Zojirushi BBCC-X20

The Zojirushi BBCC-X20 is a highly advanced bread machine that boasts sourdough-starter and custom cycles. It has two mixing paddles, which do a better job than a single paddle at mixing and kneading. Owners say the Zojirushi bread machine is very flexible and can make jam, cakes and even meatloaf. Most prefer the Zojirushi breadmaker's horizontal loaves -- which look like store-bought sandwich bread -- to machines that bake vertically. While reviewers agree that the Zojirushi BBCC-X20 is the best full-featured bread machine, those who don't care about custom cycles or specialty items like jam and meatloaf can get by with something far less expensive like the Panasonic SD-YD250 (*Est. $130) or the basic Sunbeam 5891 (*Est. $55).

The Zojirushi BBCC-X20 bread machine has garnered more than 500 owner-written reviews at Amazon.com and nearly 300 at Cooking.com, which are the best places to judge owner satisfaction. We also found more than 80 owner-written ratings at Epinions.com. In his review for BreadMachineDigest.com, Robert Barnett bakes everything from multigrain sourdough to cinnamon rolls in his Zojirushi BBCC-X20 bread machine before rating it on performance, features and design. Editors at BreadInfo.com provide a one-page write-up on the Zojirushi breadmaker, but they mainly discuss features and do not explain their testing methodology.