Panasonic Artisan Black Bread Maker SD-ZP2000KST

Bought this recently as a birthday present for my teenage son who loves good bread, which he's been making by hand for a while. He was excited to try out the machine, and was really happy with the resulting loaf.The quality of the loaves from this Panasonic machine are very good and far superior to those from my previous bread maker machines.The loaves are consistently well risen and have a great crust and texture.Other great factors are that it is incredibly quiet, plus very simple and convenient to use.

When our old bread maker died on us after almost 14 years of good service we decided to get another Panasonic Brand bread maker.We looked at all the reviews and decided on the Panasonic Artisan Beadmaker. We didn't want to be disappointed later and wish we had this feature or that etc.The unit has lived up our expectations. It is large but fits nicely where we wanted it to go. The hand book was easy to read and as long as you follow the instructions it works great.The quality of the bread was amazing, I even made a banana cake.. from the Edmonds cook book, I had to extend the cooking time by 50min. 100% Happy. In all very pleased with the results.

Artesan bread at home

I have recently bought this after doing a fair amount of research. I choose this bread maker because it makes artisan style bread with a decided crust and the reviews I read recommended it. I have now made 3 loaves of bread. The bread maker is attractively designed and easy to clean. The bread has a strong crust, good crumb and flavour. It takes about 10 minutes to put the ingredients together and about another 10 to clean up. It is most necessary to add precise amounts of ingredients so a good kitchen scale is important. I am very pleased with it at this point and would recommend purchasing.

Bakes Excellent Bread!

A recent purchase. A fairly high end model, but managed to buy while on special. Wouldnt pay full price. Fantastic bread is baked in this! The bread pan is the highlight of this breadmaker. It is of superb quality. Sadly doesnt have a viewing window, nor does it feature an automatic nut/ fruit dispenser as other cheaper brands have, but I can live with that as the bread it bakes is par excellence! Please use a digital scale for weighing your ingredients. Thats really important for a successful end result. Looks cool as on the bench too!

Easy to use, yummy, and looks great on the bench

I don't have many unitasker appliances in my small kitchen. To make the cut, the product has to look good and work exceptionally well - and thankfully the ZP2000 does both. This breadmaker was easy to use right out of the box, with a variety of simple preset modes. The self-timer function was particularly useful, allowing me to wake up to the smell of baking bread and enjoy my first loaf of white bread at 6am the next morning. I was concerned that the sound of kneading might wake me up, but I was able to run the device overnight with minimal noise. In addition to the bread settings, I have found the pizza dough function to be quite handy. It's great to be able to let the SD-ZP2000 worry about the kneading and rising while I ready the toppings. It means we can enjoy ... MoreI don't have many unitasker appliances in my small kitchen. To make the cut, the product has to look good and work exceptionally well - and thankfully the ZP2000 does both. This breadmaker was easy to use right out of the box, with a variety of simple preset modes. The self-timer function was particularly useful, allowing me to wake up to the smell of baking bread and enjoy my first loaf of white bread at 6am the next morning. I was concerned that the sound of kneading might wake me up, but I was able to run the device overnight with minimal noise. In addition to the bread settings, I have found the pizza dough function to be quite handy. It's great to be able to let the SD-ZP2000 worry about the kneading and rising while I ready the toppings. It means we can enjoy home made pizza on a weeknight. One thing to be aware of is that this breadmaker, like most, is fairly large. Lucky the sleek black color makes it not too noticeable on my benchtop. (Please note that the ZP2000 was kindly provided to me for review by Panasonic.)

Great after finding the right setting to use

I have been using this machine since February and after finding the right setting for my taste (about 3 tries only) I thought it was fabulous. I use it at least 3 times a week for bread and also 1 - 2 times a week for making dough for rolls, roti or pizzas. However, the last 3 times I have used it have been disastrous! I have not changed my ingredients AT ALL and yet suddenly the baked loaf will not come out no matter how much I "tap" it on the bread board. I have even tried to use a silicone spatula to use gently down the sides to loosen it before I try to get the loaf out. Still doesn't work, and after trying to tap it so hard to get it out, I am left with a broken, crumbled loaf that is only good for whacking in the oven to toast for bread crumbs. Now the handle ... MoreI have been using this machine since February and after finding the right setting for my taste (about 3 tries only) I thought it was fabulous. I use it at least 3 times a week for bread and also 1 - 2 times a week for making dough for rolls, roti or pizzas. However, the last 3 times I have used it have been disastrous! I have not changed my ingredients AT ALL and yet suddenly the baked loaf will not come out no matter how much I "tap" it on the bread board. I have even tried to use a silicone spatula to use gently down the sides to loosen it before I try to get the loaf out. Still doesn't work, and after trying to tap it so hard to get it out, I am left with a broken, crumbled loaf that is only good for whacking in the oven to toast for bread crumbs. Now the handle is broken due to me having to try and bang the loaf out. Not sure I would buy this machine again when it comes time. My only option at the moment though is to try and find another insert to see if a fresh one will be better again.

Great bread maker but let down by some flaws

This bread maker makes a great load of bread if you are happy with the fairly limited set of menus on offer. The ceramic bowl and blade are an order of magnitude better than anything else on the market. However there are a few flaws like the inability to postpone dough making. For example, if you want the dough ready first thing in the morning but don't want to get up at 4am to turn the machine on it won't let you do that. It allows this for pizza dough but not for bread dough for some reason. The machine can also overcook the bread on some settings without any abillity to set the crust to a lighter, less burnt look. Also, it has no seed / nut / yeast dispenser like some cheaper models so you just throw everything in together. I'm moderately happy and the machine ... MoreThis bread maker makes a great load of bread if you are happy with the fairly limited set of menus on offer. The ceramic bowl and blade are an order of magnitude better than anything else on the market. However there are a few flaws like the inability to postpone dough making. For example, if you want the dough ready first thing in the morning but don't want to get up at 4am to turn the machine on it won't let you do that. It allows this for pizza dough but not for bread dough for some reason. The machine can also overcook the bread on some settings without any abillity to set the crust to a lighter, less burnt look. Also, it has no seed / nut / yeast dispenser like some cheaper models so you just throw everything in together. I'm moderately happy and the machine looks great on the worktop but the designers could have given users a better range of options.

Quality product that does the job

I am sure this product is great for those who love crust. We bought this thinking that we would get all the features from other models, as this is the top model. To our great disappointment, this model does not have half the presets other models have, it does not have a raising dispenser, and it does not have a rye kneading blade. It does not make any sense. Is the price inflated just for the exclusive ability in making crust? The bread is great, there is no question about that; but I am sure that I would get the same quality of bread and more presets with lower priced models. In summary, the compromises made in this model is too great for the price raise just for the crust. I hope it has an advanced kneading technique that other models don't have?

This is only 4 stars because 5 stars is impossible

Look, it makes high quality bread, consistently. That's for sure. However, its capacity is a bit less than the ZD2512, and the fact that it doesn't have a yeast dispenser is a bit of a bummer since this really limits how hands-off you want your bread to be.All that being said, this is a WONDERFUL unit that looks fantastic on any counter-top. It's very quiet, doesn't wobble (at least not in the first 3 attempts that I've had with it) and it makes a beautiful loaf. The crust doesn't stay crusty *forever*, but I wouldn't expect it to.

Very good machine, worth the investment.

The machine makes great bread and it makes the outside crusty and special while the inside of the bread is soft and fluffy. The machine is sturdy. Its rectangular shape means it fits nicely in any corner of the kitchen. I also found its ability to operate without electricity for about 10 minutes useful - a few days ago, there happened to be a connection problem from the power panel that the machine was connected to half way through the dough rising process, and I was very relieved that I was able to fix the issue by simply unplugging and reconnecting the power cord without losing the entire dough and having to start from scratch. The machine continued the process quite smoothly. One of the main reasons I bought this machine is I saw on reviews that the machine is ... MoreThe machine makes great bread and it makes the outside crusty and special while the inside of the bread is soft and fluffy. The machine is sturdy. Its rectangular shape means it fits nicely in any corner of the kitchen. I also found its ability to operate without electricity for about 10 minutes useful - a few days ago, there happened to be a connection problem from the power panel that the machine was connected to half way through the dough rising process, and I was very relieved that I was able to fix the issue by simply unplugging and reconnecting the power cord without losing the entire dough and having to start from scratch. The machine continued the process quite smoothly. One of the main reasons I bought this machine is I saw on reviews that the machine is relatively quiet - this is a really important feature for me as I have been able to actually use the delay timer function overnight without disturbing my sleep. I've been enjoying waking up to the smell of nice bread in the morning. All I have to do is to slice up my warm bread that this machine worked hard on while I slept in and toast it and have it with my coffee. It’s also easy to clean.