AM, my Zo has a special setting for quick breads, so I'm assuming it's a quick mix, no rise and a bake cycle. I haven't used it because I just don't bake that many quick breads. I think whether you allow your kids to use an oven and at what age depends on the kids and on your "worry level". I used the stove and oven way before I was 12. Amanda did too, but she was a very responsible and meticulous child. Ashley was/is prone to being distracted. I've come home more than once to find something turning to charcoal in the oven because she forgot it was there and went somewhere with a friend, or (more likely), that she baked something but forgot to turn off the oven and it had been heating, empty, for several hours. sometimes she turns the oven on, gets distracted and decides not to bake, but forgets to turn the oven off. And, because I am a worrier, I worry all afternoon that something is in the oven or on the stove and I'm going to come home to a house full of smoke, which has happened more than once. Anyway, if you have bread machine recipes, I'd try one of those and see how the machine works. I do have a couple of bread machine cookbooks, I can check when I get home tonight. Annie

I tried the START/STOP function again, just as an experiment, and it actually worked this time. I used the Whole Wheat Yogurt recipe from the Panasonic's manual, page 24. I set up the machine for basic bake and medium size & crust. I used KAF white whole wheat flour, so I figured if I couldn't change the settings, basic bake would still work fine. I pressed the START/STOP button, and the rest cycle began. I waited one (1) minute before pressing it again to stop the cycle. I held it down until the red light went off. As promised in the manual, the screen went blank. So I started the setting all over again, this time setting it up for the whole wheat bake and a medium size. However, I was not happy about the fact that whole wheat loaf would take five (5) hours. Once I pressed the START/STOP button, I waited three (3) minutes this time before pressing it again to stop the whole procedure. The screen went blank again, and I re-set the original settings for basic bake, medium size & crust. Once again, success. The cycle is in rest mode, and I'm not going to fool around with the machine any more today. I'm happy that this function works, but I'm hesitant about trying it in the middle of an important function like kneading. However, it's good to know that if I am using the dough function and want to let the dough rise outside the machine. I can stop the machine now and just take the doughball out. I had forgotten how much longer the Panasonic took to machine-bake a loaf. The Zojirushi only takes three (3) hours for a basic loaf while the Panasonic takes four (4) hours. Anyhow, thanks, DC, for the nudge. I have no idea what I did differently today, but I'm glad you gave it a try and reported back.

robin, I adapt non-bread machine recipes to use in the bread machine all the time, I've never found one that didn't turn out, so I don't see why it wouldn't work the other way around. I'd mix all the wet ingredients, beat in the dry ones, then knead until it feels right, probably the obligatory 7-10 minutes. Let rise, knock down, shape, rise and bake. Although 350 is my "universal" temp I'd do bread at 375F for 25 or 30 minutes, depending on the shape of the loaf. make sure your liquid ingredients are warm, but not too hot, so you don't kill the yeast. And no, I never proof today's yeast and I haven't experienced any problem, as long as the yeast isn't outdated. Heck, you know my theory on bread. People have been baking it in one form or another for centuries in everything from fireplaces to the most expensive ovens, or on hoes over a fire. Toss everything in a bowl, mix, knead, rise, bake. It'll be good. That recipe, BTW, looks really good, I think I might try that myself as soon as my loaf of high protein honey wheat is gone. Annie

I'm BAAAACK! Thanks so much for your many good ideas and links. And, yes, I'm thinking more of a grainy, nutty, seedy bread with _some_ softness and some bits of seed/nut and dried ginger or bits of tart dried fruit, but not too much. I thought that I'd never escape Verizon Customer Service Con-Fusion Hell. Now, a neighbor is caught up in their Rabbit Hole machine. Pray for her. (I mean, put down your spatulas, get on your knees, and really pray.). She told me she'd lost her Internet and TV; I offered that was because Verizon gave them to me. Now it's her turn to speak with Any-Which-Way call centers -- all with conflicting advice and opinions and no one overseeing things or lending cohesion to the proffered "information." For about a week I could only get Internet access via an old "smart" phone and slow 4G. And the phone working memory space is lean. Then (now, still) my arm is sore. I think I lifted something a tad (x25) too heavy. My biceps deltoid hoopalongacepts muscle-tendon whatchamacallit is crazy painful. Even reaching for a cup of coffee, or reaching around behind me (for remote) is painful. And today is already too hot for me (Iceland and Northern California sound great). Back to bread (finger typing with sore arm, so please excuse errors): Some of you suggestions look really good. With my sore arm muscle, I truly might need to resort to a bread machine or Kitchenaid with dough hook. For the past year, I've been experimenting with my "lazy-busy-sore-hand" pizza dough recipe: I pretty much follow the Bob's Red Mill Artisan flour recipe for pizza dough, but make it a bit wetter. Then I let it rise at cool room temperature or fridge temp inside a thinly coated EVOO poly bag. When it rises to ~ double, I stretch/fold over the dough. After about 24-38 hours, I use it for pizza dough. Someday, I hope to learn Ann-T's recipe and technique. However, I want to try and not consume too many simple carbohydrates (the type that quickly raise one's blood glucose). I am a lover of things like pies, pastries, breads and cakes, but I am no longer 18, so must pay attention to what I eat. In another week or so, I will try either using my Kitchenaid with dough hook or the bread machine (ack) to make some multi-grainy, nutty-seedy bread. I will report back on how it goes (but don't want to bore the many accomplished bakers here). April was cold, snow, rain and wet. Then I had paper work to take care of. I never got much of anything planted, and now it's very hot (for me) in interior New England. My body hates heat and humidity and is _not_ supposed to be in this climate. Cornwall would be better ;-) Our garden rhubarb is ready and is even starting to bolt. Maybe I can find a way to make a few rhubarb dishes that won't send my body's blood sugar into sustained hyperdrive. I've not gotten any our our rhubarb for three years -- always some volcano, flash flood, or "other" to grab my time. Maybe I can freeze some and use some for a smart tart (galette) or bars.