Well, Jon, I'll admit to also possessing a Panasonic bread maker. We've had it for around twelve years now and I echo your remarks about repeatability. Actually, all we ever use it for is to make ciabatta loaves (the ones with 500g of strong white flour and extra virgin olive oil) and a 2/3-to-1/3 wholemeal 500g loaf. After many years I discovered that you don't need to add Vitamin C at all. I like the fact that you have control over the quality of the flour (always organic this end) and the amount of salt (I cut it down by about a third). The bread is much better than any shop bread, though I'm the first to admit that using the thing might be regarded as cheating!

I have found that I get a more homogeneous consistency in the finished article if I put the yeast in the pan but mix all the other dry ingredients thoroughly in a bowl first. That goes in on top of the yeast, then in go the oil/butter and finally the water.