Panasonic Croustina bread maker — test, features, pros and cons

In the arsenal of the Panasonic Croustina SD-ZP2000 bread machine there are as many as 18 auto programs. Of these, seven are for baking bread with a crispy crust (such bread for breakfast is loved in many European countries: in France, Italy, Belgium and others).

To ensure this crust, the engineers made the inside of the bread maker’s door smooth and reflective of heat. It is this reflected heat that makes the bread crispy on top.

During the test, we tested two «crunchy» programs — and there were no problems in both cases: the dough was kneaded and risen, the bread was baked, the filling was evenly distributed inside. And the crust crunched appetizingly (everything is on the video).

In addition to programs for baking crispy bread, Panasonic Croustina has modes for bread with a delicate crust. We used one of them to bake Easter cake.

I must say, putting the ingredients for the cake, we made a mistake — we put the raisins ahead of time. But it’s even more interesting this way — it turned out to find out if the bread machine forgives the owner’s small inaccuracies.

Turned out to be forgiving. The raisins were evenly distributed throughout the mass of the cake, there were no troubles with baking.

The cake itself was baked and delicious. However, it seemed to us that it still tasted more like bread, let’s say, “inspired by” Easter cake. But a lot depends on the recipe.

By the way, this bread maker has two temperature sensors — inside and outside — this allows you to accurately control the temperature during the preparation of bread. In particular, during kneading and raising the dough.

In Panasonic Croustina, you can not only bake, but also simply prepare the dough — this is the kneading mode without baking. For dumplings, for example, dumplings or khinkali, and for many other things.

The conclusion is that I liked the new Panasonic Croustina bread machine. All three types of baking turned out. The bread was baked delicious, where it was necessary — there was a crispy crust. And the crust turned out tender.

The bread machine itself looks pretty — fashionable minimalism. Plus, it is very easy to use: everything is clear, anyone will quickly figure it out.

Of the minuses, we note the lack of an auto-dispenser for additional ingredients (and the function of automatically adding them, respectively) — they did not place it on the smooth reflective surface of the lid — they decided that the crisp was more important. Well, the price — the device is not cheap: more than 200 dollars.

For any bread machine, it is very important to strictly follow the sequence with which the ingredients are placed in it. This must be done in strict accordance with the recipe, otherwise the result may be disappointing — some ingredients should not be in contact before kneading and standing. In addition, it is better to remove the baking dish while laying the ingredients — so that they do not accidentally fall on the heating element — this will get rid of unnecessary smoke.