing but good results fingers crossed . Good loaf of bread when working display panel easy to navigate . Reliability non existing must be a regular problem come on Panasonic fess up.

Disappointed - stopped working 1 month after warranty expired – Nice machine but we have problems with baking, the machine goes on and off during baking and there is no way we can repair or return it. warranty already expired. feels like some chinese cheap product which will break after expiration of the warranty. I am scared to leave it on when we are not at home, in case it starts burning or sparking. wouldn't buy it again. very disappointed.

Makes a great loaf of bread – This breadmaker makes great loaves of bread. I have had some experience eating bread made with other machines and I can say that the bread made from this machine is the best that I have tasted. I have been trying out some of the recipes - white, wholemeal, fruit - that came with the breadmaker and they have all been turning out very tasty. I have… Read more ·  1

found that the smallest (medium) size loaf is quite large enough as if you get much larger you start to have trouble fitting the slices into your toaster. Great value

Love my bread maker ! – The panasonic SD257 is simply brilliant, I just love baking since I've got it. I enjoy baking brioche, delicious different kind of bread like the banana loaf, French white bread, wholemeal etc... and also cakes! I also use it to make the pizza dough and also the Swiss tresse (sweet brioche), then I bake it in the conventional oven. With your bread… Read more

maker you will also receive lots of great recipes of loafs, dough and cakes. Oh I almost forgot, it's also got a timer ! So you can wake up in the morning with the nice smell of freshly baked bread, amazing :o) Makes delicious loafs, the timer

Excellent – I got my bread maker at christmas, and it fantastic, it has never made a bad loaf of bread, and we make several loaves a week. We have also used it to make a pizza dough, and worked perfectly on that to. in conclusion, for me, this bread maker is a must have for anyone who likes fresh bread. Perfect bread every time

The Best – Went to Perth in march this year and stayed with my sister in law and husband. They had a Panasonic SD200 breadmaker which they had been using for 15 years. It was still producing perfect bread. Got back to Sydney and purchased a Panasonic SD257. I have made brown,crusty white, and gluten free bread todate using Laucke flour packs, complete with… Read more

packeted yeast, which I buy from Coles. Recently bought a 10kg bag for $18 on special from Coles. I use 1.25 teaspoons of yeast, 475 grams white flour, 75 grams brown flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 380ml water, in that order. Set the machine to bake, large size, dark crust and off you go. Perfect bread every time. The gluten free bread is simpler using the Laucke packs from the health food section in Coles. 380ml water, 500 grams flour, (2 x 500gram packs in the box), no yeast required and you can add salt and sugar if you want. Set the machine to gluten free and light crust and off you go. I bake a white loaf for my neighbors every friday and they have to young girls who fight over who will get the crusts.

What a great machine and if you shop around on the internet you can generally get a good price.

Its worth justs getting one for the smell of fresh bread. Reliable,easy to use and clean, a product that works.

Happy again – After enjoying the output of a 251 for a couple of years ( received 2nd hand so well used) eventually had to retire it as the under bowl mechanism seemed ready to wear out any time. As Panasonic were not stocking any in Oz at the time I researched about and then went for a Breville BBM600. As I've reviewed that elsewhere here I will only say..… Read more

terrible.

I was pleased to see Good Guys had the 257 once again but I was able to better their price by buying online ( shame?.. no, not really, was a Retravision store as it turned out).

For us the upright design couldn't be better for bench storage and moving it about is so easy.

Without repeating what many others have said.. flawless.

That is, I use a simple 50/50 mix of Laucke Wholemeal Mix and Rye Mix ( I preblend the two 10 kg bags into large 20 litre food quality storage buckets and a single 10 litre one for the cupboard).

I've found this model to be very particular on measurements, any fair deviation had the loaf stick to the lid!

I prefer the 4 hour setting as the faster one works Ok but not a well.

Browning is spot on every time and mostly the paddle stays in the bowl on ejection ( which is SO easy, and clean). If it doesn't ( due to my mis-measurement) I just wait until the loaf cools and it slips out easily with just a small slot in the bread. The filled bowl just drops into the machine without the hassle of "postioning it "( Breville was bad)

It is very much quieter than the so called Silent Breville which must have distant rellies in the cement mixing trades.

I haven't tried any other breads but will do so sometime.

Being plastic externally is fine.. beats the heck out of cleaning .. That brushed Stainless Steel on the Breville was very hard to keep free of marks.

I'll try a 100% Laucke wholemeal loaf when I next open a fresh bag. Well made. Relatively light. Easy to clean. Non-stick bowl excellent. Reliable cooking process. Bowl easy to fit in machine. So far (3 months).. nothing.. time will tell, I guess.

Great value, tasty bread at home – Makes very good loaves of bread of numerous different types. We bake 3 times per week and have never had a bad loaf. Previously had a Breville and would recommend this machine as superior as it seems to produce a better loaf. I think the "rest" cycle is longer than Breville and this is one of the key things together with the different kneading… Read more

cycle. Good size for baking family sized loaves, very easy to use, many baking options, good instruction book with recipes, quiet, smooth operation Looks plasticey, no see through lid, lead is a little short if power point is located further away

Good – Because I don't like the strange shaped loaf, I prefer to use the machine for dough-making only, and cook the bread in real bread tins in the oven. It produces fantastic bread. I experimented a bit with bread mixes, and found the Lauke White mix was good, but the bread tended to be a bit light, and had too many holes. I get the best results… Read more

making a 50/50 loaf where I use half Lauke bread mix and mix up the other half with the recipe for a basic loaf from the Panasonic book. It's a bit fiddly, but once I worked out the quantities, it was easy. This loaf slices well and freezes beautifully too.

Overall, I'm very happy with the breadmaker. My nearest shop is over 40kms away, so being able to bake really good bread at home is a genuine time and cost saver for me. Makes perfect dough every time. Produces a beautifully soft pliable dough which cooks to perfection.

Very good instruction manual. Due to the size and shape of the bread pan, it produces an awkward sized loaf. As well as the size and shape of the loaf, the mixing blade creates a large gash in the bottom of the bread. The machine itself is very tall and difficult to store, unlike my old Breville.

Good for premixes. No good for wholemeal – Bought it, after reading Panasonic bread maker reviews here - almost all satisfied users! Good looker. Construct quality seems excellent, up to Panasonic's reputation. I'm an experienced home bread maker, having worn out my "Easybake" machine after many years. SD-257 seems to be OK on commercial pre-mixes and plain flour doughs but woefully… Read more

under-powered for real wholemeal bread. This is what I most often want to make.

The drive stalls trying to knead high percentage wholemeal doughs. These gave no trouble to the old Easybake!

Have to add lots more liquids to get action.

Notice the SD-257 is made in China. It is rather different layout to the other Panasonics.

Wonder if older models are more powerful?

Has a silly start to programmes. You put in yeast then dry goods then liquids on top then start the machine.

First thing it does is sit, "Resting", for 25 to 105 minutes, doing nothing.

Can only be making ingredients temperature even. Yeast is still dry. It's just a time waste!

I say it's better to mix the dough before resting, to let yeast and gluten get going.

I'm very unhappy. Feel Panasonic has let me down! Construct quality. Good features. Good instruction book. Drive-motor too weak. Stupid process programme. Only kneads in clockwise direction, so uneven result.

As you say, can't live without, use it 5 times a week – After owing a second hand Panasonic bread machine (daughter's) which was quite old, I decided to purchase a new one and bought a Sunbeam which stopped working when it was 3 years old, so I kept looking for a new pansonic machine, and finally purched one about 4 months ago, and so far it has been just as good as the original, which incidently, is… Read more

still working but I found that the loaf sized was two small. The paddle can be removed making it easier to clean the pan, the bread does not stick in the pan and the cleaning is very easy. Have only used it for bread, have not tried other features yet.

Everyone has to own a Panasonic breadmaker – I was concerned that if I spent a reasonable amount of money on a breadmaker, the novelty of "fresh bread" would wear off and it would end up at the back of the cupboard. Definately not this breadmaker - it sits on my bench because I use it almost every day. My husband and kids often smell fresh bread and come running. The loaf size is… Read more

excellent (even for larger families), quick cooking time of 2 hrs is convenient and the health benefits are great. We now enjoy fresh bread all the time, don't have to rush to the shops, add healthy nuts and seeds and all the bread freezes really well. It has worked so well that my Mum and Dad, my sister and her family and a best friend also own the same machine. easy to use, more convenient, healthier.

Waste of time – We had a Tiffany machine for 20 years with no problems. It gave up the ghost so we purchased a SD257 and using the same bread mixes one out of 6 worked. In desperation we made one by hand and it worked perfectly. It may work for plain flour but not much else. Can not make bread

Easy to use but only maes one size loaf – We purchased this bread maker whilst on a health kick to get back to basics. Makes lovely bread, is easy to use and has a timer than can be set so you wake up to a hot loaf of bread. Only downside, which may not worry others, was it ny made one size loaf. The size of the loaf sliced was very large. Two slices for sandwich too big, one too small.… Read more

We found we had a lot of wastage as bread does not keep long like commercial loaves. Again this prob not issue for others.... Makes lovely bread, easy to use, timer Appliance has short life, ours lasted just past warranty

Makes great great bread, can't live without it – We been told that the Panasonic SD-257 was a great bread maker and it is. It makes great bread, hot cross buns and pizza bases. We wouldn't live with it. Reliable. It is quiet and it also looks good. Sometimes it is a bit hard to clean.

Easy to use bread maker – Have only used for wholemeal and white bread so far, but I am looking forward to making hot cross buns and fruit/nut loaf! Super easy to use (I am a klutz and could never make a loaf of bread right in our old breadmaker), this one is literally turn on and press start! Bread turns out right every time and crust is golden and the bread is light… Read more

and fluffy on the inside.

Cleaning is a breeze, with a quick dunk and wipe over in soapy water and done!

The only minor complaints I have is that the mixing insert sometimes gets lodged in the bread when it comes out and can be tricky to get out and it is quite large, so I keep it in the pantry and take it out when I am making bread. Also I don't have kitchen scales, so the recipes in the manual are difficult to make without scales as they are all in grams and not cups/tablespoons etc, which is annoying.

I love the timer feature - waking up to a fresh made bread smell is divine! Timer - can make bread up to 12 hours in advance! Easy to use and easy to clean Large and takes up a lot of counter space, mixing insert sometimes cooks into bread bottom

Terrible – I am very disappointed with this breadmaker. I never considered it wouldn't be able to make a loaf of wholemeal bread (white is fine if that's your preference). The support I received from Panasonic customer care was really disappointing too. Definitely would not recommend if you want to make good wholemeal bread. We were tearing our hair out… Read more

in the end! The bread comes out easily from the pan. I would not recommend this breadmaker if you usually bake wholemeal bread. I bought the SD 257 machine in July and have used Panasonic's recipes to the letter, tried pre-mix and my own recipes I have been unable to produce a decent loaf of wholemeal that isn't brittle in texture and doesn't falls apart when you try to slice it. My previous breadmakers were a cheapy Tiffany and Breville and they made great wholemeal 'till they died from old age.

Terrible – Like many people I make spelt bread because the wheat bread available in the supermarkets is not suitable for me. I have been using a Panasonic SD-BT10P since April 1994 and decided to upgrade to the SD-257 recommended by Choice. Big mistake! Nothing I've yet tried with the SD-257 will make a reasonable spelt loaf and I've returned to my old… Read more

machine that, although it is approaching 17 years and has made countless loaves, is still far superior to this latest machine.

I wish it were otherwise and I hope that Panasonic can solve this problem. It's quiet. In the SD-257 instruction booklet it says, regarding spelt flour, "Makes loaves with a flat/slightly sunken crust". This is an understatement to say the least!

Furthermore, the size of the loaf it would produce would be difficult to cut to a size suitable for the average toaster.

Absolute Garbage – Had this machine repaired now twice under warranty now for the same issue, in total we have been without the machine for 3 months, Panasonic refuse to give a refund. Buyer beware Worked well when it worked... Expensive, bad warranty service, unreliable

First time perfecto! – We had a breadmaker 10 years ago, and I hadn't bothered since because it was a dog! Also had used them in rental apartments on holiday without much success. Lately I have been trying to eat healthy, but hate multigrain you get from shops, so researched breadmakers. I am really happy I got mine, and it turned out perfect even with the first time… Read more

using it.

Can't wait to to try a cake as well!

Really easy to use, and love the timer function. Value for money, easy to use, perfect bread every time Only had it a short time so can't really comment on warranty etc

Still getting used to it! – I had an old Panasonic which wore out several years ago & was replaced by a Breville. That did the trick, but was noisy, didn't rise long enough and a little 'rough' in its operation. I went straight for this new Panasonic when I noticed it recently. BUT, it has a plastic casing and so far, it emits a strong plastic smell from just inside… Read more

the casing (not the bread chamber) when kneading bread for baking - not so bad on the 'dough' option. I'm hoping it's just in the early stages (having baked only 5 loaves & several doughs), but wonder if it will ever stop. And is it tainting the dough?

It also doesn't have a browning option for a wholemeal loaf, so I tend to use the 'bake' option to get a browner loaf.

However, there are a stack of other improvements like a raisin/nut dispenser, cooking a brioche etc. A pity there's no timer for dough (I work that out using the 'bake' option & stop it before cooking).

I like the long rising time - gets a far better result than quick rises. The order in which the ingredients are put in is typical of Pansonics - always separate the yeast from the liquids. 'Rest' period helps bring the ingredients to an optimum mixing temperature. The unit operates a lot more quietly than the Breville and the kneading speed varies (as it did on my old one)- it's not just stalling on wholemeal mixes.

I'll be REALLY happy with it, if the smell goes. Either that, I take it back after another few tries. Good long rising time - important using wholemeal and/or sourdough. Good options - easy to use programs. A nice quiet operating unit. Plastic smell during kneading. No browning option for wholemeal.

Excellent - I make bread everyday! – I bought this breadmaker to replace a Sunbeam Bakehouse Compact - which was too small for this household - and it didnt seem to mix the dough well in my opinion. We only bake white and multigrain loaves using Simply No Knead flour & products. My mum has a Panasonic and still going strong 10 years later - so glad panasonic decided to manufacture… Read more

these again!

I bake a loaf every morning and its perfect everytime! Reasonably priced, good size loaf, great features for other baking, love the crust option!

Best thing since sliced bread !!! no more stale supermarket fruit loaf – Procrastinated some. Bit the bullet (ahhum!! the bun in this case) fantastic product. Makes the best fruit loaf especially when eaten fresh, with real butter yummm! Beats the "days old" fruit loaf from supermarket which is only fit to toast. All other bread types also delicious & the house smells amazing when cooking. It sits proudly on the… Read more

kitchen benchtop on display. It's pretty too :) Reliable / easy to use / many functions / energy efficient

Excellent – After researching, using this site we decided on this brand and have been extremely happy with the loaves and pizza dough. perfect bread every time, quiet, quick release of bread every time. So happy with it. Better than the Breville I had a few years ago. I wonder if its not the slightly heavier pan and the fully enclosed cover that might keep… Read more

the heat more even that contributes to the success of the loaves. I have been using the Lauke Wallaby bread flour and I have also use another bread recipe with wholemeal added and it was just as good. So overall 10/10 for us. I have nothing bad to report on this maker at all.

Excellent – I did my research and decided to buy this machine as it had so many good reviews. I was not disappointed. I'm not into nuts etc with bread at this stage, so I use the standard bake option which makes a great loaf of bread every time. I buy a 10 kg bag of Laucke bread pre-mix (yeast sachets included) from the supermarket. Cost of making a… Read more

loaf is about one third to half that if you had to buy. This machine will pay for itself in less than a year. Have also made pizza dough with no problems. Very easy to use and clean. Quiet operation.

The timer is great as you can have freshly baked bread in the morning (don't have to go to the shop to buy bread anymore). Sometimes the kneading blade gets stuck in the bread. It's no major drama as you can remove it when the bread cools.