has been named as the top buy for quite a while now. For anyone looking for a breadmaker, this is THE model to get your hands on, and with Christmas fast approaching it's going to be in high demand and low supply. If you buy it now, you can save $171 (a whopping 57%) at Amazon, because the list price of $300 has been reduced to only $129. 
I bought the Panasonic SD YD250 Automatic Bread Maker as a present for my mother about two years ago, and after hearing her 'rave' reviews on how well it worked, I purchased one for myself last year. Now this wasn't my first bread machine, I've actually had two cheaper models in the past which both went by the wayside after about a year.Even though the Panasonic SD YD250 has been around for a few years now, it really doesn’t have any competitors with quite the same quality and range of features. It’s one of the larger units available, with a 2.5lb loaf capacity (although you can bake loaves in 3 different sizes), and because of this you’ll definitely need some space to store it – approx 14 inches of width and height, and 9
inches depth.The Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker is quieter than many other bread makers, although it clicks and whirs quietly as it mixes and kneads the dough (over normal household noise I don't even hear it). It’s very easy to use, and has the added bonus of being easy to clean because the container inside is non-stick.
Okay so the machine itself is good, but does it actually bake decent bread? I’m happy to report that it does, and nothing beats the smell of fresh bread wafting throughout the kitchen! The bread it makes is every bit as good as the best supermarket bread you’ll find, although no machine can beat bread you make yourself from scratch (if you’ve got the time and talent!).
The consistency of the bread is excellent, much better than my previous two bread makers I might add! As with any bread machine, it is important to be careful with your ingredients and measurements, as small variations in yeast, water or flour types could affect how your bread turns out. Once you’ve tried a few of the recipes you’ll find which are your specialities, and I recommend that if you want to experiment, don’t stray too far from the beaten path. Always use recipes that are specifically developed for use with a bread machine, because bread makers use different ratios of ingredients to oven recipes and you WON’T get a very good result otherwise.
I’ve found it saves us money too. The price of bread has risen a lot over the past while, and in our current economic downturn it also saves me money on all the rest of the stuff I’d end up buying in the supermarket (even if I had ‘just’ popped out for bread!). I’ve found that over the past few months the bread maker has more than paid for itself. The Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Breadmaker comes with recipes for 40 breads and doughs (plus baking tips) so you never run out of something different to make, although we tend to stick to about 3-5 of our favorite, ‘tried and tested’ recipes. Some of these breads are white, multi grain, whole wheat, French breads and cakes. In conclusion, I can thoroughly recommend this breadmaker as probably the best and most reliable one on the market. In fact I don't even think this is worth investigating any further - if you want the perfect loaf turned out time after time, go buy it with confidence. The Panasonic SD YD250 is a very solid machine at a very reasonable price and I'm certain you won't be disappointed. If you're looking for a Christmas present I'm pretty sure this breadmaker could make someone very happy this year!
Amazon Rating: 4.5/5 (347 customer reviews)
My Rating: 5/5
Price: $129 (Reduced from $300)