There are two things that I do 1) to prevent sticking and 2) to eliminate
the hole in the bread. First, I use Pam for the Grill (which is for higher
temperatures than regular Pam and doesn't leave a sticky residue) and the
second thing was to figure out how far into the machine's cycle the last
stir down took place. Some instruction manuals may tell you that. For my
Breadman the last stir down happens 55 minutes into the "rapid" cycle and
as soon as the machine gets to that point, I remove the paddle completely.
The bread rises and bakes and not only doesn't stick, it has no hole from
the paddle. It only took paying attention during one bread's cycle and now
I just set a timer for 55 minutes and go about my business. No sticking and
no hole in my pretty breads.
Andy in NJ