As a lover of good bread, I found the bread stocked up at the local bakery and supermarket not much to my liking. They lacked that extra something that I loved about my mother’s homemade bread.
I decided that the best way to indulge my exotic bread cravings was to bake it myself. Being a working mother, I do not have the time to wait out the rising, kneading and rolling out procedure of breadmaking; I decided to research the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Bread Maker.
What To Know Before Buying
The Zojirushi BB-HAC10 is a relatively small bread maker weighing only 12 pounds. It makes a vertical 1lb loaf of bread in about 2 hours, in quick baking mode. With its 8x11x12 inch dimensions, it is tiny enough to take up very little space on your countertop. This makes it ideal for busy or not so big kitchens.
This little bread maker will work fantastically well for a small family of two to three, who do not consume much bread or a single person.
If you have a larger family and need more bread, I’d recommend the bigger 2 pound loaf, bread making Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA.
Some useful advice
- Do you need more than 1 pound of bread per bake, then maybe consider going for a bigger breadmaker like the Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA or similar that caters for a larger appetite.
- This machine does not have a sourdough starter, and neither are there any sourdough recipes included in the manual. For that, you can consider one of the bigger breadmaking machines like the Zojirushi BB-CEC20 or the Zojirushi BB-PAC20.
- A great feature that might make you jump on the wagon and settle for this little bread maker, is its delay timer. You can delay bread baking up to 13 hours. This comes in quite handy if you want to wake up to freshly baked bread in the morning, by synchronizing it with the time you get out of bed.
- Also, keep in mind that the bake cycle cannot be reprogrammed according to your preferences.
The Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Bread Maker
The Zojirushi BB-HAC 10 mini bread maker is a smaller version of the Zojirushi BB-PDC20BA. It allows you to bake square 1lb bread perfect for households that don’t have large eating needs and want to have freshly baked bread at their table on a regular basis.
t has plenty of features and comes at an affordable cost. With the help of the easy-to-follow instruction manual, you can make bread without any hassle at all. The recipe booklet gives you ideas for various types of bread.
This bread maker might not be a perfect fit if you’re looking for the capability of adding ingredients while in baking mode. The kneading blade will leave a small hole in the loaf as it is not collapsible while baking.
Pros:
- Small in size
- Perfect for small families
- Automatic and programmable
- Easy-to-use LCD Control Panel
- Fast baking cycle
Cons:
- The kneading blade is not collapsible
- LCD doesn’t have a backlight
- Reprogramming of the baking cycle not available
Features and Benefits
The first thing you notice about this product as you unwrap it is its sleek design and compact build. Many people love that it blends perfectly with your kitchen appliances and that it doesn’t use a lot of space on your countertop. The bread maker is white in color, and stands in a vertical position. The bread that comes out of the bread maker is square in shape, and you can get some good-sized slices from it.
Since the machine is small, it has only one kneading blade that makes it lightweight and compatible. The baking pan is removable, making cleaning the product very easy.
1. Loaf Size
Zojirushi BB-HAC10 is a bread maker that makes 1lb loaves of fresh bread. It produces about 8 slices from the one loaf.
2. Settings
You cannot select the time of rising or kneading. These are preset and not customizable.
You can have 3 textures of bread: firm, regular, or soft bread, with 2 crust options: light or regular crust. There are 6 bread settings: French bread, cake, jam, regular bread, soft and cookie dough. You can make various kinds of rolls, loaves of bread, and croissants with this product.
The LCD panel is easy to follow. Instructions are clear, and you can set them as per your needs. It has a quick baking mode, if you want to bake your bread quicker in 2 hours, and also a delayed baking mode, which can take up to 13 hours.
3. Instructions Manual
Following the instruction manual will have you making bread even if you have no prior experience. However, since it is a smaller bread, the ratio of crust to bread is more.
4. Dough You Can Make
The dough setting on this product can be used to make dough with dry yeast. The whole process takes two hours or less. You have to follow these steps:
- Rest
- Knead the dough
- First-Rise
- Stir the mixture
- Second-Rise
The recipes and the instructions for the following dough are provided in the instruction manual:
- Pizza dough with beer
- Traditional Pizza Dough
- Doughnut
- Croissant
- Cinnamon Roll
- Brioche
- Butter Roll
- Soft pretzels
- Whole wheat buns
You can also prepare cookie and pasta dough. There are recipes for sugar, basic, and oatmeal cookies, along with recipes for pasta, lasagna, and scones.
If you are baking a cake, all you have to do is add the ingredients, and the machine will do the rest. You don’t have to mix the batter for cakes, nor do you need to put the cake in the oven.
5. Cleaning the Kneading Blade
If your kneading blade gets stuck, all you have to do is to put some water in the baking pan. This will loosen it up. Later, use a detergent and a non-abrasive sponge to wash the bread maker. Make sure that you don’t immerse the baking pan in water. Doing so will result in rusting. Don’t keep water inside the pan for long as it will damage the rotating shaft’s seal. Do not wash the product in the dishwasher.
Social Proof
When it comes to new products, user reviews are very important. Reviews from people who have bought the product and used it will tell you the negative and positive aspects of it.
There are plenty of positive reviews about the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 on the web. In fact, I found 1243 customer reviews at the time of writing and they had awarded the Zojirushi BB-HAC10 4.4 stars out of a possible 5 on average.
The customer reviews on Amazon are excellent overall, but there were a few niggling points raised. One customer reported poor pan durability.
However, no one else seems to have experienced the same problems, so perhaps it isn’t a widespread problem. Other customers said, “Must buy,” and, “Happy family with full tummies!” and, “five years, fresh bread weekly,” and finally, “Fresh baked bread on the road in our RV. Heaven!” It was nice to see so many positive and beaming reviews regarding this product.
Alternatives
In case you would like to broaden your horizons and compare with other breadmaking machines, here are 3 similar bread makers:
1. Sunbeam Programmable Bread Maker
If you’re looking for a different quality bread machine, you should be happy with the Sunbeam programmable bread maker. Although, with it’s 60$ price, it is significantly cheaper. It’s a great choice if you want to create different kinds of loaves that need time and dedication. Both price and quality are excellent! It’s one of the best bread makers that has been extensively reviewed on Make The Bread
2. Oster Bread Maker
If you like the idea of having freshly-baked, homemade bread, but don’t want to go over your budget then this Oster bread maker is the perfect option for you. It has plenty of features and can make loaves up to 2 lbs in weight. The product has 12 different bread settings, and you can adjust the timer as per your needs.
3. T-fal Bread Machine
Looking for a bread maker that has a gluten-free setting? Take a look at the T-fal Bread machine. It provides three different options for gluten-free loaves of bread. Moreover, you can use it for making all sorts of bread that are not gluten-free. It can make bread that weighs up to 2 lbs and in 3 different sizes. Moreover, the product keeps the bread warm for one hour after it has been baked.
Conclusion
It is great to have fresh, home-made bread that brings back childhood memories of smells from your mother’s kitchen. The Zojirushi BB-HAC10 is easy to use as a bread maker. It is perfect for use by bachelors and families of 2 to 3 people, who don’t want to waste bread and want to eat freshly baked as well. It is a well-built machine that is compact and lightweight. You will definitely appreciate this unit. Click here to learn more about the bread maker.
