Thirty years ago, Japan invented the world’s first home bread-making machine—and today, Japanese brands make high-quality and premium products. Waking up to the smell of freshly-baked bread is a little luxury not to be missed.
Let’s get straight to it—here are the three best Japanese bread makers.
Note: Zojirushi bread machines have been out of stock often in 2021. I highly recommend you grab one if they become available!
- 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 the kneading, rising and baking, it’s 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 to avoid undesired ingredients for healthier and special diets.
Dough: Produce dough for flavoursome favourites like bagels, breadsticks, butter rolls, doughnuts, pizzas and sourdough starters.
Cakes and Jam: Make luscious cakes and different types of jam and marmalade.
Homemade course
The Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 also comes with a Homemade course, which allows you to create your own and store three 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 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)
Where to buy a Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20?
The Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso® Plus Breadmaker BB-PDC20 is available in the US and Canada from these stores.
Note: The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus BB-PDC 20 has been out of stock for most of 2021. When it’s available, it sells out in days. Grab one while you can!
| Country | Offer / Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
US & Canada |
✔ |
Buy from Amazon >> |
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 health-conscious and traditional making features packed into this machine.
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 which alter the 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, and light and savoury European-style bread
Wholesome and Healthy: Bake delicious wholewheat bread, and multigrain 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 which allows you to store up to three custom programmes which 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 like fruit, nuts and seeds to the knead cycle. There’s no more waiting for an alert tone before adding extra ingredients manually.
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 and 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 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 and 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)
Where to buy a Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10?
The Zojirushi Home Bakery Maestro® Breadmaker BB-SSC10 is available in the US and Canada from these stores.
Note: The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus BB-SSC10 has been out of stock for most of 2021. When it’s available, it sells out in days. Grab one while you can!
| Country | Offer / Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
US & Canada |
✔ |
Buy from Amazon >> |
Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-HAC10
Still, looking for a Zojirushi 1lb breadmaker? The Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-HAC10 is an alternative and less-expensive 1lb bread machine.
Note: The Zojirushi Home Bakery BB-HAC10 has been out of stock for most of 2021. When it’s available, it sells out in days.
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 wholewheat bread and variations such as light rye, seven-grain, honey, wholewheat 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 thorough for a 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)
Where to buy a Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20?
The Zojirushi Home Bakery Supreme® Breadmaker BB-CEC20 is available in the US and Canada from these stores.
Note: The Zojirushi Virtuoso Plus BB-CEC20 has been out of stock for most of 2021. When it’s available, it sells out in days. Grab one while you can!
| Country | Offer / Availability | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
US & Canada |
✔ |
Buy from Amazon >> |
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 partial to doughy type foods, nothing beats Osaka’s most-famous soul food takoyaki (octopus balls). It’s one of my favourites and a dish I’ve cooked many times. To save you time, check out my best takoyaki pans and makers.
For more inspiration for enjoying Japanese food at home, see my recommendations for the best ramen cookbooks. Here you’ll find all you need to know and a lot more about how to make Japan’s favourite soul food.
And if you’re just starting on your journey or want to brush up on your skills, why not take an online Japanese cooking class? From healthy miso and tofu to delicious home-style cuisine, to classics like sushi, there’s a cooking class course for everyone.
Or, if sashimi and sushi are more your things, check out my recommendations for the best online and virtual sushi-making classes and courses. And if you’d sooner do more research and understand more about the most Japanese of Japanese dishes, check out my top sushi cookbooks.
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