Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Bread Maker

Why You Should Trust Us

When researching this guide, we interviewed three bread experts well-versed in the world of bread machines: Marsha Perry, the blogger behind Bread Machine Diva, who has been publishing bread machine recipes and tips since 2009 Beth Hensperger, author of The Bread Lovers Bread Machine Cookbook: A Master Bakers 300 Favorite Recipes for Perfect-Every-Time Bread-From Every Kind of Machine and PJ Hamel, senior digital content editor for King Arthur Flour. We also looked at reviews from Cooks Illustrated , combed through forum posts on The Fresh Loaf and ratings on Amazon, and read up on advice from sources like the King Arthur Flour blog as well as Henspergers comprehensive cookbook.

Im the kitchen editor for Wirecutter, and have written reviews for cake pans, waffle makers, and more. Im also a former professional pastry cook and once worked in a restaurant where part of my job was to supply the kitchen with fresh loaves of sandwich bread. Ive made plenty of bread in my spare time, too, everything from brioche to bagels to Tartines artisan sourdough loaves.

Making Rapid Raisin Bread

The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus has a rapid setting that cuts a full hour off its cook time, and I decided to try it out using the recipe for rapid raisin bread. The ingredients were pretty much the same as they were for regular loaves, and included water, bread flour, sugar, dry milk, salt, butter, and rapid rise yeast, as well as the addition of cinnamon. Once I started the program, the machine rested for a shorter period before it started kneading, and it beeped for me to add the raisins after a half hour. When I opened the lid, it simply stopped mixing, and when I shut the lid again, it resumed what it was doing.

With the light crust setting, this loaf was cooked in a little over two hourspretty impressive, if I do say so myself. It was slightly more dense than other loaves and had a more doughy texture, but the flavor was absolutely delicious. Taste-wise, it was my favorite recipe thus far. However, I will say that a lot of the raisins settled to the bottom of the loaf, leaving the top somewhat sparse.

Testing The Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker

Trust me when I say that its seriously fun to test out a breadmaker, especially when that breadmaker is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme. My issue with my own breadmaker has always been the fact that its a 1-lb loaf, and you need to cut the loaf into huge pieces and then cut them in half again to actually eat them.

With the Zojirushi Breadmaker you dont have to do that. You can pop out your loaf, cut it up into traditional sandwich-sized pieces, and enjoy your loaf just like you would with a loaf youd buy in the store.

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Where To Buy The Zojirushi Bb

Zojirushi may not be a household name, but they have a large line of home appliances and devices with great feedback from their growing customer base.

Thanks to this companys rising popularity, getting their items into your home wont be too hard. The Zojirushi BB-PFC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus is available both in-store and online.

While its usually best to check home department and appliance stores, you can kick-start your search with the following online retailers.

Should You Choose The Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker

Out of all the breadmakers Ive used, I have to say I like this one the best. Ive made bread on my own in everything from a loaf pan to a Pullman pan for square loaves, and using this breadmaker is just so much easier than making it on your own.

It really makes a difference when you can make a traditional 2-lb loaf of bread, and I think Id use a breadmaker more often if it was always this easy to make bread you can quickly use for sandwiches.

The loaves I made with this breadmaker were amazing. With no real learning curve and a great instruction booklet, I think the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme is a great choice for anyone who wants to bake bread at home. You can find the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme Breadmaker on Best Buy right now.

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How To Add Fruit And Nuts

The Zojirushi BB-PAC20 does not have an automatic dispenser, which is unfortunate. What it does have is an audible signal alert for adding raisins and nuts. It beeps about 5 minutes before the end of the kneading step for a duration of 30 seconds. The display shows the word âADDâ. Open the lid and add the fruit, nuts or raisins to the dough. Avoid adding large or hard ingredients. Chop the fruit and nuts into small pieces, so it does not obstruct the kneading blades.

Most owners do not miss the automatic dispenser, except for those owners who like to bake raisin or nut bread overnight with the delay timer. If you are used to baking raisin bread with the delay timer for breakfast, then you might consider buying a bread machine that has an automatic fruit and nut dispenser. You may read our review of bread machines with an automatic dispenser and make your choice from among them.

Zojirushi Supreme Vs Virtuoso: The Differences

As you can see, both machines are very similar and share a lot of the same characteristics. One thing to keep in mind is that the Virtuoso Plus is the newer machine of the two, so there are bound to be a few differences.

The Virtuoso Plus was released in 2016, while Supreme has been on the market for a few decades now.

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Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro Bread Maker

The Maestro bread maker is a premium machine that comes in a premium white color with a good number of exclusive features not found in the older model. Ill talk about these as I review this amazing beast. This machine has everything youd expect to see in a modern bread maker. It comes with 15 preprogrammed courses, yes 14. Here they are: white bread, European bread, whole wheat, quick white, quick whole wheat, bread/pizza, pasta, jam, cake, sugar-free, vegan, multigrain, gluten-free, salt-free, and homemade. There are buttons on the machine which make it so easy to use.

The buttons are the arrow buttons for selecting and scrolling through courses, another set of arrow buttons for the timer, a crust control button, a cancel button, and start, cycle, and timer buttons which are all on the other side of the crystal clear and bright LCD. Below the LCD is the beautiful Zojirushi logo and the model name of the bread maker imprinted on the machine in black font.

A recipe book is included with this bread maker so you can get started as soon as possible without worrying about what recipe to try out or spending time searching for one. The recipe book contains 50 delicious recipes with pictures in full color. By merely glancing at the recipe book, you could tell Zojirushi put a lot of effort into it. Its not the best one you can get, but its very good for a complimentary recipe book that comes with a kitchen appliance.

Customer Opinions

Zojirushi Home Bakery Bb

For the love of bread, nothing compares to the aroma and taste of freshly baked loaf. Unfortunately, with our busy lives presently, most of us dont have the time to make a homemade piece of bread. But, even the busiest person can find some time to make bread if they have a reliable bread maker machine-like Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-PDC20BA Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker.

With this bread maker, it doesnt matter whether youre good or poor in the kitchen. You can easily make your favorite loaf of bread without using a lot of effort and time. The only basic skills you may require having are measuring the ingredients and putting them into the machine and finally pressing a few buttons.

The best thing about this bread maker is that it makes great bread and allows you to control what goes into your bread. If you or one of your family members have allergies or are gluten intolerant, a bread maker happens to be the ideal alternative to supermarket-bought bread.

Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker

Key Features

• Multi-grain and whole wheat courses
• Dual heaters

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Zojirushi Supreme Vs Virtuoso Bread Maker: Which Is Better

CONTENTS

If you are in the market for a bread maker, it is likely you have already come across the name Zojirushi. In recent years, these machines become known as some of the bead bread machines thanks to their brilliant pan size, versatility, and outstanding bread quality.

There are two Zojirushi bread machines in particular that manage to turn plenty of heads: the BB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus and the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme.

There is no question that both of these bread makers are some of the best on the market, but Zojirushi doesnt exactly make it easy for us to tell the difference between the two. So what is the difference between them, exactly? And which is better, the Zojirushi Supreme vs Virtuoso Plus?

If you want to see my quick breaks down of the differences between the Zojirushi Supreme and Virtuoso plus here it is:

Jam Sourdough Starter And More

This is a very versatile breadmaker, and it more than earns its name Home Bakery Supreme. If youve ever wanted to try making jam, you can try in your breadmaker. Just follow the instructions and your jam will thicken right up in the pan.

The sourdough starter function will make a light sourdough starter for you. Youll need to continue to feed your starter for a few days before you can use it, but its a good way to kick start the process.

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What Are Your Alternatives

In our guide to the best bread machines, the older Virtuoso came out on top. However, it does cost much more than the other options on our list. For alternatives, I’d suggest:

• Sunbeam Programmable Bread Maker : The least expensive alternative in our guide, the Sunbeam machine has an intuitive interface and 12 pre-programmed settings. Unfortunately, the recipe book leaves you guessing, and the unit runs quite loudly.
• Oster Expressbake Bread Maker : Another inexpensive option, the Oster bread maker is versatile and user-friendly. However, there are several reports of the machine “walking” across countertops when kneading large loaves.
• Breville BBM800XL Custom Loaf Bread Maker : We think this is the best machine for making unique loaves. There’s an automatic fruit and nut dispenser, 13 pre-programmed settings, and four loaf sizes. But, there are durability concerns, and this unit is loud.

Or, you could just do it the old-fashioned way.

In its review of the best bread machines, “Cook’s Illustrated” recommends making your loaves by hand and popping them in the oven. I did this for years, and the bread does come out delicious. However, when it comes to simplicity, I much prefer a bread machine. If there’s a difference in quality, I haven’t noticed it.

Overall, the Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus is your best option if you want homemade bread with minimal hassle.

Cons: Expensive, must be careful to follow directions closely to get the best results

Features: So Many Settings

The Zojirushi has 13 different programs including bread, jam, and dough. There are two rapid settings: one for white bread and one for wheat bread. The salt-free, sugar-free, and vegan settings adjust the baking process to accommodate those variables. While many users wont need special settings, theyre handy to have.

We found the control panel easy to use, save for one minor quibble. Since the LCD screen isnt backlit, it can be hard to read in dim light. While this might not be a problem in most well-lit kitchens, you wont want to put it in a dark corner. The setting numbers and descriptions are printed on the front of the lid for easy reference.

We found the control panel easy to use, save for one minor quibble. Since the LCD screen isnt backlit, it can be hard to read in dim light.

The machine beeps towards the end of the kneading process so you can add extra ingredients.

The rapid settings shave about an hour off of total baking time, so instead of a little over three hours, the bread is complete in just over two . Thats not as quick as some machines, but weve found that super-quick bread can be disappointing.

If you want to bake bread but have to step away from the kitchen, a delayed start feature lets you add your ingredients and then schedule a time for the bread to be finished. Since this machine has a clock, we were able to set it for an actual time rather than doing the math to figure out how many hours of a delay we needed.

The Spruce Eats / Donna Currie

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Other Settings And Features

• Automatic 2-lb. breadmaker bakes a large traditional rectangular shaped loaf, using ingredients you select
• Convenient 12-hour clock with 13-hour delay timer makes it easy to set the delay timer for fresh bread when you want it
• European course setting bakes light and savory breads that pair well with a variety of cuisines
• Rapid courses allow you to bake a loaf of White or Whole Wheat Bread in just 2 hrs. and 25 mins.
• Crust Control lets you choose from three available crust colors: Light, Medium, or Dark
• Recessed handles on the bottom of the breadmaker allow for easier transportation and storage
• Accessories include a Liquid Measuring Cup, Nested Measuring Cups and a Measuring Spoon

Product Inspirations Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus Breadmaker

We have a new breadmaker and IT. IS. AMAZING!

The Home BakeryVirtuoso® Plus is our latest breadmaker and it is equipped to make anyone a great home baker.

It makes traditional 2-lb. loaves as well as a variety of other foods. It features 14 pre-programmed course settings that alter the kneading, rising and baking functions based on the type of bread to be made. The course options allow you to make classic breads such as White, Rapid White, Whole Wheat, Rapid Whole Wheat and European-style breads that have a lovely crumb. The course options also include health-conscious choices such as Multigrain, Gluten Free, Salt Free, Sugar Free, and Vegan. And finally, this appliance is also great for making pizza dough, pasta dough, sourdough starter, cake and jam!

Along with the pre-programmed course settings, the Home BakeryVirtuoso® Plus comes with a special Homemade course, which allows you to input up to three custom recipes that youve developed, storing your own knead, rise, and bake times in the system. This great feature is perfect for keeping your favorite bread and other recipes ready to make at the touch of a finger.

Weve created how-to videos to get you started with this breadmaker. The ideal place to start is by measuring ingredients correctly. Making bread is straightforward, as is programming the Homemade Course. And finally, check out our helpful hints, in case you need a few tips.

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Zojirushi’s Home Bakery Supreme Features

Large Open Lid

There is a large viewing window to watch the baking process. The lid has an additional heater for even baking.

Inner Cooking Pan

Handles on the baking pan for easy handling and removal. Dual kneading blades to knead the dough thoroughly. Bakes a large traditional rectangular shaped 2 lb. loaf.

User-friendly LCD control panel

Choose from three crust shades, 10 pre-programmed settings, and set the timer.

Other Features

• Bakes a large traditional rectangular shaped 2-lb. loaf
• Exclusive Home Made Menu function includes 3 memory settings
• Additional heater on lid for even baking
• Quick baking cycle prepares bread in a little over 2 hours
• 13-hour delay timer
• LCD clock makes it easy to check the completion time and set up the Timer
• Includes as easy-to-follow instructional DVD, manual and recipe booklet
• Menu settings include: basic bread, wheat bread, gluten free bread, sourdough starter, dough, jam, cake, quick bread and 3 home made menus

Difference Between Zojirushi Virtuoso And Virtuoso Plus

If you have already been doing some searching for Zojirushi bread machines, then you might have already noticed that there is both a Virtuoso and a Virtuoso Plus model.

The main difference between the Zojirushi Virtuoso vs Virtuoso plus is that the Virtuoso Plus is the new and improved version of the Virtuoso. Many of the differences between the Zojirushi Virtuoso and the Virtuoso Plus is quite similar to the differences between the Plus and the Supreme.

While it is still possible to pick up an older Virtuoso bread machine off a marketplace, like Amazon, its worth bearing in mind that Zojirushi has discontinued these machines, so you might struggle to find replacement parts for the Zojirushi Virtuoso.

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