In 1986, Japan invented the world’s first home bread-making machine — and today, Japanese brands continue to produce high-quality models. Waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread is a small luxury worth having.
When I was living in Japan, we had a Panasonic bread maker and regularly made fresh bread, as well as mixing dough for bagels and pizza. It wasn’t an expensive model, but the results were consistently good, and it lasted for years before we eventually gave it away.
Osaka, where I was based, is famous for its konamon (flour-based) foods such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki. I’ve even taken a takoyaki cooking class there, which gave me a real appreciation for how central flour-based dishes are to the city’s food culture.
I haven’t personally tested every bread maker listed here. These are selected based on research, customer feedback, and feature comparisons. Zojirushi is a well-established Japanese brand, and I’ve used several of their appliances over the years, including hot plates and takoyaki grills.
Let’s get straight to it — here are three excellent Japanese bread makers.
Important: The bread makers listed here are 120V models for the US and Canada. If you’re based in the UK, Europe or Australia, you’ll need a compatible local model.
Disclosure: This page contains commercial links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you buy through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
- Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 (2 lb loaf)
- Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 (1 lb loaf)
- Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20 (2 lb loaf)
Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20
The crème de la crème of Zojirushi’s line-up is the Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20. Arguably the world’s most desirable home breadmaker, it’s a dream machine if you only want the best.
For starters, it automatically bakes 2lb loaves of bread, which makes it perfect for families. A fully automatic appliance, the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 is designed to make anyone an expert home baker.
15 Programmed courses: Types of bread and more
Boasting 15 programmed courses which define kneading, rising and baking, its versatility makes it a favourite with bread-lovers. The programmed courses include classic-style and healthy bread, doughs and jam:
- Bread: White, Whole Wheat, European, Multigrain, Gluten Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free, Vegan, Rapid White and Rapid Whole Wheat
- Dough: Dough and Sourdough Starter
- Other: Cake and Jam
- Homemade : Programme and store three of your own courses
Classic Bread: Make delicious traditional white bread with savoury and sweet twists with standard and rapid settings. And tasty European-style light and savoury bread.
Wholesome and Healthy Bread: Bake yummy wholewheat bread with standard and rapid timings. And full-flavoured multigrain bread that combines whole-grain flours and added ingredients like nuts and seeds.
Special Diet Bread: Choose from gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free, and vegan bread to avoid unwanted ingredients for healthier and special diets.
Dough: Produce dough for flavoursome favourites such as bagels, breadsticks, butter rolls, doughnuts, pizzas, and sourdough starters.
Cakes and Jam: Make luscious cakes and a variety of jams and marmalades.
Homemade course
The Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 also includes a Homemade course, which lets you create your own and store up to 3 courses. For each of the three Homemade memory settings, you can input your own knead, rise and bake times.
Homemade: Make Japanese-style party bread with sausage, cheese or chocolate. And more delights like cinnamon rolls, marble bread, meatloaf, pasta and more.
Dual kneading blades and an additional heater
To ensure thorough kneading, the Virtuoso® Plus has dual kneading blades. An additional heater in the lid promotes even baking and browning. Together, the dual blades and heater give you top-quality results every time.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 features
Packed with features, the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 includes:
- Bake traditional-shaped 2lb loaves of bread automatically – perfect for families
- 14 Pre-programmed courses – Bread, Dough, Cake and Jam
- Homemade course – three programmable memory settings
- Quick settings – make bread in 2 hours and 20 minutes
- European-style – bake light and savoury bread
- Convenient 12-hour clock with optional 13-hour delay timer – for freshly-baked when you need it
- Dual kneading blades – for thorough mixing and superior results
- Additional heating element – to promote even baking and browning
- Crust colour control – choose from Light, Medium or Dark
- Large viewing window – to view the kneading, rising and baking of your bread
- Removable non-stick coated baking pan
- Easy-to-clean and BPA-free pan and blades
- User-friendly control panel and easy-to-read LCD
- Recessed handles for easy transportation and storage
- Accessories included – liquid measuring cup, nested recipe cups for dry ingredients and measuring spoon
- Colour recipe book with 50 recipes (in English and French)
- User manual and operating instructions (in English and French)
Availability: This model is designed for 120V power and is intended for use in the US and Canada. It is not suitable for UK, European or Australian outlets without a step-down voltage converter.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10
The Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 is Zojirushi’s premium automatic 1lb bread maker. Home bakers will love the machine’s health-conscious and traditional features.
Compact with a small footprint, it’s a stylish addition to any kitchen.
15 Programmed courses: Types of bread and more
Boasting 15 programmed courses that cover kneading, rising, and baking, you’ll love this bread maker. From traditional to healthy bread, cakes and doughs, it’s a versatile and powerful machine. The programmed courses include:
- Bread: White, European, Quick White, Whole Wheat, Quick Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Gluten Free, Salt-Free, Sugar-Free and Vegan
- Dough: Bread/Pizza and Pasta
- Other: Cake and Jam
- Homemade : Programme and store three of your own courses
Classic: Bake tasty traditional white, light and savoury European-style bread
Wholesome and Healthy: Bake delicious wholewheat bread and multigrain bread with nuts and seeds
Special Diets: Avoid ingredients that you don’t want and more healthy options, like gluten-free, salt-free, sugar-free and vegan
Dough: Make dough for thin and thick-cut pizza, bagels and more, and homemade pasta
Cakes and Jam: Produce delicious cakes, jams and sauces
Homemade course
The Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 comes with a superb homemade course that lets you store up to 3 custom programmes to control the knead, rise, and bake times.
Homemade: Make tasty bread rolls, gluten-free doughnuts, meatloaf, tortillas and more.
Auto Add Dispenser
The Auto Add Dispenser is a new Zojirushi feature which is unique to the Maestro® Breadmaker. It automatically adds ingredients such as fruit, nuts, and seeds to the knead cycle. There’s no more waiting for an alert tone before manually adding extra ingredients.
Double heater
Double heaters are another unique feature built into the bottom of the breadmaker. The dual heaters promote rapid interior heating for oven spring, which, in turn, produces light and airy bread with a soft crust.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 features
Packed with features, the Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 includes:
- Bake traditional 1lb loaves of bread automatically – perfect for individuals or small families
- 14 Pre-programmed courses – Bread, Dough, Cake and Jam
- Homemade course – three programmable memory settings
- Quick settings – make bread in 2 hours and 20 minutes
- European-style – bake light and savoury bread
- Convenient 24-hour clock with optional 13-hour delay timer – for freshly-baked bread when you need it
- Auto Add Dispenser – automatically adds other ingredients, like fruit, nuts and seeds
- Double heaters – promotes oven spring for a light and airy bread with a soft crust
- Crust colour control – choose from Light, Medium or Dark
- Single kneading blade – for superior dough
- Removable BPA-free non-stick coating pan and kneading blade
- User-friendly control panel and easy-to-read LCD
Sturdy handle for easy moving and storage - Accessories included – liquid measuring spoon, double-ended teaspoon, and tablespoon
- Colour recipe book 50 recipes (in English, French and Japanese)
- User manual and operating instructions (in English, French and Japanese)
Availability: This model is designed for 120V power and is intended for use in the US and Canada. It is not suitable for UK, European or Australian outlets without a step-down voltage converter.
Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-HAC10
The Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-HAC10 is an alternative and less-expensive 1lb bread machine. Check availability and view on Amazon.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20
The Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20 is another outstanding machine which makes 2lb loaves of bread, cakes, doughs and your custom creations. It’s perfect for families, and its versatility makes it an excellent all-round breadmaker.
10 Programmed courses: Types of bread and more
Choose from 10 programmed courses which determine the kneading, rising and baking times:
- Bread: Basic, Basic Wheat, Quick and Quick Wheat
- Dough: Basic Dough, Quick Dough and Sourdough Starter
- Other: Cake and Jam
- Homemade: Programme and store three of your own courses
Basic and Quick: Make classic white bread or tasty variations like Italian herb, cheese-and-onion, raisin, chocolate, and more. Basic or quick, depending on the yeast you use.
Basic Wheat and Quick Wheat: Bake delicious whole-wheat bread and variations, including light rye, seven-grain, honey, whole-wheat with fruit or apple, and more. Basic or quick, depending on the yeast you use.
Dough, Cakes and Jam: Make yummy croissants, pizza dough, cinnamon and raisin rolls, chocolate cake, apple cake, jams, sourdough starters and more.
Homemade: Bake exquisite crusty French bread, meatloaf, and whatever you decide.
Improved baking results and ease of use
Zojirushi’s BB-CEC20 comes with dual blades for a thorough high-rise and improved results. A large viewing window allows you to watch the progress of your cooking. And a simple control panel with a large LCD makes it easy to use.
Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20 features
Packed with features, the Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20 includes:
- Bake traditional-shaped 2lb loaves of bread automatically – perfect for families
- 9 Pre-programmed courses – Bread, Dough, Cakes and Jam
- Homemade course – three programmable memory settings
- Quick settings – makes bread in 2 hours and 10 minutes
- Dual kneading blades – improved results and higher rise
- Convenient optional 13-hour timer delay – for freshly-baked bread when you need it
- Crust colour control – choose from Light, Medium or Dark
- Removable non-stick and easy-to-clean baking pan and blades
- User-friendly LCD control panel
- Accessories included – measuring cup and double-ended teaspoon/tablespoon measuring spoon
- Operating instructions and over 50 recipes (in English and French)
Availability: This model is designed for 120V power and is intended for use in the US and Canada. It is not suitable for UK, European or Australian outlets without a step-down voltage converter.
Are you ready to start baking freshly-made bread at home? Hopefully, my round-up of the best Japanese bread maker machines will kick-start you into action.
If you’re interested in Japan’s flour-based food culture, you might also enjoy exploring Osaka’s food scene in more depth, particularly its love of konamon dishes such as okonomiyaki and takoyaki, as well as other flour-based favourites like kushikatsu and udon.
And if you’d like to experiment at home, my guide to takoyaki pans may be useful.
Discovering washoku through travel in Japan. Sharing the best Japanese food and drink experiences. Living in Osaka. Join me on my journey!
