Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine Review

This is my third bread machine.My first was the original Zojirushi, and the second was a Breadman.I still use both the Breadman and the Zojirushi BBCCX20.According to most baking sites I've seen, the Zo and the Breadman are the leading contenders in this category today, so here's my comparison:

- The Zo is more solidly built and has a stronger motor.It can handle stiffer doughs that literally stopped the motor on my Breadman.

- The Zo is much quieter than the Breadman.The pan in the Breadman clanks around in its clips and makes quite a racket during kneading.

- Unfortunately, the Zo has an annoying 15-second beep to signal the right time to add nuts or fruits.As far as I can tell, there is no way to turn off this feature.For me, this is a big deal, because I used to love to set up my bread machine to make bread during the night, giving me a wonderful hot loaf of bread for breakfast.With the 15-second beeper, which sounds a lot like an alarm clock, using the Zo BBCCX20 overnight simply isn't an option.I wish there were a way to turn it off.

- The double paddles on the Zo do a better job of mixing ingredients without the need for scraping down the sides of the pan.

- The Breadman is a much more flexible machine.It's "Pause" button let's you add 15 minutes at any point in the cycle.Without the ability to pause, the Zo sometimes starts baking before the loaf is fully proofed.With bread, where the length of the rise depends on so many factors, having the flexibility to pause during a cycle is very valuable.You can program custom cycles on the Zo, but that's only a solution if you know in advance that your loaf is going to take some extra proofing time.

- Crust control is better on the Breadman.Even set on "light" crust, the Zo tends to produce a dark crust with breads that have a lot of sugar.

- The Breadman has a small bin that automatically dispenses "add ins" (fruits, nuts, etc.) at the right point in the cycle.You just load it up at the beginning of the cycle and the "trap door" releases the goodies at the right time near the end of the kneading cycle.

In a nutshell:The Zo is a better built, more powerful, quieter bread machine.It's solid, reliable, and great for doughs that would stop a lesser machine.The Breadman, on the other hand, provides much greater flexibility to make changes to the cycle once you've started and to get the crust you like.It also has an automatic fruit/nut dispenser and no long, annoying beep.If Zojirushi and Breadman would combine the Zo's motor and mechanics with Breadman's control panel and programming, they'd have the perfect bread machine.As it is, you have to choose based on what's most important to you.

UPDATE 02-JAN-2010

I found a new bread machine that has replaced both the Zo BBCCX20 and the Breadman as my favorite machine.It's the Zojirushi "Mini" (BB-HAC10).It takes up half the counter space of the Zo BBCCX20 and makes a perfect size loaf for a small family.It still doesn't have the flexibility of the Breadman, but at least they shortened the "add ingredients" beep (which goes on for so long on the full-size Zo that I can't use it for overnight bread making).Other than the beep, the Zo Mini is the quietest bread machine I've found.I really like it.You can find a more complete review on the Zo Mini product page.Happy Baking!

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Product Description:
Zojirushi is the leader in bread makers, and it is proven with this newest version.This is the best on the market!The BBCCX20 has a beefier "engine," more automatic settings, easier-to-follow controls and instructions, more customized programming, and a more industrial, sleek look.

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