Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Home Bakery Virtuoso Breadmaker

My first Zojirushi bread maker was the Mini, which I used at least twice weekly for about four years. It makes a wonderful white loaf, a great raisin bread and an excellent light rye. I’ve never had a bad loaf from the Mini.
The down side of the Mini is that it isn’t programmable, so you are pretty much stuck with the recipes in the manual. Also the loaves are small, good for no more than 2 days or so for two of us.
Hoping for more bread variety and larger loaves, I ordered a Zojirushi Virtuoso a few weeks ago. It arrived promptly from Amazon and I have been trying it out ever since. So far it has not produced a single loaf that matches any of the loaves from the Mini for look, texture and taste.
The first problem is the size of the loaves. The full size loaves are so tall that they can’t be toasted without cutting them to size. I eat a lot of toast so this is an issue. It’s possible to make smaller loaves in the Virtuoso, but it has yet to produce one that is not either misshapen or properly cooked. Even the full size loaves often have the dreaded ski slope top, or worse. This can be avoided by removing the dough after the second rise, shaping and putting it back in the pan, but of course you have to be waiting by the machine to do that.
I tried the banana bread recipe and the machine produced a very sweet loaf that was overcooked on the bottom and undercooked on the top. I’d never use a bread machine to make a banana loaf anyway, as I can get much better product by mixing the ingredients, pouring into a pan and baking into the oven, all of which takes no more time than using the machine.
The Virtuoso is far louder than the Mini when kneading. Mine clanked and thumped. I worry it will break down, especially after reading other reviews.
I’m not a beginner at bread making. For years I’ve made a variety of breads entirely by hand, including Artesan breads. I do know to use the correct flour and the correct fresh yeast.
I returned the Virtuoso to Amazon, disappointed that it didn’t come close to living up to its reputation.

We have owned several bread machines, some good, some not so much. Recent ones were all mediocre at best and short lived. We decided to splurge on this one and it was no mistake. Still going strong after 4 years, although we recently replaced a paddle – ordered and received 4 days later (good luck trying to find parts for most other brands). Considering how much we’ve used this machine, we have no complaints – by far the best we’ve ever owned. It is very ruggedly built and I expect to be using it for many years yet. It turned out not to be so much of a splurge after all when you consider the previous 2 brands we tried lasted less than 2 years. Makes excellent, well formed loaves, even when throwing in extra ingredients (basil, cheese, etc.) part way through a cycle. I also use it a lot for making various doughs for baguettes, buns and more. If you’re considering a cheaper machine, think again; this one will save you money in the long run. HIGHLY recommended.

My mom and I spent 5 days comparing the reviews and articles on the Zojirushi BB-PAC20 and Breville BBM800XL. We finally ended up comparing both models side by side because a friend has the Breville. For us, it ultimately boiled down to these key features:

Zojirishi:
+Longer loaf tub (makes a more normal sized loaf like you’d buy at the store
+Heating element in the lid for consistent and even browning all around

Breville:
+4 loaf sizes
+Nut dispenser

PICTURE DESCRIPTIONS: First loaf we baked was white bread (regular speed, medium crust). I could have shaped it more evenly so it wasn’t taller in the middle. Notice how small the holes are since I removed the paddles. The loaf in plastic wrap is wheat bread from the grocery store. Also compare it to a mostly eaten white bread made from the Breville. See how the top is much lighter than the sides? The Breville doesn’t have a top heating element. Second bread we made was olive bread from an online recipe. I shaped this one better, also the recipe called for 2 tsp yeast instead of 2.5. Again I compared it to the size of a regular bread from the grocery store (half the bread is missing from the plastic bag).

Neutral points:
+Breville has a much nicer user interface. Pretty surprising Zojirushi has an interface that looks like it’s from the early 2000s. But ultimately, our decision is going to be purely about bread quality.
+Zojirushi allows you to create 3 custom profiles in which you can adjust the timings for each phase (Rest->Knead->Shape->Rise1->Rise2-Rise3->Bake->Keep Warm) whereas the Breville allows you to create 9 custom profiles and adjust the timings AND temperature for each phase (Knead 1->Knead 2->Rise 1->Rise 2->Rise 3->Keep Warm).

We realized we didn’t care too much about the number of custom profiles, because for most bread, the tried and tested standard settings provided by both machines are already sufficient.
+The Zojirushi has a “Shape” option where it will beep before the first rise phase and give you an hour to open the lid, take the dough out and shape it with your hands so it looks nice and even, put it back and then close the machine. Don’t recall the Breville having this specific feature, but realized it doesn’t matter because the ideal shape time is right after the last punch down phase. More on that later.
+The Zojirushi has 2 paddles and the Breville has one. The number of paddles isn’t specifically a benefit in either machine’s favor. It is more of a result of each machine’s tub shape. The Breville is narrower and taller, and the Zojirushi is shorter and long. I think that the tub shape goes in favor of the Zojirushi, as I mentioned earlier.
+Breville has foldable paddles. Don’t really care, because we remove the paddles before the final rise even on the Zojirushi, so the holes are super small (1 centimeter diameter)
+The Zojirushi has much sturdier build quality, whereas the Breville is made of thin, unpolished brushed aluminum. As others have noted, it dents very easily. In fact, our Breville arrived with a dent in it. Again, not too big a deal. Ultimately which one makes better bread?
+Breville looks more modern and sleek. Zojirushi looks like a typical appliance.
+Zojirushi makes less noise. At its loudest, it has the deep droning sound of a washing machine. Breville makes a banging noise as the paddles spin..which is pretty loud.
+Zojirushi says it can be used for meatloaf and sourdough starter, Breville has a yeast free option or something…personally I don’t care, plus you can probably customize settings on the Breville to make those work. (Just look up online instruction manuals from either companies to see what their timings are for each setting, and you can custom program that timing into the other machine)
+Breville has a light you can turn on when peeking through the viewing window. I use my phone’s flashlight when using the Zojirushi (though you can kinda see what’s going on without it)
+The nut dispenser was a pretty awesome get sure in favor of the Breville, but I want to point out that the Zojirushi will beep when it’s time to add those ingredients. The automation is missing from the Zojirushi. So this isn’t a neutral point – it’s a big win for the Breville. But I wanted to point out the beeping of the Zojirushi as an FYI.
+The Breville’s marketing material goes out of its way to mention the punch down phase, but in fact not machines have this. Right before Rise 2 and Rise 3, the paddle (s) spins slowly a bunch of times in order to let trapped air escape out of the dough.
+The Breville has 2 programmable knead phases. The Zojirushi has 1. I don’t understand what this is about…They both knead for the appropriate amount of time, so maybe the Breville just let’s you get more detailed about the process if you want? If both bake great bread, then I really don’t care either way.
+The Zojirushi has an optional rest phase in which it allows all your ingredients to come to room te
premature for optimal baking. Don’t recall the Breville has this. On both machines, you can always skip a step if you want (on the Breville, you hold down the start button, on the Zojirushi you hold down the up and down buttons on Select Course, if I recall correctly…it’s in the manual)

Okay, so what was our verdict?

Well, it ultimately came down purely to bread quality, and here the Zojirushi is the winner. Just check out the pictures I uploaded. The browning is ridiculously consistent on all sides of the bread. Not overly chewy on one end of another. I have to attribute this to the Zojirushi’s heating element in the lid, since I suspect the Breville ends up heating the sides and bottom longer in order to give the top a sufficient amount of browning.

The Zojirushi also has a spectacular loaf size. The first time around, it was a bit high. But check out the olive bread we made on the second try…compared to a regular loaf you’d buy at a store, the size is spot on. I put a ruler next to the white bread pics so you can see. However, the white bread was our absolute first loaf we tried, and we could’ve done one or two things to make it as perfectly formed as the olive bread (see below).

Loaf size was an important factor for us, because we want regular sized slices that fit in our toaster. With the Breville, you might be able to achieve these sizes by using a lower bread loaf setting and adjusting the amount of ingredients. But you’ll end up with less bread. While we really liked the ability to choose multiple bread sizes with the Breville, we liked that the Zojirushi makes a standard looking loaf right out of the box. And we found out that the recipe book does show you how to make 1.5lb sized loaves of wheat bread and some others.

So how did we make the perfect looking bread you’ll see in the pics?

Tips:
1) Read the instruction manual precisely and/or watch the first part of the DVD (liquids first, dry things second, make a little pocket for the yeast, and be EXACT for the ingredient measurements)
2) SHAPE YOUR DOUGH AND REMOVE PADDLES: Use the instruction manual to identify when the last punch down phase will begin. For the white bread regular setting, this should be 55 minutes after the Knead phase ends. The knead phase was 19 minutes and the Rest 30…so that means you should set an alarm to get back to your machine 1 hour and 44 minutes after pressing the start button. At that time, you will hear the paddles making one rotation every few seconds. It does this about 15 times. As soon as it stops doing this, it means the final rise phase will begin. Open the machine (it automatically pauses where it is in the process), and take the dough out with your hands. Put it on a table or mat or something (maybe parchment paper that is lubricated with olive oil – that’s what I did), and roll the dough a bit and shape it with your hands so it looks nice and smooth. Better is if you shape it to look like a rectangle that will fit the tub perfectly, and flatten it a bit so it has an even night all the way. Then, remove the paddles (they are slippery so use something that has a good grip to pull them out). Put your loaf back in so it takes the full space of the tub, maybe pat it down one last time, and close the machine. Your bread will have a great shape.
+Bonus tip: one of the reviewers mentioned putting your paddles in the same orientation before putting in the ingredients. Not sure if it helped, but I definitely did this. I pointed both my paddles in the 6 o’clock position.

The first recipe we used was the Basic White Bread Regular (meaning we used active dry yeast instead of fast/instant yeast). Medium crust setting, except we left it in for 5 minutes extra after it was done to let it brown more.

The second recipe we used is some southern olive bread recipe I googled in which they happened to use a Zojirushi as well! I used the dark crust setting and took it out immediately. Here’s the “Kalamata Olive Bread Recipe from Southernfood/Aboutfood : http://southernfood.about.com/od/breadmachine/r/r70412a.htm

Don’t forget to let your bread sit for 30 minutes before slicing!

Bottom line: The Zojirushi’s even browning and standard loaf size make me feel it makes an overall better bread loaf. Check out the pics!

After seeing the modern look, cool interface, and more granular programmable control of the Breville (e.g. temperature control) I want to take one star away from this machine. I may not use all those features, but maybe I would! But c’mon – it’s the 21st century. Great looking user interfaces should be standard.

Purchased this breadmaker in Dec, 2017. We use the machine 6 times a week to make whole wheat loves. This is the first experience with the Zojirushi after we have had 3 WestBend 4140 Bread machines. The Westbend were great but no longer in production. Westbend is much cheaper, lasted about a year, sometimes two. I was reluctant to spend so much more on a breadmachine.
When the Zojirushi arrived, it was very clear that this machine is a lot more durable than the Westbend. The machine feels heavier, the lid closes solid, the steel feels thicker.
After almost six months of use, I can say that the Zojirushi is working like new. It even still looks like new, where others showed wear or discoloration from the heat. The pan looks like new, with no scratches or scruff marks. With the Westbend, we replaced the pan every six months to a year. In other words, the machine is very reliable, robust and well made.
Operations are easy, menu intuitive. The annoying beeps when you pressed the buttons are a lot softer than the Westbend, so not everyone wakes up when making bread late at night. The normal whole wheat program does not start immediately with kneading, but spends 20 minutes warming the water, etc. Annoying when you make bread in the morning for lunch as it adds another 20 minutes. The initial kneading is very loud and there are still nights I wake up to it. It’s very rough, with very short bursts. It lasts about 5 minutes and than shifts to a more gentle rotating knead. We have had a few instances where the pan became dislodged during this initial stage with even more noise. Make sure the pan is very secure before starting the machine.
The bread? Honestly, the Westbend was better. Even with the extra heater in the lid and the option for a dark crust, the top of the loaf is never really thick and crunchy. But even with Rye, Emmer and Spelt, loaves come out consistently in great shape.
Ultimately, whether or not this is five or four stars will depend on how long the machine will last. If it still runs after 3 years and 900 loaves, I will give it five stars. At 30 cents per loaf, it becomes good value. If it fails sooner… perhaps four stars. Five for now.

Update: April 2020. Working like a charm with no issues. Very durable. The original pan and paddles are working great. No leaks.

Este fabricante era ruidoso debido a una vibración zumbando que no pararía a menos que presionara en la ventana de pantalla de la parte superior izquierda. Las recetas que también somos aburridas y decepcionantes. Me encantaba la máquina aunque nunca experimenté mucho de un cambio en los colores de la corteza de la luz a la oscuridad. En general, caro comprar y no vale real para su dinero