Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker

The Zojirushi BB-HAC10 breadmaker is terrific for couples, singles, or apartment dwellers wanting a small loaf of bread (1 LB). While at first, its price may be offsetting, it is a fantastic device and made of high quality materials. Most breadmakers are too large and end up being stored in the closet, but this machine is small, sleek, and bakes perfect loaves of bread. It is the same width as my toaster and is small enough to keep out on an apartment kitchen counter. The loaves on regular cycles take between 3:40-3:00 to bake, but it has a timer and a "keep warm" feature. It is quiet and an 8-year old could easily operate its simple push button controls.

It has an even-heating element, and a good quality, heavy, non-stick baking pan, which is a snap to clean up. It has a pasta/cookie dough feature and a jam (!) feature. The tiny paddle is actually surprisingly efficient at making dough for cookies and such.

One caveat: It bakes a small, vertical loaf...Read more

I already owned the Zojurushi BBCCX20 (the 2-Pound-Loaf Bread Machine) for 2 years before deciding on buying the smaller model to adjust to changing needs. Unfortunately, I expected the same kind of "programmable" machine. The only thing programmable on the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 is the delay timer. Do not buy this machine expecting to control the time of rise, kneed and bake. Maybe I'm the only person who did use this feature on the other model, but it was truly useful for making spelt bread. The only way to make a nice spelt bread using this machine is the "Quick Baking Setting" and it cannot be combined with the timer. So impossible for me to make a spelt bread for breakfast.

Things I do like :
-The size of the machine is perfect, I store it in the cupboard.
-The beep sound (for adding raisins, nuts, etc.) is not to long or annoying like the BBCCX20 which would wake me up in the middle of the night.
-Easier to clean than BBCCX20. There are no nylon...Read more

If you are like me, you will do a huge amount of research on the web before you make a purchase like this. Usually I get it down to a few brands, then one item, then I find the best price.
Years ago I purchased one of the earliest commercial bread makers available to consumers. It was a thrill to have such a thing, as I love fresh bread, but I am also a well-known yeast killer. Needless to say, the technology was new... it worked for about a year, and only when making one recipe - Basic White Bread. I decided not to get it fixed (the price tag for repairs was over 100 bucks), and just wrote the whole idea off.
Last fall - after about ten years had passed! - I decided to try again, only this time I had the internet on my side. I am so glad I looked as hard as I did! This little machine is fantastic.
I've had my Zoji for about a month now and I've only had one failure - it was my fault, the water I put in was just too hot, and I killed the yeast (no new thing...Read more