Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black
$220
- Dual-blade bread machine makes rectangular-shaped 2-pound loaves
- 10 pre-programmed settings; 3 crust shades; LCD control panel; 13-hour delay timer
- Large viewing window; removable nonstick bread pan for easy cleaning
- Measuring spoon, measuring cup, and user manual with recipes included.Measures approximately 9-5/8 by 17 by 12-1/5 inches
- Electrical rating:120 volts / 700 watts
Specification: Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black
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8 reviews for Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black
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Len Butler –
The photo above is one of the best loaves of bread my wife made. After many attempts we just gave up.
After sending an inquiry to the company, they answered by saying many other customers have the same problem and for us to keep experimenting with the mixture formula. Well guess what, if the formula in your cookbook isn’t good enough then why should we keep wasting flour ingredients etc… We returned it thank you and purchased a much cheaper bread maker and all is fine. We bought an Oster 9050 from Amazon through our daughter.
Michoub –
Très satisfaite de cette machine à pain. J’ai eu une Oster avant et je préfère de loin celle-ci car elle a deux pales et ça mélange mieux la pâte pour un pain plus uniforme et moins dur sous la dent. J’ai aussi fait de la confiture mais j’ai mis de la pectine car trop liquide si on en met pas à moins qu’on veuille un coulis de fraises…Je ne fais que commencer à l’utiliser et je l’adore. J’ai hâte d’utiliser les autres fonction. Seul bémol le manuel d’instruction en français qu’on trouve sur internet les recettes diffèrent avec le livre d’instruction en anglais. On a qu’à essayé les deux et choisir le livre qu’on préfère. Pour le pain de blé je coupe le gluten car ça fait un pain trop spongieux à mon avis.
Claudius Abel –
Lets see if i can do this without having my post kyboshed. I’ve made bread for over 40 years. The last two machines I had were T-fal Bread and Baguette machines. Both blew up after many many years of service, kneading dough isn’t easy. That’s why we buy these machines, but which one? $360.00 for a bread machine, plus extra warranty? I can buy others for a lot less but I didn’t, I bought this one. Truth is, if T-fal was still making a 3Lb. bread machine with two paddles I wouldn’t be writing this. Btw my baguette tray that makes 4 baguettes works in this one too. I’ve read some of the other negative reviews on this machine and honestly I don’t get it. First off, I only make bread. I have other machines to do whatever else this thing can do. I ALWAYS soak the inside baking pan with water only AFTER it has cooled down. A soft cloth and or a soft bristle kitchen scrubber is all I use, carefully cleaning around the two paddle seals especially. Bread crumbs get trapped there. No Toothpicks or any sharp objects. It’s a rubber seal and if you damage it will leak through. For that matter it eventually did with my t-fals also, after 10 years or so. This bread pan is insanely expensive from what I see. Back to, why this machine. If you can’t help yourself and want to make jam or cake or anything other than bread, then do yourself a favor and soak the pan in soapy water after, don’t scrub it clean. Once you scratch the pan it will start to stick.
I like that I can program it and make it do this my t-fal couldn’t. If you choose to do the factory set it and forget it method you might not like what it produces. I sure didn’t. Each and every bread machine is different. You would think I could just use the recipes from my other machines and all would work out. Nope guess again. I had to start all over. What gave me a kick start was Canadian Bread Machine Recipes. Look it up. From there I still needed to do some adjusting. It also was the deciding factor on this machine. I’ve had it for 4 months now and make an average of at least 2 loaves a week, there’s only two of us to feed. Its setup now and works as I expect it too. Is this machine for a novice? I don’t think so. It would disappoint as far as bread is concerned. Spending this kind of money just to make bread for me was the right decision, but only because I can decide what and how long it does what. I hope you find this review useful in buying or not buying this machine.
Slathermonkey –
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I researched bread makers for a while before deciding to buy. This is the machine America’s Test Kitchen recommended as well as King Arthur Flour. If you have read other reviews on here, it might be enough to dissuade you. But I’ve had nothing but perfection with every bake. Granted, I’ve only done the basic white bread recipe in the instruction guide thus far. But using a scale and being precise hasn’t let me down. One tip is to take the paddles out after mixing is done and before the second rise.
For anyone having issues, one other resource is King Arthur Flour website. They sell this machine and use it in their test kitchen. They have help in both online questions (which they reply to quickly) and a hotline to call for expert advice.
One other tip : the price is significant for most people for a small appliance. Consider looking for a warehouse deal. I got a return item for $100 less and it was in perfect condition except for the fact it was missing the instruction book. Found it online and downloaded it. Definitely worth checking out!
DR :) –
So here’s my rant.
It has the potential to be a great machine but it is SO inconsistent. This is one fickle unit. Not one of the recipes from the book worked. I am an experienced break maker and have used many other machines. I was very excited about this one. After wasting much time and ingredients, I learned that the book that came with the unit was not intended for Canadian flour. What? How do you sell something in Canada like this and not include recipes that will work? A few of my other recipes that I’ve used in other machines were ok… but again, sometimes the dough just didn’t mix. And yes, I followed the instructions to a T. Super frustrating. And the customer service was useless. Save your money people!
G. Haring –
So far so good – the reviews were mixed and we were sure to pay a couple dollars extra for PRIME purchase to make sure if we had any issues we could put it back in the box & return for another one. READ all the various reviews; despite ATK highest recommendations which we did not see until we narrowed our search on Amazon down to 2 breadmakers and selected this one on ATK tests. Happy with it so far, no problems. Have kept the box just in case. Have made at least 12 loaves so far. I’ll update this if we have any problems, otherwise as of Nov 2022 very happy with it.
BK –
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.
Concerned Reader –
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.