Hi April, the flour girl, I thought that, though I'm on my second bread machine, I don't have any advice to offer. The original one, that used 4 cups of flour, had about a 4 hour run-time - I think 3:50, and this one, that uses three cups, has a 3 hour 20 minute run-time. I haven't watched it closely enough to have an idea at what point of its total operation it has arrived at any given time. Actually, I don't know whether it does a double rise: sorry that this Baker (by name, if not by profession) can't offer any idea regarding that second rising. Do you have a bread pan available- or do you figure that you might need two? If not, do you have a neighbour from whom you could borrow one/two for a few hours? If you must use a flat pan and aren't enthused about the idea of having the loaf be quite thin at the edge (possibly very crusty, or even burned?) you might choose to make a circle of cardboard, about three inches high, about the size that you think that the loaf should be, and staple it, pin it, then drop the lump of risen dough inside. I hope that some of our skilled bakers/pastry cooks will have their eyes turned this way enough to give you a definitive answer. Have a really great New Year: I hope that you can rise to whatever occasion is called for throughout the year (and not get burned in the process - or too crusty, either, for that matter). ole joyful

Happyday, I agree that you are overproofing your bread, probably. If you let it rise too high it will collapse on itself and you'll get that sunken lump. Ask me how I know. (grin) Ann T, I do bread dough overnight and it's good, I've done it up to two days in the fridge and it's good, but I keep it more than that I it seems to develop a flavor that I find similar to mild sourdough. Elery loves it, so he's always hoping that I don't have time to bake that dough, LOL. jasdip, you won't find a consistent yeast amount in bread recipes. Some have more and some have less, depending on the flavor the originator of the recipe was shooting for and liked. As has been mentioned, bread is simple and forgiving, you can use more yeast or less, you can use whole wheat or white or off brand flour, oil or butter or none, milk, water, coffee, whatever and it will usually come out just fine. I just made a loaf for Elery that took a cup of liquid, I used 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of Sriracha sauce, along with a bit of dry mustard and some black pepper. White whole wheat in place of all purpose. He loved it, I'm not even tempted to try it! I had seen a similar recipe on the internet, but I didn't feel like looking it up, so I made it from what passes for my memory and it was still just fine and an absolutely beautiful color. Annie

Pumpkin Muffins 1-3/4 c. rye flour (almost any flour, or combination you like) 2 t. baking powder 1-1/2 t. cinnamon 1/2 t. ginger 1/4 t. nutmeg 1/4 t. cloves dash salt 1/2 c. raisins or currants 1/3 c. apple juice, or other fruit juice, or milk substitute 2 T. coconut oil (or vegetable oil) 2-4 T. agave nectar (a honey-like sweetener from catcus) Egg substitute equal to one egg, or you can also leave out 1 c. pumpkin puree Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a muffin tin with vegetable oil, or use cupcake papers to line the muffin tin. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Mix in raisins. Combine juice, oil, and agave nectar in a 2-cup nonmetal measuring cup or small bowl. Heat liquid ingredients briefly (20 seconds) in the microwave to soften the honey. Add egg substitute and pumpkin puree to liquid ingredients. Mix well. Add liquid ingredients fo dry ingredients and mix briefly. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and bake 20 minutes. Immediately after removing from oven, loosen muffins with a fork, and turn them sideways in the cups to cool.

Iris, I can't imagine why they would test done, but not be done. I've used the disposable foil-type pans and I did have a problem with them baking unevenly, but they were overdone, not underbaked. As LindaC conjectures, I can only think that putting them on a baking sheet may have compromised the baking process. Sorry about the bread, though, that is such a waste of time and ingredients when that happens, plus you have to do something else in place of them as a gift. (sigh) Annie