Yes, Doris, I am. And it's not just me; you're making all of us sick. Doris, civilized people have known since the 1950s that you don't put bready products in the compost pile. And actually, it's not the rats, and it's not the planarians; it's the gross out factor. And don't jump down my throat, I'm not saying that you're not civilized (Or clean.); No, I'm guessing that you're really young, or maybe you live alone and you've kind of let things slide 'cause you have no one to impress? Don't comb your hair anymore? Don't care what people think about you or your yard anymore? Do you find yourself drinking milk that's been left out for a few days? Doris (May I call you Doris?), I'd like to help you. But it starts with you recognizing that you need help. You seem a little resistant. I'd like you to try an experiment. Put a piece of bread (or cereal or baguette or roll) in a dish containing water. (The water represents moisture in the atmosphere.) Wait 15 minutes. Look into the bowl. I think that'll take care of it.

Just a bit of nostalgia here. I bought a GE (BEFORE it was B&D) 4 slice toaster oven in 1969. It was fabulous. You could see the toast & stop it if it was getting too brown. It was chrome. I could make it gorgous & shiny new looking with almost any cleanser. When you opened the door it pulled the tray out a little so you didn't have to stick your hand in to get your toast. It was perfect. It was great for about 30 years, and then after much faithful service the heating element died. Since then I have bought about 7 or 8 toaster ovens for my kids' apartments, to replace mine (and theirs!) etc. They're all just awful. I've bought expensive ones & cheap ones. They take forever to do the job, or they're too fast & burn. Almost none slide out the tray for you. It shouldn't be that hard to find one that just works right. I think, though, I'll try the Cuisinart some people have recommended.

Linda - I just made it a few days ago using my favorite recipe from Yankee Magazine. Maybe the title of this thread sent subliminal messages LOL! Anyway, is this close to the one you were looking for? Oh yea, and I made rolls instead of a loaf, but same idea. ************************************************ Dill Bread Yield: 1 loaf An unusual, very moist yeast bread, redolent of dill. Great served with Italian food, and popular at parties, too. 1 package active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water 1 cup creamed cottage cheese 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon chopped onion 1 tablespoon butter 3 tablespoons dried dillweed, dill seed, or a combination of both 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 egg, slightly beaten 2-1/2 cups all-purpose white flour Melted butter to glaze Combine the yeast with the warm water. Set aside. In a saucepan over low heat, combine the cottage cheese, honey, onion, butter, dill, baking soda, and egg. When the butter is melted, remove from the heat. Stir in the yeast mixture. Gradually add the flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Place in a large, well-greased bowl and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Punch down, shape into a loaf, and place in a greased 8-inch by 4-inch loaf pan. Let rise until doubled again, about 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Brush the top with butter while the bread is still warm.

I've always found my bread machine to be very forgiving. Yes you often can tweak with the dough. Another thought is that you might not be using a recipe for a big enough loaf. You might need to go up a size if it's really small but tastes right. That would explain the smaller amount of yeast and the small loaves. Are you using recipes that were designed for that machine or generic ones? Most of the generic ones seem to be for 1# loaves that I've seen anyway. The other thing I found that makes a big difference is I warm the pan by filling it with hot water for a minute or two before use. Putting the small amount of warm water in there can easily be cooled down by the pan and room temp. Here's one of my favorites and it fills my ABM nicely and with good yeast (just test it - yeast lasts a long time if kept refrigerated or frozen) and with a warm pan. Pepperoni Bread It's like a loaf of pizza! 1 C + 2 T water 2 T sugar 3 C bread flour 1-1/2 t garlic salt 2/3 C pepperoni slices chopped 1-1/2 T italian seasoning 1/3 C mozzarella cheese 1-3/4 t yeast (I usually add a little more, maybe 2t total?) Optional: Fresh ground pepper depending on what's in the italian seasoning. When placing the pepperoni in, mix into the flour to coat the chunks. Use a basic white cycle and a dark crust for best results (on my machine anyway). Do not use timed cycle for this bread. When done, remove and cool on a rack. Heat some pizza sauce or tomato sauce mixed with garlic salt and italian seasoning and use for dunking to serve as an appetizer. ItÂs delicious toasted. Best if served warm (microwave is fine). Well, here's another two for reference: Bread Machine Garlic Bread 1 C water 3/4 t salt 2 T water 3/4 T butter 3 C bread flour 3 T parmesan 2 T bread flour 3/4 t italian seasoning 1-1/2 T sugar 3/4 t garlic salt 3/4 T butter 2 t yeast Add in order recommended for your ABM, set to light crust and rapid cycle Onion Egg Bread 2-1/4 t yeast 1 T sugar 3 C bread flour 4 T powdered milk 3 T onion flakes 2 T butter 1-1/2 t poppy seeds 1 C water 1 t salt 1 large egg 1 t lemon juice Place all ingredients in machine as directed by your machineÂs instructions and start. Do not use with the timed cycle due to its perishable ingredients. Good luck!