I love this bread machine
596604
I love this machine as it has a Gluten Free Cycle and it's great with the gluten and wheat free recipes.  No more store frozen bread  from thr freezer Dept. that taste like cardboard.  After you make your first bread you will be hooked.
4179083
I liked my first one so well that I now own and use two of these on a regular basis. The machine is very simple to use. I use the bread dough setting to make homemade pizza dough. I also use the regular settings to make a variety of breads including dessert breads. I love that this has settings for the bread size and how dark you want the crust. I always pick the lightest crust. Otherwise this machine does have the tendency to cause the crust to burn on the dark setting.

The bread always comes out of the pan easily. I do usually have to dig the paddle out of the bread. Make sure you remove it right away so that you don't accidentally throw away the paddle.

After several years of heavy use, I did have to replace the bread pan on both machines. The inner part that holds the paddle in place, came out.
1772782
I received my breadmaker two days ago.  On the first day, I made a basic bread, which I actually made the mistake of using the "basic" program when I should have used "whole wheat", since the flour was whole wheat.  Anyway, undeterred, the next day (yesterday) I made a cinnamon raisin bread and used the "Sweet Bread" setting, light crust, 2 lb loaf.  It came out wonderful!  I couldn't get over how tasty it was, how the crust was just right, and how soft the texture was.  I love this machine!  My Dad likes cinnamon raisin bread and he always buys this from our neighborhood store which is usually out of stock.  Now, we can have this bread anytime we like.  I'm raring to make other kinds of bread.  How exciting!  The loaf also came out of the pan easily, and the paddle kept its place without being dislodged into the bread.  The bread machine is not too small, and yet it fits in my counter space.  I also like that it is not noisy, and there is a "chime" it has when it is time to add the raisin or any other ingredient like nuts, etc.  This machine is my second.  I had one years ago and it basically was unstable and fell off the counter, breaking off the lid.  I had thought of buying a Zojirushi but I couldn't swallow the price.  I'm not a chef or anything like that, so the price needed to be reasonable.  At the price of my machine, I am sure to have it paid back many times over with the many breadmaking activities I plan for the foreseeable future.  In the end, I like that I didn't pay an arm and a leg for the product, and I like extremely how it performs.  I highly recommend this to anyone who can follow directions on any recipe, even those in the manual.  By the way, I went to a breadmachine baking site for the cinnamon raisin bread recipe.  Awesome product!
2819912
This bread machine is very good.  I use it mostly for the dough cycle and it makes great bread.  I use a particular bread flour, found in most grocery stores.  It is a bit more expensive than the generic one, but not the most expensive.  For the price of it it worth it.  I used to buy one or two loafs of bread each day for my kids.  Now I prepare my bread at home and I can have it warm any time I want.  I also put cheese or turkey inside when a give shape to the rolls and the kids go crazy about it.
582727
I have made bread by hand, on and off since I was a child, but wanted the convenience of a bread machine for those times I don't have time. Now the last bread machine I tried about 10 years ago was a dud-- didn't last long and the bread wasn't that good, so I was skeptical, but willing to try again...Well the Panasonic SD-YD250 Automatic Bread Maker with Yeast Dispenser makes absolutely delicious bread. Within the two weeks I have owned it, I have tried the basic white, whole wheat, french, and apple raisin and all turned out yummy! I am ashamed to say this, but the bread is almost better than mine in some regards. The flavor and texture are great. I decided to just use the ounce/fluid ounce measurements given in the recipes instead of the alternate standard cups/spoons measurements provided just so I would know how good the bread is if I am the most accurate, and I cannot complain. I will continue to measure ingredients this way. It is not difficult and I noticed that when, just for interest sake, I compared how much flour I had accurately weighed out and then saw how many cups that equalled, that it was a definite difference; it came up quite short of the number of cups they said you should use if measuring with cups. Also, just of interest, I didn't have bread flour, so instead used all-purpose but added gluten at a ratio of 1-2 Tablespoons per 2-3 cups of flour and combined it well with the flour before adding to the machine and it has worked out really well. In addition, since my daughter is vegan, I have omitted the dry milk powder from the recipes as well as substituted vegan margarine in all the recipes with no negative affects noted. The only drawbacks with the machine it seems to me include a manual which could be written a little more clearly, and the fact that I feel like bread dough gets stuck in the kneading paddle center/shaft even after soaking. Maybe I am being picky, but I guess I like the machine so much that I don't want crumbs getting stuck inside the paddle to interfere with the workings of it so I take a Q-tip and clean it out every time... To sum up: Beside the fact that I can't speak to the longevity of the bread machine, I highly recommend!!!

Update 7/27/15: I've knocked two stars off of my rating because it died last month--about one year the machine lasted. Now I know its longevity unfortunately! I just don't believe that a one year lifespan for this product is acceptable. And I can't get myself purchase another one... spending that amount of money, with it possibly lasting only one year again... : (
4253181
I have been using this breadmaker for 2 years now and I love it!! It does a great job with many types of bread, even with changing weather. I previously had the more expensive Zorushji, but this has been just as good. I did end up removing the beeper, though, because it was so loud for my small apartment. It was easy to use the instructions in the other reviews to do so. Totally still worth buying this bread machine!
474759
I just loved this machine! It is wonderful how easy it is to make our raw bread!!! Great! Just buy it and you will love it as well!!!!
4144508
I have been wanting a bread maker,and I would consider myself "domestically challenged."  My husband always made fun of me because I can build a computer, but not the normal woman in the kitchen!  Well, I received this West Bend 41300 Dual-Blade Breadmaker last week.  First of all; everything has been a great experience!  It came promptly from Amazon, and packaged well!  I set it up in my kitchen on the center island; it is big, and takes up a lot of room, but I believe after my first experience with this machine it is well worth it!!!  I have never made bread in my life!  First off, after reading the reviews, I did a burn off on the machine.  I removed the bread pan washed it out with soap, and turned the machine on bake to remove any oil residue inside, and it smelled for a while, but not bad; I opened a window in the kitchen.  I had purchased a bread mix called Hodgson Mill European Cheese & Herb Bread Mix, which they also sell on Amazon, and followed the instructions to make the bread, and read the manual for all the tips and instructions.  And my bread came out WONDERFUL!  The whole house smells like fresh bread!  Everything was easy!!  The blades were a little bit of a trick to get out of the bread, but I used the tool, and it was no problem.  I was so excited I took a picture in my kitchen of the bread.  I believe this machine is going to be great and a lot of fun and can't wait to make more bread with it!!  If I can do it, anybody can!!!!
230636
Love this bread maker!  I've had it for a little over a year and it's seriously the best purchase I've made. Love how you can set it and forget it and then come home to fresh baked bread.  I also use it to make dough for pretzels and a copycat Macaroni Grill Rosemary bread.  I would definitely recommend this bread machine to anyone!
3518404
My bread machine is prefect.  I use it nearly every day.  Some days I make 3 loaves of bread.  The booklet states the machine will not work as good with home milled wheat.  This is not so.  I milled wheat kennels and make my bread from scratch.  I have several friends who also mill their wheat and use this machine with success.  My recipe is from the "Bread Becker's" site, not from the Zojirushi booklet included; so you see, you are able to use your own recipes.  You might need to make some adjustments with the timing which is easy because this Zojirushi has three homemade cycles that can be set up.  When I make my recipe, I just schedule the machine to bake homemade #3.  My husband and children brag about the bread.  It rises quite large and the loaf looks better than if I would have prepared it in the standard oven.  I have made peach jam and it also turned out nice.  I had another bread machine before this one and there are no comparsions with the results.  I got the best price on Amazon after a lot of research.  The Zojirushi cost is more than any other bread machine that I know of, but I am thrilled with this purchase.  It takes me 15 minutes to prepare the bread beginning with milling three cups of wheat.  The machine has the bread ready in 2 hours and 34 minutes.  The bread I make has 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of ground flax seed,sunflower seeds, and honey which I consider healthy.  I am particular about my purchases and I cannot find anything I dislike about this machine.  My children thanked my husband for buying the machine for me.
407522
I have had this machine for a number of years, probably since it came out and have had no problems. I bought my first bread maker around 1990 and it never produced a decent loaf of bread. After that I had around three additional ones and the results were always unpredictable. I am happy that I decided on overlooking the price and buying this one.
2876001
I thought it was a "tad" pricey.  However it was my 4th bread machine over a period of years, and it got very favorable reviews.
I liked the looks of it.
It makes a GREAT looking loaf of bread.  The loaves are very consistent looking.  The loss of bread around the mixers is held to a minimum, since there are two mixers, they are smaller and don't extend up into the finished loaf as far as the other machines that use one mixer.
Every recipe that I have tried, has come out perfect, whether it was a sweet bread, a rye bread, a corn bread, etc.  I haven't tried making any of the odd recipes like jams with it yet.
The timer works well, and the other modes are easy enough to understand.
I think it's a great machine, and worth purchasing - the best bread machine that I've had, and the largest loaf (2 lb)
4168401
I will have had my Panasic bread machine for 16 years this coming Christmas of 2011. I have been using it steady for 2-3 times per week. In all of this time I have only had to replace the paddle once. My husband thoroughly researched bread machines before he purchased this one. His efforts paid off. I love my bread machine! It has performed beautifully and consistently all of these years. I can depend on it to produce a perfect loaf every time. Recently I inherited a new Breadman machine. There is no comparison. My Panasonic will definitely be replaced with another Panasonic when it's time is up.
1418826
You'll love this bread machine.  As my old Panasonic was failing, after 20 years of weekly use, I tried several different brands, including Panasonic (now manufactured in China); none worked as well as my machine and some were horrid.  I decided to keep my old bread maker until it died, which happened last week.  I decided to bite the bullet and pay the much higher cost of the Zojirushi large loaf Home Bakery Virtuoso.  It bakes lovely loaves of bread and I couldn't be more pleased.  It's worth every penny.
3646511
We've had several bread machines over the years.  This one is by far the best.  It's easy to use and makes delicious bread.
346074
Love this Bread machine, it is easy to use and turns out a great loaf every time.
Has a setting for non-gluten bread and it works great.
Glad I mad this purchase!
2645199
I have been using this bread machine to make several different kinds of bread and I am very happy with it so far. I used my old machine for years until the pan coating gave out. I did not realize how much the technology has progressed and I find this unit makes a more consistent loaf. I like to use the time delay feature and have fresh bread in the morning and like the yeast dispenser on the Panasonic unit better than putting the yeast on top of the flour to keep it dry. I think the pre-soaking of the flour with the Panasonic unit is important in ensuring good consistency of the bread since flour is hydrophobic. I also like the thin mixing blade.