Andrew James Digital Breadmaker with Gluten-Free & Low Carb Settings | Digital Bread Maker with 16 Preset Functions & Automatic Ingredients Dispenser | 13 Hour Delay Timer & 1 Hour Keep Warm Function

I am delighted with this, did swither about buying a panasonic since they get great reviews but at half the price I am more than happy with this and the bread has been great so far. The deciding factor was actually the size of the machine rather than price because this one is small, neat and fits snugly in a corner of the worktop in my (not huge) kitchen, the size of loaf is the same as more expensive models I checked out. As other reviewers have said, extremely easy to clean, just fill the loaf pan with warm soapy water when done, give it a sponge inside after a few mins, rinse, dry and good to go again. I have never had the paddle stick in the bread, it always sticks in the pan when I tip it out and it always comes loose from the pan after the soak in hot soapy water. One tip - NEVER forget to put the paddle in before you load the ingredients, I did this once and then had to try and take them all back out individually down to the final bottom water layer to get the paddle in, hilarious - but I won't do it again... :-). The machine has been on every day since we got it, takes 5 mins to load, digital settings are easy to work (even for those of us who never read instructions) it's too easy.When all is said and done, there is something very satisfying about knowing you can make your own bread AND more importantly, you have control over what goes in it. I know this could be done by hand but if like me you have a full time job, a family to look after, a giant dog to walk 3 times a day and then collapse in a heap on the sofa by 9pm each evening, this is the next best thing (it keeps going even if I fall asleep...). Incidentally, I never use oil in my cooking. It is just in bread for moisture. I just add 3 tablespoons of good qualiy applesauce in mixture instead, works absollutely fine.

I came onto Amazon looking for a bread machine and specifically searching for a Phillips. However the Philips didn't seem to come high on the searches and I found a number of machines with 4.5 or 5 stars and hundreds of reviews. The major difference was the price tags ranging from £60 to £140. A big difference with very little information to tell between them.The product description for this product seemed to offer everything I wanted but at a reasonable price.It arrived in good time. It looks great. The display and controls and really simple.I've followed the reciepe in the book (minus the milk powder, which seems a little odd in bread) and its a great looking loaf and really tasty.Drawbacks - the descriptions in the instruction book emphasise again and again that no scourers, sharp objects or any implement should go near the non stick interior of the pan. I'm not sure therefore how long this will last. it does appear to be very good non stuck surface and the pan just had to be turned upside down to empty the loaf. So hopefully this will last. The pan is also dish wager proof. So long as we're wary of the surface (and don't let helpful family near it for washing up) it'll all be fine.My other concern is that I'll need to be very cautious with any new receipts and make sure i try a small loaf first. I'm worried that the bread would rise too much, spilling over the edge of the pan and landing on the heating filaments that surround the bread tin. These filaments can't be washed with water so I have no idea what can be done to clean them if this did happen. Best to be cautious. It's my first bread machine so I'm not sure if this is a common issue of just related to this product.

I had expected the bread to have the slightly flattened, collapsed top look that I've come to associate with bread machines, but not a bit of it - a very good looking loaf. The controls are easy to work out, no complaints about the machine at all.So why only four stars? The recipes. I use electronic scales so prefer to measure by weight rather than volume - a mixture of weight and volume is intensely irritating, but manageable. But my first loaf is horribly sweet. I usually make bread by hand with no sugar whatever so maybe that's the problem. I'm going to experiment and report back. We'll have to use this loaf for sweet eggy bread, it's no use for anything else.

Pro: this bread maker makes lovely bread.I expect most bread makers these days do...Cons:- The paddle does not get stuck in the loaf sometimes, it actually gets baked in every time as there is a substantial gap between the baking pan and the paddle itself.I have contacted the seller regarding this, the response, I quote: "fit for purpose". I would have appreciated to be able to try a replacement pan and paddle.- The seed release sound (even when the seed dispenser is not in place) and the end of programme beeping is very loud and long, it can not be modified or switched off.I have not had the courage yet to take advantage of the delay function to awake to a freshly baked loaf (which is what I was especially looking forward to) due to this. I resort to make my bread the previous evening.- The fore mentioned seed dispenser does not only dispense the seeds into the pan but into the cavity of the bread maker too which isn't easy to clean at all.I have not used the dispenser after a couple of times but put the seeds in manually when the incessant beeping reminds me to do so.Having said all this: I would have overlooked the several short-comings of this bread maker had the customer service mentioned earlier been better. I have made about 30 loaves since purchase and will persevere but would certainly not recommend.