ZojirushiBB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker, 2 lb. loaf of bread

I am happy with this machine, the bread turns out good and the recipe and instruction books are helpful. A big benefit is the quietness of the machine when it is kneading! However the 2 lb. loaves of bread are too tall, but I am working on the problem. The machine seems to work better on a 2 lb loaf rather than a 1 1/2 lb loaf while kneading. Also, it would be REAL NICE if the machine would beep several times to let me know when I can take the paddles out before the last rise!Also I really like the pans construction, it is very sturdy and easy to use and the machine is attractive and the controls are easy to see.

Absolutely love this BreadMaker, even after just one use. It arrived very well packaged. Set up and cleaning is a breeze. The bread turned out really good: fluffy and light, great taste, and horizontal rise. Made a 2 pound loaf. The instruction manual and recipe book are clear and easy to follow. The machine ran very quietly not like our old breadmaker. The dual blending blades make for a good mix. Though this machine was quite expensive (nearly $400), I am not unhappy with the expenditure. The quality of the machine and end product are worth the price. Looking forward to trying the other recipes. I highly recommend this unit

Oh, I cant tell you how much I love my zojirushi bread maker! I use it 1-2 times a day to make the most amazing breads and cakes! There are two things that I love the most in my kitchen; my zojirushi bread maker, and my zojirushi rice cooker. Whomever made this- thank you, just thank you! My bread is soft and moist and perfect each time. never over or under cooked. I thought all bread machine bread was like a hard log, but this beautiful creation proved me wrong. I get the same response from those whom eat my bread- after the first bite, their eyes widen, and I receive compliments galore. My parents are on a strict diet, and on their cheat days, they beg me to bring over bread! When the 14 year old boys in scouts (hubby is a scout master) come over, they ask for bread with honey as the "dessert". I mentioned that I make 1-2 loaves daily- that is how quickly my small family devours them. The bread that comes out of this thing is better than store bought and I only pay like $.50- $1.00 a loaf? (honestly I haven't calculated it, but is cheaper than a $5+ lump of coal (bread) from the store). Every single time I take a bite of bread from this thing, I practically cry out in song because the bread is just that good. This was the best buy ever. Along with my amazing bread maker, I bought "Bread Loaf Bags, Pack of 100 by Perfect Utopia", those will happily fit a 2 pound loaf or home made pizza; and most importantly, "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook: A Master Baker's 300 Favorite Recipes for Perfect-Every-Time Bread-From Every Kind of Machine". I am so in love with my bread machine. It has been the best birthday present ever. I recommend the Zojirushi bread maker to everyone whom has tasted my bread, and I recommend it to you to! You wont be disappointed! This bread machine has been a life changer.Update: Well, it has been nearly a year since my purchase of the Zojirushi bread machine, and I still think it is the best kitchen purchase I have ever made (well, it is tied with my Zojirushi rice cooker). I use my bread machine at least 5 times a week, as I make bread for my family and my parents and our weekly get family get togethers. My bread loaves come out perfectly each time (given that my ingredients- especially my yeast are still good). MY bread is still adored by all we entertain and my 1st grader even says her school friends at lunch love it (I guess they trade lunches sometimes!). I love, love, love, love this bread machine and rant and rave about it every time my bread is complemented. I have saved so much money baking bread instead of buying it, and now my entire family cant stand store bought bread, even my toddler tastes the difference. I love that it takes only a few minutes to load the machine with ingredients and then all I have to do is take the fresh bread out when it is done. Thank you Zojirushi for making such an amazing and high quality product!!Update 1/4/2019I still love this bread machine!! It makes the best bread ever. I am still praised by my kids and others for the bread this machine puts out. Even after owning it several years, this machine works like a charm. I still use it at least 6 times a week. I mainly make my white bread and the occasional banana or zucchini bread loaf. I will note that after about a year, I do need to purchase new mixing blades. I clean my bread pan/ mixing blades by filling the pan with water and letting it soak an hour or so each time, than cleaning it with a soft cloth, followed by a water rinse. After a banana bread loaf I use soap and have to be more aggressive with the washcloth, but it is easy to clean none the less.I notice when I do make banana bread, it tends to remove the nonstick finish off the mixing blades quicker. I have since just had an "older" set of mixing blades that I use just for banana bread, while I use my newer set for my regular bread, so I don't have to replace them as quickly.When it is colder in my house (guessing 60 degrees or below), there is a higher chance my bread wont rise properly. I tend to end up tossing, making grill cheese sandwiches, or french toast with those loaves when that happens. The taste is still there, just not the light fluffy texture, and it is very dense. I cure this by heating the house, specifically where my machine is at, and baking the loaf during the warmest time of the day.I also have learned that, for at least my machine, placing both mixing blades to point in the same direction (i.e. both point north), the bread will rise evenly. I am not sure if there is some magical science to this, or if it causes the dough to rise evenly, but if they are not pointed in the same direction, I notice that one side will rise higher than the other. Took me a year to figure that out.I still recommend this machine to everyone who loves my bread! I get a good laugh that every time one of my brothers comes to visit, one of the first things they do is 'causally' walk into my kitchen and conveniently stand to talk in front of the bread and than after a few minutes, just nonchalantly cut a huge slice and smother it in our raw honey, and repeat until the loaf is more than half gone (well, at least they have the decency to leave one or two slices for my children, haha).This bread machine has been the best investment, with me only having a pay a few cents a loaf in ingredients. It has more than paid for itself.

I started baking gluten free bread a year and a half ago due to a Celiac diagnosis in our family. It was taking me about three hours a week to make a conservative week's worth of bread for our family. I've thought about getting a bread machine off and on but anyone who makes gluten free bread knows that it is quite different than traditional bread and the reviews I was finding on machines that claimed to have gluten free settings were less than stellar. I had heard the Zojirushi name from other weekly bread bakers and read very positive reviews by other gluten free bakers who had one but, I was very nervous about whether it could REALLY handle gluten free bread. After much deliberation, especially due to the price tag, I finally decided to give it a try. I rarely do things the easy way so, upon receiving the Virtuoso yesterday, I sat down and looked through the recipes that they recommended for the gluten free setting and compared it with the recipe I've been using for the past year and a half and combined the two to make a more nutritious loaf. Yes, it would have made sense to get an idea of what the machine SHOULD do with their recipe before starting to experiment but, like I said already, I don't do things the easy way! Well, there was cheering and dancing when the family tried this first loaf of bread! It didn't look "pretty" due to not having the top smoothed before baking (something that I think I can remedy easily if I choose) but it baked evenly, had a good texture, and tasted great! I know the price is approximately 3x that of other bread machines but, it is definitely worth every penny of the extra expense!There are 10 specifically gluten free recipes that come in the instruction book:-Gluten Free Brown Rice Bread-Gluten Free Cafe Au Lait Bread-Gluten Free Flaxseed Bread-Gluten Free Soymilk Bread-Gluten Free Italian Herb Bread-Gluten Free Cornmeal Bread-Gluten Free Raisin Bread-Gluten Free Chocolate Bread-Gluten Free Walnut Bread-Gluten Free Apple Oat BreadThere are also directions for making "quick" breads using the cake cycle which, I believe would also handle gluten free quick breads as well although no gluten free quick bread recipes are listed in the instructions.Other Facts:This is a very large machine and will take up quite a bit of counter space (think small microwave) but, if you bake frequently the benefits outweigh the size. The blades do leave holes in the bottom of the bread but in my mind, the benefits again far outweigh the holes. The machine operates very quietly compared to other machines I've been around. I could hear it softly "whirring" and checked it because I thought maybe something was wrong but, it was working hard to knead the dough. There was no pounding or loud mechanical noises. It is also quite heavy which probably helps with the no thumping which I've heard from other machines. The bread pan is also heavier than the norm and solidly constructed. The last bread pan I had for a bread machine was much lighter. The construction of this one seems to be much stronger. Obviously, a well constructed machine!From one gluten free baker to another, I would strongly recommend purchasing the Virtuoso which is a Zojirushi machine made specifically to handle gluten free baking (the only Zojirushi that has this specific function at the time of this review). I'm very pleased with our decision!***Update***I've now made three loaves of gluten free bread in the Virtuoso. The first two loaves I made using the machine's gluten free cycle. The last one I decided to take the bread recipe I have been using for a year and a half and set up the homemade cycle just to see what happens. I had to do some guesstimating on the time needed for the different cycles but, having used the regular gluten free cycle twice I had an idea to base my decisions on using the instruction guide. The loaf of gluten free bread that I pulled out after it completed the homemade cycle was probably the best gluten free bread that I have seen yet! As I suspected, I was able to take the 2 minutes I needed to smooth out the loaf before rising/baking and between the adjustments I made to the different selections within the cycle it worked wonderful and I still accomplished other things while the machine made our bread! This machine is worth every penny for those who make their own bread on a regular basis. I am so pleased with this decision!

This is one of those purchases that you should have made a long time ago. It’s so easy, low effort, simple to clean, healthier than store bought, yummy, multipurpose, convenient, and satisfying. Homemade jam too! Just throw in some fresh berries and sugar and in a couple hours enjoy the best jam ever. It feels like cheating in a good way!!