Description
The Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA Home Bakery Virtuoso Plus is the most capable bread machine in this catalog and its two defining features both address the same complaint people have about bread machines: the loaf comes out pale on top and shaped wrong. Zojirushi lists dual heaters, one in the base and one in the lid, and double kneading blades, producing a rectangular 2 pound loaf. It runs at 120 volts drawing 700 watts, with a 39 inch cord, and weighs 24 pounds.
Why the Lid Heater Matters
A conventional bread machine heats from the bottom and the sides. The top of the loaf sits in the air space under the lid and never browns properly, which is why machine bread is often recognizable by a pale, soft crown even when the sides are dark.
Zojirushi puts a second heating element in the lid. The result Zojirushi claims is even baking and browning across the whole loaf. That is a specific engineering answer to a specific and well known limitation, and it is the main reason this machine sits above the rest of the range.
Three crust shades are offered, light, medium and dark, and with a lid heater those settings actually change the top of the loaf rather than only the sides.
Double Blades and the Rectangular Loaf
Most bread machines use a single kneading paddle in a tall square pan, producing the characteristic bread machine loaf that is too tall to fit a toaster and gives odd shaped slices.
The Virtuoso Plus uses two kneading blades in a horizontal pan, producing a rectangular 2 pound loaf closer to a conventional bakery shape. Two blades also knead more thoroughly across a wider pan, which Zojirushi links to a higher rise. For anyone whose objection to bread machines is the shape of the slice, this is the model that answers it.
The Course List and the Rapid Cycle
Zojirushi lists an unusually broad set of health oriented courses: multigrain, whole wheat, rapid whole wheat, gluten free, salt free, sugar free and vegan. Salt free and sugar free are rare and genuinely useful, because both ingredients affect yeast behavior and dough structure, and a standard program will not compensate correctly when they are removed.
Gluten free deserves a note of its own. Gluten free dough behaves nothing like wheat dough, needing a different mixing and rising profile rather than simply different ingredients, so a dedicated program is the difference between a usable loaf and a dense brick.
Rapid courses bake white or whole wheat bread in 2 hours 25 minutes. That is fast for a bread machine, where a standard cycle typically runs 3 to 4 hours, and Zojirushi publishes the figure precisely rather than vaguely.
The 13 hour delay timer allows a loaf to be set the night before and finished for the morning. That is the feature most likely to determine whether a bread machine is used weekly or stored in a cupboard.
Highlights
- Dual heaters in the base and the lid for even browning.
- Double kneading blades producing a rectangular 2 pound loaf.
- Health courses: multigrain, whole wheat, rapid whole wheat, gluten free, salt free, sugar free and vegan.
- Three crust shades: light, medium and dark.
- Rapid courses baking white or whole wheat in 2 hours 25 minutes.
- 13 hour delay timer.
- Large LCD control panel with a key code on the lid, viewing window and indicator light.
- Removable nonstick bread pan, liquid measuring cup, nested measuring cups and measuring spoon included.
- 120 volts, 700 watts, 39 inch cord. 18 by 10.5 by 12.87 inches, 24 pounds.
Things To Consider
At 24 pounds and 18 inches wide this is a large, heavy appliance. It is not something to lift in and out of a cupboard between uses, which means it needs permanent counter space or it will not get used. Buyers short on counter should look at a compact 1 pound machine such as the Zojirushi BB-HAC10.
The specification field gives the number of programs as 7, while the description and feature bullets list more course settings than that. The listing does not reconcile the two, so the exact program count should come from Zojirushi’s manual.
The machine is hand wash only. Bread machine pans and paddles generally are, since the nonstick coating and the shaft seal do not survive a dishwasher, and it is worth knowing before buying.
Two kneading blades also means two blades to remove from the finished loaf and two shafts to clean. That is the cost of the more even kneading and the better loaf shape.
At 700 watts the machine draws less than many countertop appliances, so a shared kitchen circuit is unlikely to be a problem, though the cycle runs for hours rather than minutes.
There is no automatic fruit and nut dispenser on this model, so raisins, seeds and nuts have to be added by hand when the machine signals. On an overnight cycle that means being present at the right moment, which defeats the point of the delay timer for a fruit loaf. The Breville Custom Loaf is the machine in this catalog that solves that.
The paddles also stay upright through the bake, so the finished loaf carries two holes in its base and both blades have to be removed from the bread. That is normal for a bread machine and it is a small daily irritation worth knowing about.
Who It Suits and Who Should Look Elsewhere
This suits a household that will bake bread weekly rather than occasionally, particularly one baking gluten free, salt free or sugar free, where the dedicated courses do work a standard program cannot. The lid heater and the rectangular loaf answer the two most common objections to machine bread, and the 13 hour timer makes fresh bread in the morning a realistic routine rather than an ambition.
It is the wrong machine for a small kitchen or an occasional baker, where the footprint and the weight cannot be justified. Those buyers should compare the compact machines in the bread machine range, or the Oster 5838 ExpressBake for a cheaper 2 pound alternative. Buyers wanting a fruit and nut dispenser and custom programming should look at the Breville Custom Loaf.
