We have had the Panasonic Croustina SD-ZP2000 bread maker for a week now. Long ago we used one of the first Panasonic bread machines. We also used this machine very often to prepare the dough for small balls that we baked in the regular oven. You can't get the sandwiches any fresher. I can remember that when baking a bread in the machine, there was quite a nice hole from the kneading hook at the bottom of the bread. I am very curious how this is in this latest bread maker from Panasonic.
When unpacking, the machine looks sleek, no elevations on the lid, which is the case with previous models. There is a clear manual with a number of basic recipes. There are of course many more recipes to be found on the internet. The selection menu is quite simple and is in English on the machine. There is a handy map with the options menu in Dutch. There are 18 different choices. When choosing, you also immediately see how long a program lasts. There is a timer on the machine that you can set to a maximum of 13 hours including baking. Very handy because it takes quite a long time before you get a ready-made sandwich out of it. If you turn on the timer, you get up the next morning with fresh bread. The bread needs to cool for at least 1 hour before you can cut it. It is also possible to opt for a shortened programme. To start with, we opted for a bread mix from Robèrt. We wanted to bake the first bread right away, so we opted for the shortened program for soft white bread. After 2 hours, the bread is ready and comes out of the machine quite nicely.
The kneading hook was quite stuck in the bread, making the bread a bit difficult to get out of the tin. The hole in the bread through the kneading hook is not that bad and seems smaller to me. The bread tastes very good fresh, but it is a bit heavy, but that is due to the fast program because the bread has risen less and is therefore more compact. The next bread was a multigrain, also a bread mix from Robèrt. This bun is baked on the long program with a hard crust. This program lasts a total of 5 hours. The crust is indeed deliciously crispy and the bun is nicely browned.
We have now also baked a dark brown bread with a mix of the local mill. The result is really good and the taste very nice. The taste of course depends on what flour or mix you use.
We do prefer dark brown bread. We cut the buns right after it cooled down. What was left immediately frozen and eaten the next day. Even then the crust was still crunchy. We also once made dough in a machine for small bread rolls that we baked in the oven. The color looked good. Personally, I found them a bit too compact, but that is probably due to the rising on the baking tray. I think the temperature in the kitchen was not quite right before rising. All in all it takes more time than putting a few bake-off bread rolls in the oven, but it is much tastier. We are very satisfied with this bread maker so far. Compared to previous bread machines, you bake a bread with an even crispier crust. The shape of the bread is also different because it is more oval. Of course it doesn't matter the taste, but it does look nicer. If you want to have your own delicious freshly baked bread in a simple way, then this machine is definitely recommended because I think it can't go wrong.
