Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine
Customer Review: I'm very satisfied with it
Summary: 5 Stars
I received my "Zo" about a week ago. Wasn't sure if I should order it because of some of the bad reviews here. Boy am I glad I did.
First of all I've owned a Breadman TR2200C for 5 years. So I have a little bit of experience with baking bread in a machine. I've never used any of the recipes that came with the machine, but perfected my own recipes over the course of time. So I have a few recipes that always turned out perfect with the Breadman. And now I tried these out with the "Zo".
Since I got the "Zo" I baked 4 different kind of breads, one cake and kneaded a pizza dough in it. And here are my impressions of the machine.
First of all, all recipes turned out well.
Compared to the Breadman TR2200C the "Zo" is extremely quiet. Actually I was a little shocked when I turned the machine on for the first time. I could always hear my Breadman in all of the house, the "Zo" I can only hear in the kitchen. Cool!
The "Zo" does a very good job kneading. As a matter of fact in my Breadman I always had to scratch the dough off the walls of the pan while it was kneading. The "Zo" doesn't have this problem at all.
Some people here say that the dough settles unevenly. I can't confirm that. After the kneading stops the dough is laying more on one side than the other, but it rises evenly and fills the whole pan. My breads turned out same size throughout. By the way, I like the size of the bread. In the Breadman the bread always had an odd shape, more vertical than horizontal. The "Zo" bakes the bread horizontal and it's much easier to slice with a bread slicer.
Some people suggest that the bread is not evenly baked. Someone here said the bottom was burned and the top uncooked. I can't confirm this either. Maybe some machines are defective and have to be returned. My breads turned out nice. Yes, the top is a little lighter than the rest of the bread. But neither is it uncooked, nor is there a huge difference between top and bottom. And what is more important, the inside of the bread is evenly baked. I really can't complain at all. The breads are fine.
I also had no problem removing the breads from the pan. Maybe that will change later when the pan is older. But as of now there's no problem. I seperate the sides of the bread from the pan with a plastic spatula and then the bread falls right out when I turn the pan upside down. What I really like is that the holes in the bread left by the kneading blades are a lot smaller than the ones in the Breadman breads. The Breadman left about a 2"x2" hole in the center of the bread. The "Zo" blades leave two smaller about 3/4"x1/2" holes. So that's a nice improvement for me.
I also like that the viewing window and the controls are located to the front. The Breadman has the controls and window on top and since the machine is also taller I always had to tippy-toe to see what I was doing. Not so with the "Zo". That's nice !
There are a few things I don't like about the "Zo". First of all the beeping which signals that you may now add ingredients. It should be possible to turn this off. It's just annoying.
Secondly, I'm missing a "pause" button like the Breadman has. I think this would be very useful.
I can't comment on customer service or durability. I'll update my review if any issues come up.
As of now I would definitely recommend the "Zo".
Customer Review: Converted from Breadman
Summary: 4 Stars
After much agonizing, we (I) chose the Zo' breadmaker. We had the Breadman for five years until it gave out a month ago. Before that I hand made bread for ten years. I bought the Breadman as present for my wife (she called it a "football present") after I just became tired of making bread. The cathartic effects of kneading bread are way overblown, in my opinion. We came to rely on the bread machine, baking at least once a week. After the Breadman died a slightly early death, we originally were going to replace it with another Breadman. But, after consideration of how much bread we make, and more important, the kind of bread we make, we decided to look at other machines.
See, we bake mostly whole wheat breads and such breads are hard on a machine. That is why the two paddle set up of the Zo' was so attractive. While I know there is only one motor, I thought the two paddles could knead the tough dough better. So far (a week into it), the Zo' is working great.
As noted above, we thought long and hard because of the negative comments in this section, as well as the cost, which is twice the Breadman. None of those negative comments have proven true. One cause for the bad loaves complained of may be inexperience with these machines. Even with ten years of baking, we had quite a few problems with the Breadman, mostly because of poor recipe choices and sloppiness in measuring. You see, hand bread bakers do much by feel, so amounts of liquid and flour are flexible. Not so with the bread machine. As far as recipes, go get one book: The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger. Her recipes are nearly foolproof.
My only concern about the Zo' is the set up of the pan. The Breadman has a high narrow pan, while the Zo' has lower pan, more like a traditional bread pan. While the Zo' pan makes it easier to slice the bread (a problem with larger loaves of the Breadman) the loaves can be a bit lopsided. The dough can sit to one side of pan. This is especially true of whole wheat loaves that are more stiff and less likely to "flow" to an even level in the pan. The problem can be addressed somewhat by checking the dough after the first knead and spreading it by hand in the pan.
Addition: Two years later this machine still works great. We use it at least three times a week, mostly with whole wheat bread, so it has been adequately tested. The only irritation is getting the bread out. Helps to keep the paddles clean inside and out. I use a pipe cleaner to clean the inside of the paddle.
Second Addition (2-09): Over four years later, it still is working great. We still use it at least three times a week. I've recently starting using the custom settings, which are much easier to use than I thought.
Third Addition (8-09): This summer we needed to replace the pan. The little "C" clip that held one of the paddle stems underneath broke off. We bought a replacement pan from the manufacturer for $40 or $50. Otherwise, still going strong, being used two to four times a week.
Also, solved a mystery about collapsing loaves in the summer: too much moisture. Cutting back on the water/liquid just a bit (e.g. in the summer (when it is humid) avoided the collapsing loaf problem that has always plagued us.
Customer Review: If you are living gluten free. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought the zojirushi a couple of months ago after my 8 year old was diagnosed as having celiac disease - our home is now gluten free. This review will probably be most relevant if you are going to use the machine for gluten free breads.
First and foremost, the machine does NOT have a preprogrammed gluten free cycle. I tried using the quick cycle and found that it did not do as well as I had hoped. Luckily I had ordered the gluten free cookbook by Annalaise Roberts (reviewed seperately) at the same time and the best part of the book was that she gave detailed programming instructions for this specific machine. They worked like a charm for recipes I've used from different gluten free cookbooks.
The Zojirushi is BIG. It requires being pulled away from the wall and not to be under a cabinet when baking since it senses the temperature of it's environment and adjusts the baking temperature accordingly. This makes for better baking accuracy but count on a big chunk of your counter top being reserved for this machine.
It does an excellent job with the gluey gluten free doughs and the motor does not seem to strain in the least. I've tried out about 5 different recipes and have baked over a dozen loaves since I bought it. It does well every time, although getting the paddles out of the bread is annoying. However, I think that most breadmachines have this problem. I have read that people remove the paddles before the bake cycle but I haven't tried digging into the dough to do that. Frankly, I like to throw everything in and walk away.
The crust control is excellent although the top does remain a doughy brown color.
I like the fact that it can make jams but have not tried it out yet.
As other people have mentioned, it has an annoying beep signaling when you can add in nuts, etc. It is no big deal to me but it would be a nice perk if you could turn off that option.
Basically, the biggest thing I was bummed out about was that it did not have a pre-programmed gluten free setting and a few more gluten free recipes in its tiny cookbook.
The dvd it comes with would be super useful if I was baking regular breads in it but it was not terribly instructive for a novice to gluten free baking. It does make using the machine for the first time very easy.
All in all, it is an excellent machine. I think the strength of its motor and integrity of it's construction are going to make it well worth it's price.
Update June 2010 : I've been using the machine once a week for over half a year now and it is still as good as new. I've finally settled on a packaged bread mix that I like and the zojirushi turns out perfect loaves every time!
Update Jan 2011 : The paddles in the machine have a non stick layer that has begun peeling off. I am really disappointed since I only used the machine once a week for the past year. Now I need to get replacement paddles that are not terribly cheap either! For the high price of this item the least the company could do is include a spare set or improve the quality of the paddles.
Customer Review: Zojirushi-One of the best bread machines
Summary: 5 Stars
I had a Breadman bread machine for about 10 years and it finally "keeled over." I have been reading reviews about the Zo for a very long time and decided that I did not want to do without a bread machine so I ordered this from Amazon at a very good price. It is more than I originally paid for my Breadman, but I wanted a machine that could actually bake a normal loaf and not a vertical one like the Breadman. In fact, I stopped using the baking cycle on my Breadman after the first couple of loaves because I did not like the way they turned out.
First and foremost, this is a quiet machine. I was so surprised because my Breadman was really loud. My old Breadman did two, separate kneads and they were loud. The Zo does one full knead with two stirs downs and does them quietly. The Zo was so quiet that I kept checking to make sure it was going through all the appropriate cycles.
I have only baked one loaf in the Zo so far and I like to use King Arthur Bread mixes for my breads and then "doctor" them up. My first loaf was an Apple Cinnamon bread to which I added loads of dry fruit. I admit I made a mistake on the crust because I am not used to actually being able to bake in the machine so I did not adjust the crust to a "light" crust; however, the bread baked very well with a darker crust than I wanted, but the bread was moist and tasted great. It is ever so convenient to bake the bread in the bread machine and not have to shift it to another pan to bake it in the oven.
The "add in" feature gives you plenty of time to add extra ingredients.
I plan to try my hand at making bread from scratch and see how it turns out. The booklet that came with the Zo has quite a few nice recipes. Like other reviewers, I am surprised that the video that comes with the Zo is not in DVD format, but is a VHS tape. Fortunately, I have a player that has both capabilities and the video was helpful.
So far, I am very pleased with the Zo and look forward to more bread making. I will update after I have tried a few more times.
April 2009
The Zo is still going strong and I am making more bread than ever. It is so easy to put the ingredients in and let it go.
The only thing I have found when using the King Arthur bread mixes is that I find sometimes I need to add about a teaspoon of water and two teaspoons of flour. I do think the loaf looks better if it is shaped before baking because some of mine have been a little lopsided although that does not affect the flavor at all.
UPDATE-September 2009
I am now making more bread from scratch. I am usually pretty careful with measurements, but even if not, I can easily check by looking through the window to ensure that the bread is "pulling" together properly and adjust if necessary without affecting the quality of the bread. I have learned to put the crust on the "light" setting since I feel that the other setting make the bread too dark and the crust comes out a little too hard for me.
Customer Review: The" Rolls-Royce" of Breadmakers
Summary: 5 Stars
Do not buy a bread machine if you like inexpensive store-bought generic bread (or if you are not well-disciplined in restricting your intake of superb-tasting bread). It is not worth the cost or effort. These machines are excellent for producing close to the taste of "artisan style" breads (if not the texture and appearance) without all the questionable additives. The shelf life is much shorter, but this is never a problem because the bread vanishes so quickly.
If you are busy or in a hurry just let the machine do the job from start to finish checking and adjusting the moisture content when the additions signal sounds and centering the loaf after initial kneading ends. If you have time (and inclination) and want a traditional or special loaf shape set the machine to knead and rise and then hand work the final shape before baking it in the oven. Recipes always work well for me when I scoop flour and then shake it into a measuring cup (rather than scooping compacted flour with a measuring cup).
This bread machine has a large, good quality, heavy pan and 2 substantial paddles. I like the texture and size of the bread it produces. - Though they may be bigger than generic sliced breads, slices easily fit in a standard toaster. There are plenty of standard options to bake many different types of bread and 3 fully programmable settings which enable you to address every variation possible (that I can think of).
The instruction book is fairly comprehensive for basic recipes and also includes many interesting recipes. Allowing ten minutes at room temperature ensures easy removal of loaves on most occasions. After some 2+ years of very heavy use the non-stick surface remains intact and still works well.
Unlike other machines the motor does not slow down with heavy ingredients. It is vital to monitor the kneading process occasionally, since there is no feedback from a slowing motor if the mix is too dry - the motor maintains the same speed whatever the contents. In fact (compared to the 5 other (brands of) bread-makers I have owned over the last 15 or more years) this machine gives the impression that it could mix concrete quite capably.
What's not to like about this machine? More "head-space"over the loaf would reduce the need for occasional cleanups. You must centre the dough if lop-sided loaves are to be avoided (as in all horizontal-panned machines). The price is rather steep (although less than half that of my first machine).
Because of its quality, the strength of the motor, and the ready availability of parts from the manufacturer's website I expect this machine to last much longer than any of its predecessors.
This machine merits a score of 4.7 out of 5. Despite not being perfect, I thoroughly recommend it.