Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker

About a year ago we bought a Breadman Pro breadmaker, which was OK. But it has started to have the spindle for the paddle fall out, which can be a bit awkward if it happens at the wrong time. Parts are hard to find, so I decided to get another breadmaker. When I was looking last year, I was very taken by this Zojirushi, but we got the Breadman Pro locally for about $50, so we went with that. The Zojirushi arrived very quickly and in good order. I washed the pan and paddles, set it up, and decided to try the Basic White loaf. Result: a really good loaf of bread. The best I've ever tasted? No, but very, very good! Comparisons. The Zojirushi is much, much quieter in operation. Very quiet, in fact, which is much appreciated. I am careful with my measurements for bread, but I got this loaf as a far better 2 lb. loaf than the Breadman Pro could do. The shape was better, it had a nice crust (I think it was the butter), and was more even within in terms of texture and form. The two smaller paddles came out of the loaf very cleanly and left far less disturbance than in the Breadman Pro (which has one larger paddle). And the indentations were crusted, rather than torn bread. The larger pan of the Zojirushi allows a 2 lb. loaf that is longer (about 1.5 inches) and so not as high as the Breadman Pro. It doesn't spill over the sides of the pan. The shape fits nicely into the bread cutting form we have, so we can slice it nicely. At present, sandwiches for all 5 of us for lunch consumes a whole loaf, less a couple of slices, so this longer loaf will allow us more slices per loaf. I had cut back to 1.5 lb loaves with the Breadman Pro, as the shape of the top of the 2 lb. loaves wasn't good for cutting and using for sandwiches, but these 2 lb. loaves will do us very nicely. Still to be tested is whole wheat bread and various specialty recipes. But this good start is very promising. Will report back later. June, 2011, Update. This machine is still amazing. It produces excellent raisin loaf, and the recipe for the custom Crusty French Bread can be run through the ordinary cycle with excellent results: it's my more common loaf. We've produced a loaf a day for most of the time we've had it, and it has worked very, very well. Loaves are a good shape for sandwiches. It produces very good bread with some wholemeal flour, but fully wholemeal loaves are still a bit heavy, but the family still eat them: I need to experiment more! Various other loaves from the recipe book have been great. Points to watch. As noted in other reviews, you do need to get the paddles out when washing the pan, but the non-stick surface makes this easy. The non-stick material on the 6 rivet heads on the base of the pan seems a little less effective, and a little material may adhere to the spindles, but these are simple checks you washed it properly. I don't think I've had a time where a paddle has stayed in a loaf, as they seem to bake a crust around themselves. Wiping with your finger in a wet cloth after washing seems to clean it well enough. The fact that there is a supporting website and spare parts is very comforting after the vacuum of support for our old Breadman Pro when it failed. I'd rather pay more and get longer life and support, as well as better bread. I don't think that the Zojirushi has produced a loaf one could call 'below average.' I am not sure why the people who couldn't get it to work had problems, but a little fine tuning can make a difference, e.g., I use a tiny fraction less yeast than the recipe for a better loaf. In summary, an excellent piece of equipment that is a fixture in our kitchen. It works well and without drama. It's not cheap, but you get what you pay for here: a quality product which does what it's supposed to. November, 2015, Update. Still working well, without any dramas. We had to cut back on bread, as two of the four people now living here can't have gluten, one of them seriously. So the breadmaker sat on a shelf for quite a while. But the arrival of gluten-free bread mixes (especially Bob's Red Mill) have revived the Zojirushi, and it didn't miss a beat. We now have three gluten-free styles (whole grain, white and raisin), which produce great bread. I tend to add extra yeast to help them rise a bit quicker in the available time, and the resulting loaves are greatly appreciated. I am very glad I bought this machine. It has been flawless and is so easy to use, and produces great bread. Would that all kitchen appliances were so well made and work so well. Six or more stars, if that were possible! May, 2019, Update. It's still going strong. I just made a gluten-free loaf yesterday and a regular loaf today, and both turned out very well. Several years ago I bought a pair of new paddles, as the original ones were starting to lose their coating and bread was sticking to them. That was quick and easy and we have since settled back into a regular routine with bread without any drama or concerns. This has turned out to be an excellent investment. Far better bread than any previous bread maker we've used, and trouble-free operation. It's simply an impressive product that I am very happy I bought.

I have this same bread maker for 14 years and even with continuing use it works and looks like new. There is a lot of pre-programmed options, and more that you can program. Easy to use. Comes with the basic recipes, that when followed give you perfect breads. The kneading is great! If you have arthritis like me, this part of any bread making can be done by this machine and less dirt things to waxh than with a mixer. It gives you a lot of flexibility while making the dough and loaf. The only thing I wish the bread could be a little longer. It can be a little hard to clean under the heating element, but it's worth the trouble. It's more expensive than others, but it will pay off itself by its durability.

THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED BREADMAKERS BEFORE I TOOK THE LEAP I have been using this Zoji daily for a month and am very pleased. I have 4 decades of home bread baking experience and have tired of the kneading process, although I still love shaping loaves and rolls and pizza crusts. Before I made this purchase, I researched breadmakers and bread machines everywhere I could--in books, on websites about breadmaking and flours, at Amazon (where the reviews are always the most enlightening), at retailers online, and in brick & mortar stores. Analysis of the qualities of this Zoji led me to make this purchase and I was lucky enough to make my decision when the price was as right as it was going to get. Quite obviously, the Zoji isn't cheap, but it is a great value. And value matters more to me in the long run. QUALITIES THAT SOLD ME: HORIZONTAL BREAD PAN, 2 KNEADING PADDLES, GREAT TEMPERATURE CONTROL The main qualities of this Zoji that finally convinced me were the longer, more horizontal bread pan, the two kneading paddles, and the detail about temperatures and times for each phase of the Zoji process (these are available in the Zoji manual on their website). I have to admit I was also influenced by the King Arthur Flour blog and several related posts I ran across (google "king arthur flour zojirushi test kitchen" for some fascinating observations). What you get with the Zoji is a machine designed by people who know what they're doing in terms of gluten development, temperature control, and rising times. VERSATILE MACHINE TAKES THE PROCESS TO COMPLETION WITH FLYING COLORS The Zoji is perfect for me. The two kneading paddles thoroughly develop the gluten and work the dough into a smooth, even textured ball so that I may shape the rolls or loaves myself. Or I can let the machine do ALL the work. I don't know how Zoji has managed it but the loaf is beautifully shaped by the machine just before the final rise. I often open the lid at that point and sneak in with a knife to make some slashes across the top of the loaf to give the bread a more handmade look, but I don't have to do this. The Zoji, unlike any breadmaker I've tried before, is perfectly capable of taking the breadmaking process from start to finish all by itself while still turning out an exquisite product. It is a tremendous time-saver. You really can set it and forget it. BETTER FLAVOR DEVELOPMENT THAN HANDMADE! The thorough kneading and three rises that the Zoji gives the dough make the flavor of the finished bread richer and more complex. The controlled temperatures at each phase of the breadmaking process lead to a beautifully-textured loaf. The recipes that are included are wonderful. But I have to admit that I prefer to use my own combinations of kefir, eggs, less salt, whole wheat flour, and yeast. The Zoji still gives great results even though I don't measure my ingredients. EASY TO CLEAN Before each use, I pour a bit of canola or olive oil on the posts where the two paddles will be inserted. Then I place the paddles on the posts and pour in a bit more oil. I am careful to keep the amount of oil to a minimum so that the bread does not get oily. I then reduce the fat in the recipe by the amount I used to pre-oil the paddles and posts. By doing this step first before I add any other ingredients to the bread pan, I find that the loaf slips effortlessly from the pan, the paddles slip easily off their posts, and nothing requires washing. A quick wipe with a moist cloth is all that is required for clean-up. When I made bread by hand, there was a lot more washing to do at the end. Now instead of washing dishes, I get to sit down and enjoy a slice of hot, crusty, steamy bread. Delicious and easy! CLEAN, UNOBTRUSIVE APPEARANCE ON THE COUNTER The Zoji is also a very good-looking countertop kitchen appliance. Since I use mine so often, I never put it away. The fact that the breadmaker is so handsome is just one more quality in its favor. ONE IMPERFECTION: THE TOP CRUST DOES NOT BROWN ENOUGH ON ANY SETTING My only complaint is that the top crust does not brown as nicely as I'd prefer. But this is a minor problem. The bread tastes GREAT. The top crust is acceptable although not perfect and could be corrected with a few moments under a broiler. The flavor and texture of the bread are just outstanding. FIVE STARS ANYWAY! I would like to have given 5 stars, but I think the Zoji designers really ought to be motivated to tweak their awesome bread machine so that it is absolutely perfect. Aw what the heck, the Zoji is so great, I'm giving it 5 stars anyway!!!

If so, I may have to propose to mine. Um, OK, maybe not, but seriously... this thing might just be my favorite possession in the whole world. It's the first bread maker I've ever owned, and I bought it 18 months ago (pretty much immediately after Zojirushi brought out the black/silver model) after spending maybe six months umming and ahhing and vacillating and reading every review posted on Amazon for this (or at least, its previous incarnation that's exactly the same, only white) and the comparable Breadman and Panasonic models. I finally sprang for the Zojirushi as a birthday present to myself despite the relatively steep price tag as I'd decided it was "the one" and that I was pretty sure I wouldn't be quite as happy with any of the other models I'd been contemplating. I've not regretted my decision for a moment since, and have baked a TON of bread in the year and a half since I bought it. That's not to say every loaf has turned out perfectly; I've had my share of disasters, but I can count them on the fingers of one hand and each and every one of those disasters has been down to operator error rather than any failing on the part of the breadmaker. Disaster number one (loaf didn't rise at all) involved using old/bad yeast, and all the others have been down to my mis-reading of the recipe or otherwise failing to follow instructions precisely. Accidentally putting in two tablespoons of salt instead of two teaspoons, that kind of thing. Right now I have a disaster in the making sitting in my Zo; guess who didn't spot until it was too late the part where the recipe said to leave the starter in the machine for 8-10 hours before proceeding to the next step? Yup, that would be me. Oops. I can tell you that EVERY time I have properly followed the instructions (either in the manual that came with the machine or in the Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook that I, along with many previous reviewers, can't recommend highly enough as a companion purchase), I've been rewarded with an incredible loaf of bread. If you're a novice or near-novice breadmaker like me, I'd recommend trying out several of the recipes from the manual included with the machine to get the feel for how it works before you start getting more adventurous with different breads. Once I'd turned out a few perfect loaves of a few different kinds (the ones in the instruction manual are surprisingly good, but you'll want to expand your repertoire before very long!) I started pretty much working my way through the above-mentioned bread machine cookbook and am constantly finding new "favorite" recipes. This machine lends itself very well to whichever kind of recipe you want to follow. There are a ton of recipes that you can use with just the basic pre-programmed bread or dough settings, but if you find you need to tweak things a bit, the three programmable "homemade" settings allow you to vary your knead/rise times as required by the recipe you're following. Anyway. There's precious little I can say about this machine that hasn't already been said by a couple of hundred other reviewers, but here goes! I had wanted to get my own bread maker for a long time; I consider myself a pretty good cook but for some reason have always been utterly terrible when it comes to baking of any sort. I can cook just about anything, but baked goods? Forget it. That involves some special kind of witchcraft that I just don't possess. But I do LOVE freshly-baked, interesting bread, and I was getting heartily sick of the bland, HFCS-filled offerings in the grocery store with their unfeasibly long lists of unidentifiable ingredients that have no business being in a loaf of bread. There is something so satisfying about being able to measure out a few simple ingredients, dump them all (in the right order, of course!) in the bread pan, set the machine, then come back to find that those ingredients have, apparently by magic, turned into an amazing loaf of bread. I love setting the machine before I go to bed and then being woken up in the wee small hours by the wonderful smell of freshly-baked bread wafting through the house. It's also so easy to use the Zojirushi for all the tricky, messy stuff involving mixing and kneading and rising and then shape the resulting dough into a loaf to be baked in the oven... only to be rewarded by an impressive rustic-looking loaf that looks (and tastes) like something from a fancy artisanal bakery. I think I have waxed lyrical about this bread maker for long enough now, so I'll just finish by saying: if you're on the fence about getting one of these, go for it! I very much doubt you'll be disappointed. Did I mention that I love my Zojirushi?

After reading many reviews on bread machines I choose this zojirushi bread machine and have not been dissapointed. I love it! It makes wonderful bread that is yummy. It bakes evenly and is so easy to use and set up. I have never owned a bread machine before this so I was a first time user and this made it so easy. I loved the dvd which is very helpful and informative for using the machine and giving helpful hints about making bread in the machine. It comes with a recipie book but I have used my own recipie found online for whole wheat bread and it had turned out great everytime. I made my fifth loaf today and it was sooo good! Its had been easy to operate, easy to clean. just easy all together wonderful! I am so happy we decided the extra money is worth getting a good machine the first time. I am excited to see what other types of bread I can make in it! I did want to mention that the kneading paddles have gotten stuck a couple of times but getting them out without tearing the bread was very easy. I just took a little plastic bread knife and poped them right out! .My loafs and slices have looked very similar to store bought and are a perfect size even for sandwiches!!!! The pan is very non stick and makes cleanup so quick and easy. I saw people posting how the grooves on the paddles got stuff on them or in the crevices but mine had done just fine getting clean. I just let it soak for about 10 minutes in hot soapy waster---like the dvd says---- and it cleans right off! If anything changes I will repost and update but as of right now I cant find anything wrong or anything to complain about. I was a very hesitant to spend this kind of money a machine with some of the reviews that just sounded terrible. I didn't want to get it and be dissapointed with this but I give it a 5 star rating and the highest recomendation and have told friends and family alike about it. I also like that amazon gives you a whole month to use it and return it if you are dissapointed which is why I felt safe taking the chance on buying it. We have not eaten store bought bread since we purchased this and with it being so easy to make a loaf I don't ever want to again! I also recomend The Bread Machine Lovers Cookbook to go along with this. It has a ton of info on bread making, bread machines, the whys and hows of it all and 300 different recipies that are easy to understand---she also tells you measurment differences and give the recipes for 1 1/2 lbs loaf and 2 lbs loafs so you don't have to do the work figuring out how to change you recipe based on the size machine!!!! Great purcahse overall and worth every penny!!!!

I purchased this machine to replace a Welbit bread machine that I had received as a gift back in '93 and have since nearly worn out. I read all of the reviews and had decided to go with the Zojirushi because it was highly rated. I should have read the negative reviews more closely because I experienced everything noted in those reviews. I got the machine on a Saturday and had paid more for 2 day shipping so that it would arrive in time to be the third machine to help with a big bake sale that my niece and I were doing. The machine arrived and I read the manual closely--taking an hour away from baking that I could not afford. Let me say here that I am an experienced baker and have been using a bread machine for over a decade and occasionally also bake by hand. The Zojirushi machine simply does not work up to its "reputation" and certainly not up to its cost! I placed the ingredients in the machine in the order noted in the manual and demonstrated in the video that comes with the machine. The first loaf of bread--maple oatmeal--was not browned on the top and had a crown that sunk. It was edible but certainly not something we could sell. I decided to try another bread before I threw in the towel and attempted to make a simple raisin bread. Again, disaster. This time not only did the crust not get dark--even when the setting selected was for a dark crust--but again a sunken crown. It was then that I read the negative reviews and found out that experienced bakers had noted the same problem. I should have paid more attention to the negative reviews. I immediately packed up the machine and returned it the next week for a refund. I can only surmise as others have who gave the machine poor ratings that the positive reviews must be from inexperienced bakers or from those who can't fathom that they can pay over $200 for a product and it not work even passably well. I have a 24 year old Kitchen Aid mixer and it's still chucking away. And thank goodness I had it for the bake sale because it was a workhorse, mixing double and triple batters and even kneading dough after I realized that the Zojirushi would be of no help. Unfortunately the Welbilt is no longer manufactured so I'll have to find another machine. But $230 for an appliance that simply is not well made or functions as it should is unacceptable. The week before I got the Z machine I found a machine in a thrift store for $3.88 and it works better than the Zojirushi!!! I guess the lesson here is that you don't always get what you pay for. And by the way the bake sale was fabulous thanks to the old Welbilt, the Kitchenaid mixer and good old fashioned arm power.

Overall I think buying Zojirushi bread machine was a decent choice and I use it more often that I thought I would. However it has its issues, most notably a very poor crust development, weak gluten development in the dough, and uneven loaf shape. I use Zo for our everyday breads, most often baking-up the bread in the conventional oven after Zo is finished. Using my methods (described below), I am getting the breads which look like the ones on the manufacturers photos, and taste quite good. I especially like Zo for my adapted sweet bread recipes. However, I would not serve breads made in Zo for a dinner party. MY TASTES: I come from Europe and I have a strong preference for a rustic, crusty breads, with uneven holes and heavier crumb. I love sourdough mixed rye-wheat breads of Central Europe (Poland and Germany), and lighter wheat country breads from France and Italy. With the exception of sweet breads I don't like the addition of milk or eggs, and I hate light, soft crusts. ZO's APPEARANCE AND CLEANING Zo is ugly. I actually own a Zojirushi pressure rice cooker, which is beautiful, so I can't understand why this bread baker has to look like it was designed in the early 80's. Cleaning is a hassle. The baking pan and the kneading paddles are very easy to clean, though not dishwasher-safe. However, the rest of the machine is a nuisance to keep neat. The bottom of the baker (which holds the heating element and the moving parts for the kneading paddles) collects flour and already - after I've used Zo for 2 months - it's beginning to show spots. It can't really be cleaned at all, though I do use microfiber cloth and a damp cloth to collect whatever flour dust I can. The lid is not removable to clean, so if your bread ever hits the "ceiling," you'll have to do some serious gymnastics to clean it up. KNEADING Zo has two kneading paddles, which in theory allows for a more vigorous kneading. I have no way of comparing the dough coming out of Zo with the dough from other bread machines, but as an experienced baker I can compare it to the correctly kneaded dough from a planetary mixer. Zo produces a wimpy dough. The gluten development is very weak, since the rotating paddles do not stretch the mixture, just keep whacking it around. None of the doughs I made in Zo have passed the gluten windowpane test so far. As a side note: I can't imagine stretching a pizza dough made in the Zo: it will simply break. You would need to roll the pizza dough and settle for a thicker crust. You can somewhat amend the bread structure by using vital gluten. CRUST ISSUE Previous reviewers mentioned numerous times that the TOP crust on the loaf is light, anemic, and in general ugly. I agree with a sidenote that the sides and bottom are acceptable. Choosing the dark crust setting does not improve this problem (honestly, I went to dark setting with my first loaf, and never even tried the two other settings). Nothing can be done about the crust without altering your favorite bread recipes. [I read one reviewer mention covering the vents of the lid, however, I am uneasy about doing so, since the manual and the warning label on the lid clearly advise against it.] FYI: according to my research the following methods may improve the crust: 1) Add sugar to the recipe 2) Do not use bread flour, rather use all-purpose flour. 3) Go against the manufacturer's warnings and cover the vents Now, for me neither of the above works. So I often end up baking up my loafs in the oven (~8 min in 400F). Or better yet: if I have extra time, I will remove the dough from the pan, shape a lovely loaf, proof it in the basket, score and and bake it myself. This allows me to actually stretch the bread surface, something that none bread maker is equipped to do. LOAF SHAPE In theory Zo offers the most bread-like shape of all the bread bakers I looked at. The pan is long, rather flat, and just normal looking. Unfortunately, If you let the Zo do the job on its own, you'll end up with the loaf resembling a ski slope. Just see all the loafs Zo shows you as the examples of what your new machine can do (and while you are looking, please do yourself a favor and disregard the even, golden color of these loafs' crusts). Here's the reason. When Zo is kneading the dough, the paddles keep joggling the dough ball between one another. All throughout the rise cycles the uneven distribution of the dough in the pan does not change. So, you end up with a ski slope. Simple remedy is to help your loaf once the kneading is done, and redistribute the dough by hand. Very likely you will still have a minor dent in the middle (the paddles will kneed down the dough twice, thus making the indentation), but at least the loaf will be even. Overall the ski slope bread is not a big deal. After all you'll just cut it and eat it. But it is worth knowing. IMO the two bottom paddle indentations in the finished bread are negligible. CUSTOM CYCLE Home Made cycle allows you to bake your custom breads. It will remember up to 3 settings, and you can customize (or turn off) the following: ingredient preheat, kneed (max 30min), 3 rise cycles (1st max 24h, 2+3rd max 2h each), and bake (max 70 min). Home Made allows more control over the production process than other bread baker brands. BAKE When baked in the oven, bread in inserted to a very hot, humid environment, which allows it to spring up quickly and bake evenly in about 20-30 minutes. Zo has a completely different baking process. It will obviously warm up with the dough inside and then bake it for about one hour in a temperature lower than what you would use in the oven. This results in a lower rise, and more dense bread. Bake mechanism is also an important factor in the wimp crust issue. RECIPE BOOKLET Zo comes with a recipe booklet which sucks. The "Basic White Bread" recipe was under-hydrated, and I made a mistake of setting it for the auto bake in the morning. It came out dense, not well mixed and gave us indigestion. I also tried the "Sweet Bread" recipe (lowering the flour content by about 1/4 cup) and it came up OK, but uninspired. The "Sour Dough Starter" recipe is not a sour dough at all! I was able to adapt my personal favorite recipes to work with Zo.

EASY TO CLEAN One of this machine's standout features is that it is so remarkably easy to keep clean. With my past bread machines, their paddles (that knead the dough) were a misery to clean (think toothpicks and dough-goo). The Zojirushi's paddles, when briefly pre-soaked, easily rinse clean inside and out. With past machines, the baking cavity, observation window, and the baking pan quickly became caked with flour dust. If I didn't wipe the interior of the machine out frequently and thoroughly (an annoying task), my kitchen would smell of burning flour when I next baked bread. The Zojirushi eliminates this problem, by beginning the knead cycle at a very slow speed that doesn't kick up flour dust. Once the flour and water are combined the knead speed increases. Because we eat a lot of bread, I also very much appreciate that this machine makes a larger 2-lb loaf, and that the loaf is traditionally shaped for sandwiches and Panini. RECIPES (that work with this machine) For those of you that are new to bread machine baking, I recommend two places where you'll find recipes that work well with this machine. First, The Bread Machine Cookbook (2005 release) by Donna German includes three loaf sizes for every recipe, and the Large size works well with the 2-lb Zojirushi. Second, the King Arthur Flour site includes bread machine recipes (bread, desserts, meatloaf, etc.), that have been tested in Zojirushi bread makers. FLOUR (try different brands) I also suggest that you use a good quality bread flour. Over the years, I've tried many brands of commercially available flour, and have come to agree with reviewers that different brands of flour affect the taste of your bread. Based on my experience I've found that I prefer King Arthur Bread flour. DIGITAL SCALE (very helpful) Finally, I recommend you purchase an inexpensive kitchen scale (like the Ozeri Pronto Digital Multifunction Kitchen and Food Scale, in Elegant Black that I use) to measure your flour. With a bread machine, it's nice to be able to dial in a recipe and then repeat it time after time, without having to hover over the machine to see if it needs more flour or water. After I purchased the scale, I learned why our loaves had such variability: my spouse's cups of flour were running from 5.5 to 6 ounces each and mine about 4.5 ounces. The scale allowed us to determine the optimum amount of flour needed, and use that amount each time. It also allows me to match the recipes on the King Arthur Flour site, since they provide the option of measurements in ounces. And if you're thinking that using a scale seems like too much fuss, it actually makes the process easier. I place a small mixing bowl on the scale (then zero out the weight of the bowl), and pour flour into it directly from the bag, until I hit the ounces I'm looking for, and...happy days...no cups, no leveling over the bag, no cleaning up spilled flour. I then add sugar and salt, and pour the contents of the bowl into the bread pan. SAVINGS (eventually) If you're like me, initially, you'll try lots of recipes. Eventually, you'll settle on a few favorites and begin perfecting them for your bread maker. The quality of the bread makes the effort worthwhile as well as the cost per loaf; however, before you jump to the conclusion that a bread machine will result in a cost savings, you need to factor in the cost of the bread machine. For example, I was paying $6 a loaf for artisanal bread at the local grocery store. A cost-benefit analysis showed that I had to use the bread machine to make about 45 loaves of bread to get to the point where I was spending less to make bread versus buying it at the store. Since we make bread and rolls several times per week (sometimes per day), it didn't take long for us to recover the cost of the bread maker and see a dramatic drop in the cost of our bread.