Panasonic SD-257 and Kenwood BM-450

By Dane
Let me summarize the comparison of stoves (Panasonic SD-257, Australian model, without any "dumplings", but with "croissants", and Kenwood BM-450).

If we take into account only the quality and taste (tested on a dozen of friends, and we eat a lot ourselves) - approximate parity.

Kenwood is definitely better at the same Brioche Butter - the loaf is taller, more flavorful, better stored. In Panasonic I tried to bake according to my "native" and according to Kenwood's recipe, it turns out better my own + 10 more grams of sugar (at Kenwood, on the contrary, instead of 60 I put 40). Plus another modification, raisins. Panas has a small dispenser, but you can't put washed raisins tightly (sticks together). The Kenwood dispenser is larger (this is convenient for raisins and other ingredients that cannot be tightly applied - well, like all kinds of herbs).

Panasonic is definitely better at baking "French". It turns out the right crispy (but not burnt!) Crust. The only downside is that it bakes for a very long time.

Rye bread, as I expected, is baked equally by both. The difference is that Kenwood had to be programmed for this, but Panas can handle it on the "native" program. You can't tell the taste of bread. In appearance, if you do not take the "grooves" in the loaf because of the shape of the bucket, Panas for some reason makes the "roof" uneven - it often kneads palaces and castles.

Panas's "Italian" is not Italian, but the most common. Kenwood bakes better (but again partly because of a more convenient dispenser - a couple of times the Panas just didn't get enough sleep).

For the rest: Panas has a much quieter dispenser, the batch is also a little quieter (you can't hear it against the background of a working computer, but in the middle of the night, and even considering that I live in a very quiet place, the difference is noticeable). In Panas, with a "medium" or "dark" crust in a bun, sometimes there is a shoulder blade of Kenwood, which he allowed himself only with a dense "Borodino".

Panas glows with heat from the vents. Kenwood is said to be very hot on the glass - but I had plywood and foil instead.

Well, since I got a Panasonic, thanks to the caravan, we christened it "Bentley" ... "You know, I read the forum, they don't wash their Bentleys either !!!"
Okay, let's go:
1) Price. When I bought the 250th Kenwood, Panas cost five times more, now twice. So people are plagued by vague doubts: "Help me choose a car, I want to learn how to drive, but I'm not sure if I need a car at all! - Ah-ah, well then, only Ferrari or Lamborghini, definitely!"
If money is not a question, then naturally Panasonic. If strained - then any available bread maker. The old humpbacked Zaporozhets on a country road will easily overtake both Ferrari and Lambo.
2) Design. I like Kenwood a hundred times more! Compact, neat. It takes up much less space, will fit into any interior, IMHO. Panas is a whole unit, much larger in size, especially in height. While it drifts around my kitchen from place to place (almost at the same time, a cartoon appeared and they lead a nomadic lifestyle for a couple).
3) Functionality. It is clear that Panasonic will surpass everyone here, But after all, it is not at all necessary to chase the number of programs. Most of them will remain unclaimed for the bulk of users. At the same time, "there is nothing perfect in the world !!!". It was a huge disappointment to me that the dispenser cannot be operated in French mode. The fact is that the idea to buy HP came to me after my beloved "Parisian" (in fact - French with raisins) was taken out of production. So Ken baked a wonderful, incomparable bread for me for many years, but French - nope, did not work out in any way.More precisely, the difference with the main mode was almost imperceptible. So these years I dreamed of filling up a full raisin dispenser, sticking French for the correct six hours, and getting Parisian. Oops! French - super, beyond praise. If you want with a raisin - set the alarm clock for three nights the old fashioned way.
Of course, it's great when there is a “Rye” mode, and there is a special spatula, you don't need to pick out anything from the sticky dough. But! I've already tried two proven recipes - no difference with Ken. It's still better to make dough in HP and bake it in the oven ...
Temperature equalization is definitely a good thing, but it annoys many owners of Panas. And I was just trying to use a timer at Kenwood. For some reason, always bread, put on the night, turned out to be more airy than "right now" according to absolutely the same recipe.
4) Noise. This is something that you forgive Ken, given its cheapness. I admit, compared to him, Panasonic works generally silently.
5) Bucket. Panasonic already exudes quality and solidity. Weighs exactly twice as much. Inserting and removing it is as easy as shelling pears, and at first I tried to pull it out of there all the time. And in Kenwood, my wife is still afraid to put in. By the way, judging by the messages on the forum, there are already Kenes with "normal" mounts "without ears." By the way, here someone rolled a barrel on Mulinex buckets, they say, they don't last even a year (by the way, "skis" are also not much better in this regard). Mine started flowing after two years, but now this problem is easily solvable, once. It's not really a problem, two. All my friends who bought HP at the same time with me still use them "just like that", this is the fourth year. Well, maybe not put on the timer. IMHO this is just the problem of those stoves, the manufacturers of which indicate "liquid ingredients first." Legs grow from there - no, even the coolest oil seal will not withstand such a mode of operation.
Panas kneads the dough "sharper", the blade rotates twice as fast as Ken's, but the flour in the corners remains the same for both. This was another disappointment of mine.
Ken's shoulder blade is inclined, so in bread it always left such a specific hole for half a loaf. Panas has a very neat, even hole with baked edges. An important point if you need to cut bread into sandwiches. Yes, and indeed, if it's completely lazy, you can not wash the Panas bucket, so wipe it with a rag. For Ken, this is a mandatory ritual - soak, wash.
6) Build quality. Panas, although assembled in China, is made very, very soundly and reliably. Kenwood developers, if judged strictly and objectively, were clearly cheating in some places. For example, the declared function "10 minutes of saving the program in case of network failure" is implemented by a penny capacitor, which again lasted for five minutes maximum. And over the years this thing dries up and these five minutes are reduced to one or two. In Panas there is an ionistor for a couple of bucks, which can hold at least an hour.
That's, it seems, everything that came to mind so far. Maybe my "vs" will help someone a little. But the conclusion from all that has been said may seem strange: if now I myself were faced with the choice of HP, with an unlimited amount of money, knowing the advantages and disadvantages of all the bread makers on sale, I would buy 450 Kenwood! I know, I know about all her shoals, but she is so, so BEAUTIFUL !!!

excellent comparative characteristics !!! Jefry, a huge human THANKS !!!!
PySy: and my kenwood keeps the program after shutdown even more than the stated 40 minutes ... at least until he was less than a year from the date of purchase and now ... I have not used this function for a long time
(in a whisper) and I will not change my kenwood, well, except for the 450th

The Kenwood 450 is an incredibly beautiful stove indeed! On the pictures on the Internet it is not so noticeable, but it is a miracle alive in the store. Panasonic loses out in design. I already wanted to buy ken, but first I looked at the reviews on one popular resource. I was horrified:

"when I turned it on, she tore nafig and ripped my throat open"
"On the second loaf of bread, the glass just exploded and flew into small pieces across the kitchen.Well, no one was around. Shit! "
"If anyone wants a glamorous bread maker, and at the same time is ready to risk their own safety, this model is for you! Brand new Kenwood BM450, under warranty service, proudly baked the first loaf of delicious bread. On the second, it ... EXPLODED, covering the entire kitchen with broken glass ... Thank God, it was early in the morning (they put an adjournment), no one was hurt ... Cheerful bread maker, good luck to the producers "

perhaps it is written by unscrupulous competitors, besides there are a lot of good reviews ... but ... we still bought Panasonic. We have a Sonic juicer, not a beauty, but it squeezes the best

yes ... here I am before a choice, Kenwood is a beauty, but something stops me.)
does it have a dumplings program?