I had one when the children were growing up. I ground all my own wheat (Magic Mill) and used the Bosch to make bread twice a week. Back then (in the mid and late 80's) the Bosche could handle 5 large loaves of bread - it had a 1/2 horsepower engine. I had attachments that would whip, mix, knead, grind, juice, etc. I used that thing to death. It lasted about 12 years and then died a peaceful death. I loved it and miss those days of grinding, baking, canning. Now I have a Kitchenaid and really like it but it does not have the capacity to hold as much dough as my Bosche.

Like everyone else, I use my bread machine to mix the dough and for the first rise, then pull it out, shape it, rise it again, bake it. Salt and yeast should be kept separated, as was mentioned. I put the liquid in the bottom, then add the salt to the liquid, then the flours on top, then a well with the yeast. That way it is quite separated and will take a little while to come in contact with the salt. It makes sense to me to put the liquid in the bottom because it would be very difficult for the blade to mix if there is a lot of flour and only a little liquid (as would be the case if you put dry in first). With liquid on the bottom, it will more gradually bring in the dry ingredients. IME, when I use a "regular" recipe in the bread machine it comes out a little bit drier - I think because it is mixed better. You can open the machine when its running (even though the instructions say not to). Let it mix for a few minutes, till everything is mixed together, then open it and see if it needs either more flour or water - you should be able to tell by the texture of the dough. Otherwise, you shouldn't have a problem adapting recipes. Have fun! I make an average of two loaves a week - one for sandwiches, one french or italian type for dinner. Here is the French bread recipe I use (with comments from the book and my own comments): PAIN ORDINAIRE Plain French Bread Light and fluffy with a thin, crisp crust, this is the everyday bread of France thats only at its peak for about 8 hours after baking. Master this recipe and you can have French bread any time you want. Dont believe for a minute that you can bake real French bread in your bread machine on the French bread setting. Technique is all. Use your bread machine on the dough setting, then form the loaves by hand, bake them on a stone or in a French baguette baking pan. That, friends, is French bread. The ordinary kind. 1 ¼ cups water 3 cups bread flour (I use 3 ¼ cups) 2 ½ teaspoons bread machine yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 egg white whisked together with 1 tablespoon water for glaze Combine the ingredients except egg wash in the bread machine pan and process on the dough setting (I keep salt separated from yeast). Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and punch it down. Form it into a tight ball and cover it with the bread machine pan (I cover with a light cloth napkin). Let the dough rest for 30 to 45 minutes. Divide the dough into two pieces, form each piece into a tight ball, and set aside uncovered for 10 minutes. Flatten each piece into a rectangle about 6 x 3 inches, then form into 2 baguettes. Place on parchment or in special baguette pans (I use the pans which I ordered from The Bakers Catalogue) and cover with plastic or a tea towel while the loaves rise one final time, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven with a stone in place on the middle rack to 450°F. for at least 30 minutes (I dont use the stone if I use the baguette pans). Just before baking, brush the loaves lightly with the egg wash, and make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf. Bake the loaves in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Spritz the oven with plain water 3 or 4 times during the first 10 minutes. Turn the bread out and cool on a rack. Eat it the same day its made. Forming baguettes With a rolling pin, roll the dough away from you into a long oval about eight by twelve inches. Fold the dough in half lengthwise by bringing the twelve-inch edge farthest away down over the edge closest to you. Seal the edges by pressing the seam with your extended thumbs. Now roll the dough a quarter turn up so that the seal is on top. Again flatten the dough into an oval with the rolling pin. Press a trench along the twelve-inch-long center of the dough, then fold it in half toward you again, and this time, seal the edges by pressing with the heel of your hand. Now roll the dough back and forth, sliding your hands along the length, making a sixteen-inch-long sausage roll (mine are never this long). Place the roll seam side down on a cornmeal-dusted peel or parchment, or in a special baguette baking pan to rise a final time before slashing and baking. Make three or four quick, sure diagonal slashes in the bread just before baking.

sr712 - I've can't remember anyone on this forum question the utility and intuitive usefulness of the steam fresh cycle. You suggest motivations and viewpoints by others that just plainly don't exist. With the coming Whirlpool "steam" dryer I suppose you could debate if this feature is better served in a washer or a dryer, but little is known about the Whirlpool implementation and no hands-on experience exists. The only area of concern for a steam fresh cycle I can think of is questioning the long-term maintenance of the steam generator. If LG built a flushing cycle into the steam generator this would much lessen this concern, but so far haven't heard anyone confirm how LG keeps the steam generator clean. This concern isn't raised because I think LG does bad engineering or the machine isn't a good one (aside from the steam wash capability I actually think it's one nice machine with many well thought out features but very expensive). The concern is from having other steam appliances and seeing what can happen over time if it doesn't self clean or if the user can't easily clean it. If LG has addressed this issue then the machine will provide a useful capability that is problem free. If not, those with soft water will probably never see much of a problem, but those with hard water will have problems, but it may take 1 to 3 years before it becomes an issue. Overall the debate hasn't been over the steam fresh feature in any substantial way. Maybe my science-engineering background makes me picky, but I'd term the observations reported here as "anecdotal" rather than "emperical". "Emperical" means you've verified or proven something via observation and that suggests you've designed a controlled experiment. Anecdotal observations may be valuable especially if many observations concur, but there is a degree of uncertainty to them which preclude them validating something. It's entirely possible the steam wash cycle on the LG does a better job than the non-steam cycle, but what's been debated is that this may add no additional cleaning capabilities vs heating the wash water a little more. If in fact that's what's happening it certainly doesn't discount that the LG may wash a bit better with steam. However, if true it's also hard to deny that LG was generating a bit of hype with the steam wash feature and is creating a pure marketing feature. Having steam fill the drum is certainly much more dramatic than saying they have a wash setting with a 3 degree higher wash temperature. Without question it's a simple talking point for sales people. Enough said - lets keep the steam wash debate on the other thread.

Any of the old Singer machines with straight stitch and zig-zag will do, provided you use the right needles. They are good for quilting-weight cottons up through heavy denim ... Sunbrella is in that range. One trick is to pause just before you hit a seam, with the needle down, and put a shim under the presser foot to avoid hitting the bump and stalling. If you are planning to sew extremely heavy upholstery material - the stuff with the thick backing, puffy chenilles, car upholstery stuff - you need an industrial machine. I just bought a Singer FashionMate 237 ($15 at a swap meet) and it's having no problems with repairing denims and sewing shirts. Check at businesses that sell new machines, and repair shops, and Craigslist.