Not only are bread machines not for everybody, they're not for every type of
bread. But they do work for some families for some types of bread. We have
a fondness for Japanese-style white bread (i.e., the Japanese version of
western white bread), which I discovered by accident the bread machine makes
quite well, simply by substituting one-half to three-quarters of the flour
in a standard recipe with First Clear flour from King Arthur, plus a
teaspoon of dough enhancer. Of course, you'll need to experiment with
adjusting liquids amounts a tad up or down, and maybe cutting back on your
yeast a bit to avoid an explosion. No, it doesn't have quite the magic of
handmade ... but then again, it takes me 5 minutes to whip up before I go to
bed, and it's waiting for us hot and fresh for breakfast.