karmawlsn's Full Review: Zojirushi BBCC-X20 Bread Machine
As my first bread machine I'm impressed. I'd stayed away from Bread machines to this point because I really didn't like the shape of the loaves. But when I saw this model and heard it could handle whole wheat I was sold. I asked hubby to buy it for me for Christmas. He gave it to me early knowing I'd want to use it for Christmas baking.
Here is what I like about it.
1. Not so important--but it looks nice in the kitchen. It's obviously high quality and I don't mind it being out. It's heavily constructed and feels super solid.
2. Easy, easy clean up. Really simple. You put hot, soapy water in the pan (don't submerge the pan in water, you just put it in the pan). Let it soak and wipe it clean. It's great!
3. Makes good whole wheat bread. I grind my own wheat. It handles my flour so well (because I have an impact mill my wheat is actually lighter than store bought whole wheat though--so I couldn't say it performs with store bought flour). I've experimented with recipes and found one I really like that has only 1 cup of regular bread flour so it's mostly whole wheat and more nutritious. The loaf rises incredibly high and tastes delicious. Good size for sandwiches. I like the 3 rise feature. Makes great sandwich bread with tight pores.
4. Quick setting makes delicious homemade white bread for those times I'm in the mood for white. It tastes great and uses less time.
5. Instruction manual it comes with is very clear. It's easy to figure out how to use the machine, clean the machine, and take advantage of special features like homemade memory settings.
6. Makes homemade jam. I plan to use this feature once a month and make all our Jam fresh as well as our bread.
7. I find the controls intuitive. Of course as a photographer I'm always struggling with getting digital camera settings correct. Compared to that this bread machine is a snap!
8. The machine is quiet as far as I'm concerned. I read another review stating this would wake up the family at night. Must be light sleepers. My family wouldn't be phased by the low amount of noise from this machine. The beeps are the loudest part and I couldn't hear them from my bedroom with the fan on. My clothes drier is louder.
9. Makes great looking "like homemade" rectangular loaves--1 1/2 or 2 lbs.
10. Has nice timing features so you can set your bread to bake up to thirteen hours later (not recommended for dough with eggs or other perishables).
1. Loaves are slightly uneven in browning. Just slightly more browned on the left side than the right. I noticed this on both my wheat and white loaves. Not enough to be unsightly and flavor of bread is not affected.
2. Could have an additive feature like the breadman. It's kind of a bummer that I can't set my machine up to make raisin bread in the morning. But I don't make raisin bread much so it's not a problem for me. The machines ability with whole wheat was more an issue for me than an additive function.
3. Video that comes with machine is cheese-ball. Low quality and not so helpful as to be warranted.
4. Company tries to use recipes like "meatloaf miracle" as a selling point! Come on--who needs to make meatloaf in a bread machine? I'd rather have more really good bread recipes than a recipe for meatloaf!
5. Only three memory/homemade capability. I've a feeling I'll want more.
6. Nonstick pan. How long will that last? I'm going to order an extra pan in case.
You should all know I haven't tried the cake feature. I don't think I'll use it much. Loaf shaped cake recipes like Banana bread I make in 3 loaf batches. But I'll try it once and if it's terrible I'll update my review.
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