The Almost-Too-Good-To-Be-True Bread Making Machine

I almost titled this "Real Estate and Baked Bread" because we are taught when showing a home that certain aromas trigger happy memories from childhood making buyers relax and more comfortable which is the state of mind a seller would like them to be in. There are many aromas that can be introduced when showing but the one at the head of the list is freshly-baked bread.

So when a good friend told us that she had baked her own bread with the help of a new device that did it all hands-off, we got motivated. She bought hers, a Panasonic model SD-YD250, after researching the different brands and ratings extensively online. Having never heard of these machines we were mildly surprised there were so many brands and models to choose from but we followed her advice and got one from Amazon.com for $129.99 with no sales tax and no shipping fee.

It's about the size of a countertop microwave oven and looks like this:



Anyway the big idea is that it does all the functions that you used to have to do by hand (which took so long that there wasn't any fun left)____ mixes the ingredients, kneads, bakes, and keeps warm. You can make different loaf sizes and lots of different kinds of bread, even pizza crust. By adding various things like walnuts or cranberries you can create different flavors, too.

But again, it truly is hands-free. Plop the ingredients inside, put the yeast in the small hopper on top and start. It took about five hours for Sally's first loaf of whole wheat honey bread but you can't imagine how wonderful the aromas were that floated around the house that day. And then of course what a thick, warm slice slathered in butter tasted like.

There are health benefits too, of course. Whole grains, no preservatives or artificial additives, and Sally estimated the ingredients cost less than 50 cents. If you are paying the typical $3 loaf price at the super this means you'd pay off this device's $130 cost with 52 loaves of far superior bread than the store-bought kind.

For a final clincher, one of our tenant-clients is a route sales manager for a major bread company and (you can see this coming, right?). Yes, he has one and loves it.

So attention sellers; if you're thinking of listing your home give this one a thought. And beyond the powerful effect it will have on buyers imagine programming the machine so you wake up to a freshly-baked loaf to enjoy with your morning coffee . . .