Breaking it down

Performance

Serves up excellent breads and other goodies. Hundreds of reviews from home bakers agree: the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 excels when it comes to excellence in taste and texture. It gets universal raves for its horizontal loaf, which user love because it looks like "real" bread when sliced, and is a better fit for sandwiches than the typical vertical loaf. The vast majority of owners say the BB-CEC20 performs superbly, delivering breads and cakes that have great taste and texture. A very small minority of bakers complain about bread that turns out hard, under-mixed, or overcooked in the crust -- but many report that after a few recipe tweaks or cycle time adjustments, they achieve excellent, or even perfect, results. Quite a few reviewers also say this machine makes bread much faster than others they have owned.

Ease of use

Simple to use despite multiple options. Although it can be overwhelming at the start with so many settings and programmable options, most reviewers find the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 easy to use, once they get the hang of it. A few say the instruction manual can be confusing, and, while many love the included instructional DVD, they note that it's not as convenient to pull up -- and many laptops no longer include a DVD drive, so it's not really kitchen counter friendly. However, a video on the Zojirushi website is reported as helpful. The delay-start function and preheat cycle are baker favorites, and the machine is widely considered easy to clean, although the bucket and paddle are not dishwasher-safe. Bread doesn't stick either, say reviews, it just pops right out of the pan. The BB-CEC20 bread maker has a large viewing window so that you can keep an eye on your baking, and the slanted surface makes the control panel easy to read.

Lifestyle features

Very sturdy and stable. We saw very, very few complaints about breakage or other durability problems with the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 in spite of its many electronic controls, which are usually a source of malfunctions. The few who had issues say that Zojirushi customer service is very responsive and helpful. The BB-CEC20 is a bit louder than some other bread machines, users report, but most have no problem with the noise level. It does not "walk" around the counter during the mixing or kneading cycles. It comes in white and black and stainless-steel, which owners say is very attractive. One caveat: this machine is heavy and large, so be sure you have the space to stow it (or display it) and the strength to lift it if you store it in a cupboard.

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Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker Zojirushi BB-CEC20 Home Bakery Supreme 2-Pound-Loaf Breadmaker, Black

1335 Customer Reviews

Buy New: $229.49 $199.99

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