Kitchen & Housewares : Zojirushi BBCCX20 Home Bakery Supreme Bread Machine

Rating: - Great bread machine
I think the machine works very well. I like the shape of the loaf and it goes a long way. My bread has been delicious. The only thing is that I was not sure if it worked at first because there is a preheat cycle that is completely silent for the first 30-45 minutes of baking. You think nothing is happening because no heat comes out and no noise is made. Eventually you hear it kick into gear though.

---

Rating: - Great machine
Biggest drawback is that a machine making rectangular loaves horizontally will take up more counter space than many other machines. However, we love it! I like that the bread comes out looking "normal" and the recipes we've tried so far have been really yummy. If it really does make jam well and if it holds up over time, it'll be worth every penny.

---

Rating: - Excellent machine
I have had this bread maker for about a year now. We make 2 - 3 loaves per week. It is awesome and reliable. If it wasn't for this machine, I would not be able to have bread to eat as I am allergic to soy and nearly all store breads are made with soy.

Note that I bought the Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook. That book is worth its weight. Without that book I don't think I'd be as successful with the machine. Bottom line is that book is a MUST HAVE.

---

Rating: - Gluten Free Baker
We have a couple of people in our family who are Gluten Sensitive. Therefore we find ourselves baking gluten free bread for our general use. In general Gluten Free bread is more difficult and more fussy than normal wheat bread. Without gluten the bread does not have the elasticity or texture. Also I have found that the bread generally needs to bake longer to be done in the center. The Zojirushi Bread Machine has three custom settings allowing us to dial up the bake cycle duration and produce a better loaf than our old machine could produce. We are happy so far (approx. 1 month ownership).

---

Rating: - Big problems
I bought this machine based on the reviews when I wanted to upgrade my old Breadman Ultimate. I liked the (theoretical) shape of the loaves better and it is true that the crust was better also--a big plus. But it made completely lopsided loaves, with one side VERY low. This did not seem to affect the taste--it just looked really weird. Thinking the particular machine was defective, I sent it back for a replacement (and got good service). The second machine not only made the same lopsided loaves, however, but after my first loaf, the paddles had worn away the nonstick coating on the bottom in circular scratches. I really wanted to use this machine. I was even prepared to use Beth Hensberger's suggestion from her fabulous bread machine cookbook to--inconveniently--move the ball of dough to the center of the pan after the kneading cycle to improve the lopsided finished shape. But I gave up, after two machines, especially after realizing we had eaten toxic nonstick coating with our first loaf.