Fats play several rolls....including tenderizing. Not only how much and what kind of fat you add, but also WHEN the fat is added to the dough will affect the finished product. When fat is added early in the mixture along with the flour, it coats the gluten and then the gluten develops in short strands for a compact crumb (almost cake-like if it's a fairly large amount of fat) and you will end up with a shorter loaf. Use the same recipe and wait to add the fat after mixing - just before kneading - or you can add the fat during kneading by coating your hands with it so the dough doesn't stick to them, and you will find you get a more open crumb and a higher-rising loaf than if it is added early. When a small amount of fat is added after mixing and before kneading, the fat increases the gas-holding ability of dough. So those are the three different times you can add the fat. Actually, less is more when adding fat to yeast breads. If you want soft dinner rolls choose all-purpose flour over bread flour. Use high-gluten bread flour for making hard rolls. The gluten is also a factor for a soft crumb, not just the fat. By increasing the fat you have essentially "shortened" the gluten strands via fat, and also increased the calories. You can do the same thing by using a lower-gluten flour. Fat also helps keep bread fresher longer. Lean doughs will stale much quicker (within a day) than an enriched bread recipe. This is especially true if you use coconut oil because it is also helps prevent mold development. Butter, as we all know, adds flavor. In doughs, like a brioche, that have high amounts of butter, you may need to refrigerate it to keep the high amount of butter from melting during fermentation. These recipes are best handled while they are cold. -Grainlady

I didn't think that Ciabatta Bread could be made in a bread machine...but found this on the web: Here is a link that might be useful: Bread Machine Ciabatta

Well, here's another opinion... Refrigerating bread? Not any more. I'll leave it out first. Refrigerators tend to dry it out. Freezing it will keep it better. And I agree that it's not the method to freeze, but the thawing but after that I disagree. What I've experienced is thawing it in the bag the condensation gets on the bread. Take a loaf and put a tablespoon or so of water in the bag and leave it sit. See if it clings to the wrapper. I'll bet it won't! I either leave the bag open a while to evaporate the excess moisture or pull the bread out of the bag and let the bag dry, or I'll take a dry bag and transfer it. Bread thaws quickly, especially if it's sliced and you pull it apart. I've never tried the paper towel thing but I'd guess that would help keep the excess moisture away from the bread.

Thanks for all the answers, folks: I'm glad to hear from other bakers! Of all the breads I hear about here, plllog's are the ones that speak to me most. But, although, if I really set about it with determination and a decent financial investment, I might be able to get the tools and supplies necessary to make bread as I see described here, I'm not willing to do that. I live in the country in Italy, and 98% of my groceries come from our small local supermarket. There is no Costco. No Whole Foods. I have no store that offers rye flour, grain berries, molasses, bran, wheat germ, reasonably priced oatmeal, or a host of other ingredients for baking standard in the U.S. I don't like to drive, I don't like to run around, I'm reluctant to add to our terrible air pollution, and gas costs about $7 a gallon. Add to this the absolutely horrible dis-service offered by our post office-affiliated package delivery company, which, after my last traumatic experience, caused me to swear that I would never again order by mail anything that would have to be delivered through them (there are other couriers, if one has a choice). So I work with what I have. This suits me, from a philosophical and practical standpoint, and while it's likely possible to make better bread, mine makes me happy. I've gotten used to the fresh yeast, which is reliable, and I have a fair variety of recipes I've worked out. The last one was potato and buckwheat (I was able to find buckwheat flour again, thank goodness!) and it turned out really tasty. That one was majority whole grain, simply because I had run out of white, and that improved it. Plllog's comments make me think, again, about how much I could learn about bread baking. The "soaker" is new to me. Who knows, this may stimulate me to some modest experimentation. Like Annie, if I want substantial nourishing bread, I have to make it myself. The Italian bread is good with a bowl of beans and broth but it just doesn't work as standalone food. Add to this that Italians don't really eat breakfast, so there's not much of an offering of sturdy food for the start of the day. I think my tolerance of grain-based foods has diminished as I've grown older, and it may be that baking with a sponge, and adding a variety of ingredients improves the digestibility of my breads. My diet is relatively low in cereals--I eat them regularly, but in much smaller amounts than when I was younger--and I mostly eat bread as the centerpiece of breakfast. It powers me up! in the most satisfactory way. Today is the potato and buckwheat bread--we're on our last loaf; I'll have to make more. There's a non-sweet almond bread in the freezer, made with milk, olive oil, and lots of almonds. If it gets cold enough I might even want to try a sweet bread. I made one last year with raisins, fennel, and orange juice and peel that I remember as being good. The basic dough of that one was similar to that of the almond bread, made with milk and oil. The loaves made with fats don't need butter. All my breads are part whole-grain, usually one third, though I may try upping that in some cases.