I just gave away my much used 15-year old V-20 last night to friends who's 20-year old S-15 finally died (after making 100% whole wheat bread at least once a week - including baking in the tiny 1# loaf machine), and my other one is an X-20 (purchased 2009). So those are much older models than what you are considering.

After looking at some web sites, I wonder if the additional heating element in the lid of the Virtuoso is a problem since that is a feature other Zo machines don't have?

If you are like nearly all the Zojirushi owners around here, we use them for making dough, not baking it them, so the additional feature of the heating element in the lid for the crust color wouldn't make any difference.

If you are considering the Virtuoso for the gluten-free bread feature, I couldn't even justify it for that because the recipes are so full of high-glycemic starches and rice flour (which contains too much arsenic to be consumed regularly -- at least in my world). I make all kinds of gluten-free bread without a bread machine. The few times I did make a bread machine gluten-free bread, the bread machine was completely unnecessary when all was said and done.

I don't think I've been much help since I don't own either machine, but if I was looking for a new one, I'd skip the Virtuoso (because of the heater in the lid) and choose the Supreme.

Good luck with the BIG choice ;-)

-Grainlady

I'm no expert but I like my Virtuoso. I've had it for a couple years now and have used it a lot . When I researched them I read more problems with the ones that didn't have the heating element in the lid. I will say I don't use my for bread as.much as I used to but do use it all the time for dough. Am using it for this tommorow. I'm very happy with it and have no issues with it yet

I got my Zo just before they came out with the element in the lid. I really wish I had that. Even if you'll mostly use it for mixing dough, why not have the one that will bake evenly?

I have the Zo with the browner in the lid; have had it for about 2+ years. I make GF bread every week - 5 to 10 loaves to sell - sandwich bread and tea breads, tops brown nicely though not as dark as the sides and bottoms, but still better than the anemic-looking ones I've had come out of other bread machines. I've only had one single loaf not work out right in all those years, in the heat of the summer, probably not enough liquid. I also use it for making dough for GF French bread, challah, cinnamon rolls, and other doughs. They all come out great and it has saved me a lot of time and cleanup. It is literally press and play; walk away and wait for the ding. It is dedicated to GF to prevent cross contamination so I have no experience using it for wheat based breads.

Mine is so old that it's probably obsolete, but I have to say that the thing is a workhorse, I use it a couple of times a week, it's made thousands of loaves, and I do mean thousands. I don't bake in it, I use it for dough to save my carpal tunnel, but it just keeps chugging along, churning up dough from Challah to Japanese Milk Bread to Grandma's Farmhouse White.

I heartily endorse the brand, even though I can't help you with the model, sadly.

Hugs to you, you've been on my mind.

Annie

Well, I did it. I ordered the Virtuoso from Amazon and should have it on Monday. I've had a Breadman Ultimate for years (and can't remember the brand I had before for many years) and really liked it until last year. All of a sudden the bread wasn't turning out and it was the same recipes I'd relied on forever. Like most of you, I used only the dough cycle and did the baking in the oven. I can't wait for it to be delivered on Monday. A new toy. Nancy, I will be trying to sell bake goods at the local farmers market this summer, too, so it will be a blessing for that. At church they call me the Baker because I've always done a lot of baking for their bazaars. Thank you everyone for your input. Oh, and the Virtuoso was on sale for $256 plus I used my reward dollars so it was an extra good deal.

Madonna

Happy Valentines Day All........

I'm slow to respond but.......I think you made a good choice. In 1998 I purchase my first bread machine, a Zojirushi V20 and I loved it from day one. It turned out to be a kitchen gadget I have used faithfully changing the way we eat bread . Thirteen yrs later it began to give some trouble, the paddles would lock up, DH would get out tools and thru his maneuvering he would get to work again. It just would not die. In fall of 2012 after much insistence from DH (the gadget guy) I purchased a Zojirushi Virtuoso Pac 20, heating element in the lid. I did some complete baking in it, thought it did okay. However I usually have from 1998 baked my bread in the oven. I am more satisfied with oven baking than in the breadmaker itself, there is a huge difference oven baking versus breadmaker baking.

So I guess it serves me as a dough maker mostly. As far as breadmakers go I guess it is a high dollar item. Still have the V20 and it works, using occasionally when doing "lots".

I am a Zorjirushi satisfied customer. Shirl

P.S. a hint...on my first maker I added everything in order with the pan seeded down in the maker. Later down road I notice little brown spots showing up in area under pan around the coils. I would clean and scrub just could not keep ahead of the "fly specks" and finally gave up. On second breadmaker for some reason I started out with the pan setting out of the maker, would add everything and then seed the pan down. The inside of new maker looks new. My thinking is when adding the flour it would splatter some and after a time with the baking it browned and baked on.

I am also late coming into the conversation. I've got the X-20, which I've had for at least 10 years or so. Like many here, I rarely bake bread in the machine. I make dough with it, then either make loaves or rolls outside of the machine. It's much better than my old West Bend which gave up the ghost after 8 or 9 years. I love my Zoji.

Donna

I'm also late to the conversation. I had an X-20 and got a Virtuoso about 1-1/2 to 2 years ago. I really liked the X-20 but was disappointed with the anemic looking top crusts. The Virtuosos's top heating element takes care of that problem. Both machines were/are great for kneading heavy whole grain doughs.

I really like the fact that I can turn off the rest period. That means I can go directly into knead for a few minutes, cancel the machine, let the dough rest for 15-20 mins., start the machine again and go back to kneading. Also, the Virtuoso allows up to three custom programs, so you can create a special program specifically to meet your needs.

The only complaint I have is that loaves baked in the machine can sometime turn out lopsided. Much taller on the right side. However, I usually take care of that by flattening the dough and evening it out immediately after the rise function has started.

As others have said, I use it mainly for kneading. But during the summer, I often bake directly in the machine. I need bread stuffs, don't want to heat up the kitchen, and no longer care whether a sandwich or burger is on a bun/roll or just plain bread. (And it's too hot to care if the loaf is lopsided.) Once winter hits, it's back to manual baking.

Hope you enjoy your new machine.