Zojirushi Home Bakery Breadmaker BB-KWQ10

The only "ME" time for shopping is when Mr W goes for his hair cut or when he has other errands to do.

Mr W has been talking about a bread machine for months but  I wasn't keen in getting it. Reason being I have a mixer and an oven, I should be able to bake breads with these 2 tools.

I have done my homework on bread makers and also gotten feedbacks from my colleagues and friends who have gotten a bread maker at home. Most of them told me the bread maker is very useful at home. Much more useful than a air fryer. Hmm...I was thinking of getting an air fryer too. But till next time.

So when Mr W went for his haircut last week, I went shopping. I was supposed to shop for bakery accessories but in the end, my eyes strayed. I went to Tangs then back to my favourite shopping mall - Takashimaya. Without much help from the sales personnel, I bought the Zojirushi bread maker.

Why Zojirushi?

I believe most people will prefer this brand. Then again perhaps not. For us, especially Mr W, he has his preferred brands for different household items. For rice cooker or water boiler, it is either Zojirushi or Tiger and they have to be Made in Japan. For knives or any sharp items, it will be Zwilling J.A. Heckels. For bigger machines like washing machine and dryer, it will be Miele.

Alright, back to the home bakery bread makers from Zojirushi. Do note that both the home bakery bread makers are Made in Thailand. Not Japan. But still it is Zojirushi!

The design of this bread maker is compact and it is smaller than most bread maker in the market.
However when we place Zojirushi Home Bakery Breadmaker BB-HAQ10 and BB-KWQ10 side by side, the latter is slight bigger.

Price 

• BB-HAQ10 is selling at S$339.
• BB-KWQ10 is selling at S$369. 

With such a sweet pink colour tone, I was smitten by BB-KWQ10. Hell no, I am not a pink person.
As BB-KWQ10 works the same as BB-HAQ10 and it has additional function (which I will tell you later) and there is not much of a price difference. We decided to buy BB-KWQ10.
*Do note that price quoted are correct as of date at Takashimaya.

Additional function of BB-KWQ10

There are 2 additional functions to this new bread maker.

1. It has a removeable self dispenser to include additional ingredients such as raisins and nuts. Do note that mini chocolate chips cannot be place in this dispenser as it will melt before being added into the dough. It is easy to remove and clean. 
2. It has a new function -Natural Yeast Course. I have not play around with this yet but will update you once I do.

Process

I tried baking a loaf of white bread with medium crust. Last Saturday was my first time using the bread maker, so the baking seems so loooong. Hmm...4 hours 10 mins. Imagine I started the machine at 3pm. Yes, in the afternoon at 3pm. My slow cooked beef stew was done before the bread. I have learnt my lesson. So next time, I will bake in the morning and perhaps, set the timer the day before.

Result

The result is a nice brown outside but a chewier inside (compared to the normal white bread we purchased). The bread texture is almost like kueh - that was how Mr W described it. But I like the bread. It goes well with the stew. :)

I am not sure what went wrong. Probably a few factors,

1. I did not sieve the bread flour. 
2. Perhaps my measurement was off. 
3. Perhaps the yeast has come into contact with the salt. 
4. The impatient Mr W went ahead to cut the bread when it was out from the baking pan. (I guess hunger must have caused this. So the crust was a little too crispy) 

I will try again. I believe I just have not perfect it.

Cleaning

Cleaning is a breeze. Soft sponge and  a bit of dish washing detergent is enough. Do ensure it is completely dry before placing them back.

I am thinking of making croissants this weekend. It seems easy except Mr W said, "Shouldn't the bread maker just bake croissant or buns? It is so troublesome when you have to take the dough out and do what you need to do and place them in the oven to bake."

Really?!!? Come on guys!!! It is a machine and it has already help us big time to make the dough. I guess guys just don't get it.