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Panasonic SD-YD 250 Bread Maker Review

bread machine review

The Panasonic bread maker SD-YD 250 is an excellent medium-priced bread maker, which makes it extremely popular among those who want fresh homemade loaves every day with minimum effort.

Why is it so great?

Simply because the loaf quality is fantastic and that’s the most important criteria for choosing a bread machine.

What actually recommends this Panasonic bread machine is its longevity.

Some people have used a Panasonic bread maker for 10 years, some for 6 years before it broke down, while others had to replace it after only 4 years.

It has a high chance of serving your needs for fresh bread or dough for a very long time.

Plus,

I also own and use a Panasonic bread machine.

A slightly different model than this but quite similar. Mine doesn’t have a yeast dispenser but a nut & fruit dispenser is actually more practical.

It’s the first bread maker that I purchased with my own money.

In the future, I would like an even more expensive model but there’s always something coming in the way, another purchase that needs to be made.

It might be a while until I get my hands on a really fancy unit, like the Zojirushi or the Breville.

So,

Let’s jump right in and let’s see what this Panasonic bread maker SD-YD 250 offers for the money.

Accessories

  • 1 double-ended teaspoon/tablespoon
  • 1 measuring cup
  • 1 nonstick bread pan
  • 1 removable kneading paddle
  • this Panasonic bread maker SD-YD 250 has no window but that’s not a big loss, the window being replaced by a yeast dispenser
  • a modern control panel with LCD display
  • a user manual that also includes the recipes booklet
  • and a 1 year warranty, which is the standard period

Only the Cuisinart CBK-100 comes with a 3-year warranty.

Loaf Size

Well,

The first obvious thing is that it bakes a horizontal loaf.

Just like the majority of models.

One exception that comes to mind is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme, which bakes a rectangular loaf.

The SD-YD 250 offers users the possibility to choose from 3 loaf sizes up to 2.5 pounds.

Actually, the manufacturer mentions the M, L, and XL sizes.

And you get to choose from 3 crusts: light, medium, and dark.

I like it light, at most medium. I haven’t even tried the dark crust option.

If you’re the only one eating, you can choose the smallest size.

That’s an advantage for small families.

For a family of four or more, the 2 pounds or the 2.5 pounds is the right size.

There’s also a 13-hour delay timer. Fresh loaf at the precise hour that you need it. That’s cool.

I often use it so I can enjoy fresh bread in the mornings.

The Preprogrammed Cycles

There are 6 bread programs for the SD-YD 250:

  • basic which makes white bread that’s why it’s also called basic and you should use bread flour and active dry yeast or bread machine yeast
  • whole wheat for loaves made with whole wheat flour
  • multigrain for loaves with rye, corn, soy, and other cereals/grains
  • French
  • pizza meaning pizza dough
  • and bake only for baking cakes

There are also 6 baking options:

  • bake where the unit mixes the ingredients found in the pan, kneads the dough, raises it, and bakes it
  • bake rapid where the process is pretty much the same like the bake option, only that it takes less time because the dough is baked faster and that’s why you should use rapid rise yeast
  • bake sandwich for a medium-sized that has soft crust
  • bake raisin is the same with the bake cycle, with the addition that the machine beeps when it’s time to add the nuts/fruits. It’s done like that to avoid their crushing during the kneading phase. They’re added before that raising phase
  • dough is one of my favorite because it helps me and other like me make the best dough for pizza, dinner rolls, croissants, donuts, and so on
  • dough raisin similar to the above baking option, plus the machine beeps when you should add the dried fruits or raisins

The basic bake takes 4 hours until completion, while the bake rapid takes 1 hr 55 min.

The preselected size is extra large (XL) with medium crust so before pressing the Start/Stop button make sure that you have selected the desired size and crust.

The thing is:

The whole wheat is completed in 5 hours.

Panasonic SD-YD 250 might need 4 hours for the completion of all phases that lead to a fresh delicious white bread but I don’t see it as a con.

Because there’s nothing that makes users directly uncomfortable.

You just have to add the ingredients and wait 4 hours until the loaf is all ready and baked, during which you can do whatever you want.

Or use the delay timer and have bread or dough ready whenever you need it.

The French cycle takes the longest – 6 hours.

And the very good news is that the pizza dough is ready in no time – just 45 minutes.

The basic dough cycle lasts a little longer – 2hr 20 min.

Once a cycle is completed, pay attention when attempting to remove the baking pan because the handles, the kneading blade, and the bread will be really hot.

Also,

You will have to let any Panasonic bread maker cool for 1 hour before you can use it for a second time in a row.

The Yeast Dispenser

Panasonic SD-YD 250 bread maker has a yeast dispenser.

A nut and fruit dispenser is more useful than a yeast dispenser but this is a useful addition, too.

The nut & fruit dispenser is incorporated in the second Panasonic bread maker reviewed in this article so, stick around.

It means that you don’t have to add the yeast in the beginning with all the ingredients, like I do with my Panasonic bread machine.

The machine simply takes the needed yeast when the time is right.

What it Lacks

First of all,

This Panasonic bread maker SD-YD 250 can’t make gluten-free loaves.

If you have gluten intolerance, this is not the machine for you.

But don’t worry. There are many others that have the gluten-free cycle, like the Cuisinart CBK-100. It’s also cheaper than this Panasonic bread maker.

Or the Hamilton Beach HomeBaker, which is the cheapest bread maker with a gluten-free cycle.

Besides that,

There aren’t much complaints that can be brought against this machine.

All in all,

It’s a really good choice for the money and it’s guaranteed to stay with you for many years to come.

After all, there are people who have owned it for as much as 10 years.

Plus,

The Panasonic SD-YD 250 bread maker makes an excellent loaf, highly qualitative, with a good crust and evenness, it makes fantastic whole wheat/multigrain loaves, has an awesome pan, and it operates quietly.

It’s very silent, you can barely hear it even when you’re close to it.

There’s also no jam cycle.

Panasonic SD-RD250 vs. Panasonic SD-YD 250

The Panasonic SD-RD250 is more expensive than the above Panasonic bread maker, which has been the center of attention so far.

Let’s see if it’s worthy of the extra money or not.

Both units are very similar in many aspects so, I’m only going to mention the differences.

There’s no point in writing the same features twice.

Now:

The Panasonic SD-RD250 quasi justifies its higher price by having a nut and fruit dispenser.

It can also be used for herbs and any other dry ingredients.

It’s helpful because other machines beep when it’s time to add the nuts or the died fruits.

But it’s only worthy if you like those kind of loaves.

The disadvantage for this second Panasonic bread maker from my review is that it doesn’t make 100% whole wheat bread.

It can only handle 30% whole wheat.

Pay attention to that.

The consequence is that there are 5 programs, instead of 6:

  • basic
  • French
  • pizza
  • pasta
  • and bake only

It has the pasta dough program instead of the multigrain one.

And the whole wheat is entirely missing because you can only make 30% whole wheat loaves.

There are also only 3 baking options: bake, bake rapid, and dough.

Only 2 sizes as opposed to 3: M and XL.

And 2 crusts: light and dark. No medium.

The order in which you should add the ingredients in the pan is:

  • yeast first
  • then all the dry ingredients, like flour, sugar, salt, etc.
  • water and any other liquids
  • and add the nuts, seeds, herbs or fruits in the dispenser for the SD-RD250 or when it beeps for the SD-YD 250

All in all,

After making a short comparison between the 2 Panasonic bread maker units, I believe that the best choice is Panasonic SD-YD 250, it’s totally worthy of the affordable price tag, while the SD-RD250 doesn’t offer enough for its substantially higher price.

If you don’t like either, you have other alternatives:

  • one of the cheapest bread machines that you can possibly buy – the Oster CKSTBRTW20
  • and one slightly less affordable than the Panasonic SD-YD 250 bread maker but in the medium-priced category – Cuisinart CBK-100