Promo 🥰 Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black 🌟

2 reviews for Promo 🥰 Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black 🌟

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Concerned Reader – December 19, 2010

   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.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   BK – January 3, 2012

   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 CLEANINGZo 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.KNEADINGZo 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 ISSUEPrevious 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 recipe2) Do not use bread flour, rather use all-purpose flour.3) Go against the manufacturer’s warnings and cover the ventsNow, 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 SHAPEIn 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 CYCLEHome 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.BAKEWhen 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 BOOKLETZo 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.