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I've had a Panasonic SD-2501 bread maker for a little over 10 years. I use it 2-3 times a week to bake a simple white loaf, but recently it's become very unpredictable in the rise. Sometimes it produces a well-risen loaf, but sometimes the result is a large, over-proofed loaf with a very aerated crumb.

The machine's manual says that the rise time varies depending on conditions, so I'm assuming that it's compensating in some way for variations in ambient temperature. The weather has been warmer recently, but I'm fairly sure the machine used to work consistently in the past as long as the same ingredients were used. Sometimes I've observed the same overproofing when switching to other yeast brands, but generally switching back a "reliable" one fixes the issue.

What could cause this unpredictability, and can I check that the bread maker is not misbehaving somehow?

Here's the recipe:

  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 1¼ tsp salt
  • 500 g flour (specifically 150 g of "1050" flour and 350 g of "550" flour, per German flour grades)
  • 350 ml water

Note: If I notice that the dough is overproofed and tip it out of the pan before the bake starts, it comes out extremely sticky and stringy, to the point that it's totally impossible to knead (and a decent amount of it remains stuck in the pan). I guess this is an indication of too much water, but why has the same recipe worked so well for so many years without intervention?

Will Vousden
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  • Do you know how consistent the conditions inside your kitchen are? Indoor temperature, humidity... Is there any correlation between when it works and when you get new flour? Or yeast? Do you use the same measuring spoon every time? Same salt (coarseness affecting how it packs into the spoon)? Same brand of flour from the same shop? If it is overwet I'm wondering about the moisture content of the flour when it goes in. – Chris H May 05 '23 at 15:37
  • Where do you buy your flour (1050 isn’t exactly a supermarket staple), in what batch sizes and how do you store it? – Stephie May 05 '23 at 15:51
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    Also 10 years is a long time for a modern mechanical appliance; they just don't make em like they used to. Could be that, with age, something's starting to go. – Roddy of the Frozen Peas May 05 '23 at 18:48
  • You could have a sensor failing. Or have a solder joint that failed after it heated up too many times, and then got knocked around. If you don’t still have the manual, you might be able to find it online. There might be info about how to re-calibrate the sensors, or at least a basic troubleshooting guide – Joe May 06 '23 at 02:12
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    @joe yep, this really sounds like a technical issue with the machine itself rather than anything to do with the ingredients or environment. Could be as simple as a bad capacitor -- in the low end they can fail after about 1000 hours which is about what 2 or so uses a week over 10 years would give. So long as it was easy to get to the electronics panel I'd definitely give it a quick look to see if there's anything obviously wrong (bulging or blown capacitor or burn marks etc). – eps May 06 '23 at 17:24

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