Michelle, I see bread machines at garage sales regularly, usually priced from $5 to $10. I'd start there. I picked up a DAK one recently that looked like it had hardly been used. (DAK was a catalog, Drew A. Kaplan, sold nifty stuff. His machine is made by Welbuilt. I think Sears has those. It's a sturdy machine.) This latest machine is for one of the kids one of these days. I have a couple of my own (yes, that does mean I have 3 bread machines). Mine have been used so much that I figured giving one to the kids it would be nicer to have a less used one. I now don't make bread often, maybe once every couple of weeks. I'm going to start freezing half the loaf. I make pizza dough and make small personal crusts I lightly bake and freeze, and I make pita bread, usually a half batch so I end up with about 6, to go with a batch of baba ghanoush or hummus.

I have two machines because one was mine and one was my father's. And there are times when I have them both set up - Thanksgiving, for other celebrations, I'll make rolls or pizza dough, etc. enough to feed a crowd. I always set it on the manual setting so when it finishes mixing and kneading I take it out and shape it or pit it in the pan I want. I used to make bread the old fashioned way before I had these machines, so I understand well the science and chemistry that goes into good bread or other dough. These are a great tool to speed things along.

I have some public library materials due today, so am ripping two recorded books (Nero Wolfe stories) to load onto my mp3 player. I'll drop it off on my way to my other library tonight. I was also folding laundry, organizing the freezer some, piddly stuff, but now I'm at work, this is a late night with a lecture at my library this evening.

SRS