Brenda asked what to do with the bread dough after she uses the dough cycle
on her bread machine. I find that the dough cycle gives me dough that has
been completed through the first rising. Thus, I take out the dough, punch
it down, let it rest a few minutes, shape it, let it rise again, and bake
it. I have had good luck using "regular" recipes and the dough cycle on my
bread machine; it makes a great dough, and the shaping and final rise are
the easy parts!
Glenn asked about horizontal bread machines. I have a 2 lb. Zojirushi
horizontal machine that I got from the King Arthur catalog, and part of the
reason I bought this machine is that I wanted my loaves of bread to look
like loaves of bread. I love the machine, and find that the bread does,
indeed, look like a "normal" loaf of bread, unless I give it lots of yeast
and long rises (this machine is programmable, which is a great feature once
you overcome your fear of anything that seems remotely like trying to
program the VCR); in that case, it looks like a very high, but nonetheless
"normal" loaf of bread. I would recommend this machine to anyone looking
for a bread machine.
Thanks to those who recommended More Bread Machine Magic; I got a copy for
Christmas and am already having fun with it!
Barbara