I have now written several post on making bread using a bread maker. I’m a gadget guy who has a couple of bread makers as I like to compare how different machines work. Along these lines my $14 thrifted bread maker works well as does my Zojirushi Virtuoso, which is considered a top of the line machine.

Today, I’ll make some bread in the Zojirushi machine and explore the differences between it and my $14 thrifted bargain.

Here is the recipe that I’m using today.

Remember to add the ingredients in the order listed. I’m using the whole wheat setting on the Zojirushi. The Zojirushi frequently wins top awards for the quality of the bread that it produces. It has a unique twin paddle system that makes a loaf shaped similar to the bread that you would buy at a bakery. It also has a second heating element in the lid to help with browning of the bread. You can create your own bread programs on the Zojirushi. Lastly, it has a pre-warm cycle that heats up all of the ingredients before it starts the kneading process. How important are these features? Let’s make some bread and find out.

I like to weigh my flour to get a more accurate measurement. You can weight all of your ingredients, but many of my recipes are in standard volume measurements and I’m usually too lazy to convert every single ingredient.

To 9 ounces of water I added 1.5 teaspoons of salt.

And 1.5 tablespoons of oil. I’m using olive oil here.

The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of molasses, but I’m using honey. If you use the same measuring spoon that you used for the oil, the honey will easily slide out.

I thought I would try adding 1/8 teaspoon of ascorbic acid as this can help with rise and has some some mold fighting qualities. This step is completely optional.

Now its time to add the flour, which I did by weight. Half whole wheat and half bread flour, two cups each.

In went the two teaspoons of active dry yeast.

A bread maker is a set it and forget it gadget. However, since I’m using this recipe for the first time I wanted to make sure that the dough looks good. If there was a lot of flour remaining or if the dough ball looked “ratty” I would have added a tablespoon of water and repeat this step until I had a nice smooth ball like the one above. If the dough looked too wet and was not forming a clean ball I would add a tablespoon of flour and repeat after 30 seconds until it looked like the above.

Into the bread maker it went on the whole wheat setting.

The bread turned out well, it was soft with a good crumb.

Here are my conclusions on my $14 thrifted Regal machine versus my top of the line Zojirushi Virtuoso.

-Both can make a decent loaf of bread.

-The $14 thrifted machine has a vertical pan, so when you slice the bread you get a square slice that reminds me of square sandwich bread. The Zojirushi machine makes a long loaf that resembles bakery bread. Its somewhat unique double paddle pan creates a more traditional loaf than most other horizontal pan machines with a single paddle. Those slices can be quite tall. Note, if you cut those tall slices in half they fit just fine in a toaster.

-Both machines bake the bread well, but the Zojirushi has a finer and more even crumb.

-Some say that the double paddles on the Zojirushi kneads a better dough. However, I don’t see much of a difference.

-The top heating element on the Zojirushi does brown the top of the bread a bit better, but not enough to make it an important feature in my opinion. I have also used the Zojirushi Supreme which doesn’t have a top heater and it seems to brown the top of the bread well too.

-The Zojirushi allows you to program three additions “courses” (programs) where you can determine all aspects of the kneading, raising, and baking process. This is pretty cool if you are a baking nerd.

-The Zojirushi machines is much heavier and robust than my thrifted machine. It will likely last longer.

-Usually the paddles followed by the bread pan are the first things that need to be replaced on a bread maker. Zoljirushi will sell you these replacement parts, while most other companies won’t. However, they are quite expensive, close to the cost of a new off-brand bread maker.

-The Zojirushi sometimes makes a lopsided loaf. This doesn’t happen with the thrifted machine as the pan is vertical.

In conclusion: Yes, the Zojirushi Virtuosos makes the best loaf, but my $14 thrifted machine also does a fine job. If you are into making bread machine bread get the Zojirushi. However, it is quite expensive. I picked up mine used for much less than the retail price. If you want to save some money but still want a Zojirushi consider the Zojirushi Supreme which is basically the same machine as the Virtuoso, but without the top heater. Additionally, it has a few less “courses” (programs). However, the only additional program that is worth considering on the Virtuoso is the gluten free program. But you can program one of the memories in the Supreme to do the same thing.

With all of my praise for the Zojirushi I have to say that my thrifted machine makes fine bread and great dough. Unless you are a nerd like me it is hard to justify the additional expense of the Zojirushi machines. However, you do you.

Peace

Mike