I've been making bread in my Cuisinart Bread machine for my family until it broke down a few months ago. I have spent quite awhile doing research on various machines and was very impressed with the reviews that Zojirushi bread machines received. I decided on the Zojirushi Virtuoso because of the modification made with the heat element in the lid to help brown the top of the bread. I figured, that if I am going to invest this kind of money in a machine I want the one with updated features.
First, I am truly impressed with how quickly I received my purchase from Amazon. I bought the item on a Saturday and got free shipping (which was supposed to take 5-7 days) and it arrived two days later. The packaging was great, no damage to the box, padding inside to ensure that it didn't slide around.

When I unwrapped the machine I was immediately thrilled with the quality of the machine itself. Compared to my Cusinart bread machine you can tell you get what you pay for. The machine is solid and doesn't feel like tin like my previous machine. The bread pan is also impressive. I love the handles on each side (which is also a new feature on this Zojirushi model), the pan is also very solid with a good weight to it. Another big improvement from my previous machine is how the easy it is to insert and remove the pan into the machine (this is the one major thing I hated about the Cusinart bread machine).

The first bread I made was Challah (egg bread). This is used on the dough setting then braided by hand and finished in the oven. The dough setting worked perfectly. The double paddle made a big difference in the texture of the dough. I then made a bread machine recipe for oatmeal bread (my mom used to make this when I was a kid). I found the recipe online. It turned out great, it didn't rise as nicely as I would have liked, but it browned perfectly and it was yummy.

Tonight I decided to try the original recipe my mother used to make (not meant for the bread machine) and modified it slightly. The results were AMAZING!! You can take any bread recipe and modify it slightly for your bread machine.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try.

Wholesome Oatmeal Bread:
1 cup of warm water
2 Tbsp of unsalted butter
2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1/4 cup of honey
1 1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1/2 Quick Oats
2 3/4 cups of white bread flour
2 1/4 tsp of bread machine yeast
(I put the ingredients in the machine in this order making an indentation in the flour on top for the yeast to sit)

Put the machine on the Basic Regualr cycle. I like the medium crust setting.

Enjoy!!

I highly recommend this machine. If you are looking to invest in a quality machine this is worth every penny, I've had a cheaper machine and it only lasted a year before it completely died. This machine is also incredibly quiet and it's nice not to have to babysit it to make sure it doesn't bounce off the counter during the kneading cycle…LOL!!

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.

Tengo un hijo con intolerancia al gluten y a los lácteos, y yo soy alergico a la nuez, encontrar un pan que no tenga esos ingredientes es prácticamente imposible, sin embargo con esta máquina he podido hacer pan para sandwitches, pan de chocolate, pan de calabaza, muy deliciosos, Tanto con levadura como sin levadura, gracias al plan de programación manual. Excelente producto.

The media could not be loaded. Inmediatamente que recibí la máquina se ve la calidad de ella, también en los manuales y el equipo adicional, es el costo alto pero a las personas qué les guste la calidad se las recomiendo ampliamente al probarla hoy no funcionó

I have and several bread makers over the last 25 years, my last was a Cuisinart Convection which I had for 19 years and it was really good. It never failed me until the shaft finally spun off and when I tried to replace it with the same make and model I got a dud and had to return it (after 5 failed loaves).
It wasn’t cheap-twice the price of my old one.
I figured if I was going to spend serious coin I wasn’t going to limit myself to just that brand after being disappointed. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of choices in the way of convection bread makers, so I started looking at brands that offered better heating.
Enter this beauty. It offers dual paddles, no more scraping down corners like before.
The long bread pan is my favourite, I don’t like the vertical loaf pans. The dual paddles make this type of pan make sense.
The dual heaters ensure the top browns as well as the bottom.
I used my sourdough sandwich bread recipe that I have used for the last 5 years and it came out perfectly. More than perfectly. It’s the best loaf from my recipe I’ve ever seen.
No need to pull the sticky dough out to remove the paddles, the small paddles easily release the finished bread without any noticeable damage.
The inside finish is truly non stick, I had no trouble releasing the bread immediately after it baked.
The machine arrived within two days which was well before the estimated delivery time and we are in a rural area.
This machine has 3 programmable settings if you want to customize for your preferences.
This machine is much more automated than other bread makers; other than an audible for add ins it does not let you know where you are at in the cycle until the last 30 minutes, so that caused me some angst at first.
Not to worry.
This little beauty has you covered.
Put your ingredients in in the order they give and let it work its magic.

I have and several bread makers over the last 25 years, my last was a Cuisinart Convection which I had for 19 years and it was really good. It never failed me until the shaft finally spun off and when I tried to replace it with the same make and model I got a dud and had to return it (after 5 failed loaves).
It wasn’t cheap-twice the price of my old one.
I figured if I was going to spend serious coin I wasn’t going to limit myself to just that brand after being disappointed. Unfortunately there aren’t a lot of choices in the way of convection bread makers, so I started looking at brands that offered better heating.
Enter this beauty. It offers dual paddles, no more scraping down corners like before.
The long bread pan is my favourite, I don’t like the vertical loaf pans. The dual paddles make this type of pan make sense.
The dual heaters ensure the top browns as well as the bottom.
I used my sourdough sandwich bread recipe that I have used for the last 5 years and it came out perfectly. More than perfectly. It’s the best loaf from my recipe I’ve ever seen.
No need to pull the sticky dough out to remove the paddles, the small paddles easily release the finished bread without any noticeable damage.
The inside finish is truly non stick, I had no trouble releasing the bread immediately after it baked.
The machine arrived within two days which was well before the estimated delivery time and we are in a rural area.
This machine has 3 programmable settings if you want to customize for your preferences.
This machine is much more automated than other bread makers; other than an audible for add ins it does not let you know where you are at in the cycle until the last 30 minutes, so that caused me some angst at first.
Not to worry.
This little beauty has you covered.
Put your ingredients in in the order they give and let it work its magic.

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 1/4/2019
I 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 have only owned this bread machine for a few days so can’t say anything about durability and reliability. But in terms of what it can do, I’m amazed. My very first loaf of basic white bread was perfect! I have tried making bread by hand quite a few times over the years and have always ended up frustrated and disappointed. I just never got the “feel” that you need to be a good bread baker. But this little “bread robot” solves the problem. Just measure the ingredients carefully and you’re guaranteed a good result. Things i was a bit skeptical about, like the loaf coming away cleanly from the baking pan/bucket, actually work like a charm.

This is an expensive toy and you can’t really justify it in terms of saving money vs buying commercial bread. But if you like speciality breads that can be hard to find (like a decent loaf of deli caraway rye in coastal BC!) and are willing to pay for the satisfaction of enjoying them fresh and made with ingredients that you control, whose quality you can be sure of, then this machine could be the ticket. Also if you bake for charity or other types of bread/cake production that are not commercial-scale but a bit more than you can manage singlehanded at home, this machine can crank out that loaf for the fund raiser or potluck in 3-4 hours completely unsupervised, while you do other things.

There is also almost no cleanup. You don’t have a kitchen counter covered with flour, hands and apron covered with flour, sticky dough all over the place, multiple mixing bowls to wash. You put all the ingredients in a strict order into the bucket, put the bucket in the machine, push a button and the robot does the rest. Bread making is no longer a laborious whole-afternoon undertaking involving a lot of washing up.

This is a truly functional kitchen appliance. Normally I’m skeptical of kitchen gadgets, having been fascinated by and then disappointed in many of them. Often they claim to “save labour” while being fiendishly hard to clean, or are so specialised that you end up using them once a year and regretting the purchase. But this bread robot actually delivers and if you and your family like breads and cakes, you’re likely to use it often. Fresh home made bread is a whole different experience from stale factory bread in a plastic bag from the supermarket.

I agonised over this purchase for over a year, despite the rave reviews from a friend of mine who uses her Zoji weekly to make bread for her family. She swore up and down I would never regret it, so I finally took the plunge. And I think she is right. So long as there are no reliability issues, I am not likely to regret this appliance purchase. Highly recommended, lives up to its golden reputation.

PS my friend said it was worth gritting my teeth and shelling out extra for the high end model because it has a heating element in the lid to make a proper top crust. Definitely did make a convincing top crust, so I agree with her that it’s worth it. It doesn’t look or feel like real bread if it has a soft steamed top.

The Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker is a great breadmaker. We purchased this and began making bread immediately. There is a recipe book that helps to get you started, but you can also search for other recipes. We have not purchased bread from the store since we made this purchase. Its nice knowing that there are no additional preservatives in your freshly baked bread. the breadmaker is very easy to use and the cleanup is very easy. It does accommodate a 2 lb loaf, but can also be used for 1.5 lb loafs. The larger capacity is great for making pizza dough etc. The machine seems to be built solid, but that's what Zojirushi does, build solid appliances. It costs a little more, but highly recommended.