Actually, what he touts is a method that Julia Child recommended in the first edition of The Way to cook....what? 23...24 years ago? It's so not a big deal.... As I have said time and time again....cooking is not brain surgery or quantum physics... Use your head.....when you have multiple liquids, adjust them to be room temperature....if that means putting fairly warm water in with the cold egg....so be it. But the temperature of a tablespoon of ice cold yeast in the whole mix won't change anything you can detect. Grandmothers and great great grandmothers have been making bread for eons....really really good bread! And I will bet you the farm they never worried about a few degrees difference in the temp of the flour....but I also know they didn't keep the flour in the shed in January in Minnesota. Bread really is very very easy, just use common sense. Linda C

Linda, If you want to convert a bread machine recipe to a made by hand recipe, try this: in a bowl - put in the water or other liquid called for add in the yeast, whisk to dissolve, let sit 5-10 minutes to "proof" the yeast and made sure it is viable add any sugar, honey, maple syrup or other sweetener called for in the recipe, stir well add half of the flour called for in recipe, add salt and mix well, stirring with a strong spoon or heavy duty whisk also add in any dry herbs or spices now add in any butter, oil, or other fat called for - if melted butter, make sure it is only just warm, not hot - add in any egg(s) listed in recipe add in rest of flour and any other ingredients, chopped herbs, nuts, dried fruits, cheese, etc. stir well with spoon or mix with your hands until dough is a rather shaggy mass turn out dough onto a clean, floured flat surface and knead for 8-10 minutes adding only small sprinkles of flour if the dough sticks to your hands and the kneading surface [if you forgot those nuts, cheese, or raisins, you can knead them in now] when dough has been kneaded sufficiently it will come together into a nice firm ball (rather than a shaggy mass) and spring back when poked with a finger grease or oil a large bowl (or use the one you mixed in), put dough in, turn it around in the oil to grease the top of the dough and turn it oiled side up in the bowl; cover with a bowl cover (shower cap type), plastic wrap, or wax paper, then cover with a clean kitchen "tea" towel (dampened with hot water if you are making whole wheat bread) and set the dough to rise until doubled in bulk turn out dough, knead 2 minutes, divide into portions according to recipe or not - form loaves and put in greased loaf pans or not - cover again with wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk preheat oven, bake bread until done, let cool at least a few minutes before cutting - and enjoy!

CC, my Zo does not have an adjustment for the first rise, I'm assuming the thermostat automatically adjusts to the internal temperature of the machine, and that's only an assumption. FOAS, what would you like for a basic bread recipe? Something like a plain french baguette? Or a sweeter eggier farmhouse white? Even honey wheat? How I bake the loaves depends on the crust I want. If I want crusty baguettes, I shape the loaves and bake them freeform on a hot baking sheet. Many here use baking stones. If I want a tender crust and some white sandwich type bread, I use Grandma's old farmhouse white recipe, with milk and eggs or Sol's recipe for Hnoey rolls: Personally, I really like honey wheat, so that's what I make most of and sometimes I make free formed round loaves with lots of crust and sometimes I bake it in loaf pans for sandwich slices and toast. If I want a soft crust I brust with melted butter when it comes hot from the oven, if I want a crusty loaf I spritz it with some water a couple of times while baking. I know Ann T sprays her oven with water, and she uses a stone to get the proper heat and humidity. Anyway, for what it's worth, here are the recipes I use for those basic things: HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD INGREDIENTS: 3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour  2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour  2 pkg. active dry yeast  2 tsp. salt  1 cup milk  1 cup water  1/2 cup honey  3 Tbsp. oil  1 egg PREPARATION: In large bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, the yeast, and salt and mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water, honey, and oil until a thermometer reads 120-130 degrees F (warm) Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. Beat this batter for 3 minutes. Then, gradually stir in rest of whole wheat flour and enough remaining all-purpose four to form a firm dough. Sprinkle work surface with flour and knead dough, adding more flour if necessary, for 5-8 minutes until smooth and satiny. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour, until double in bulk. Punch down dough and divide into 2 pieces. On lightly floured surface, roll or press each piece of dough to a 14x7" rectangle. Starting with shorter side, roll up tightly, pressing dough into roll with each turn. Pinch edges and ends to seal and place dough, seam-side down, into greased 9x5" bread pans, making sure short ends of bread are snugly fitted against the sides of the pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until the dough fills the corners of the pans and is double in bulk, 30-40 minutes. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until bread is golden brown. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. I like to brush the bread with butter when it's still hot from the oven for a softer crust. BREAD (GRANDMAÂS RECIPE) 1/3 cup sugar 1 cup milk 1/3 cup butter 2 eggs 1 pkg yeast 1 tsp salt 4  4 1/2 cups flour vital wheat gluten (optional) Mix milk, butter and sugar, heat until butter melts and liquid is very warm. Add eggs, then beat in flour, salt and yeast until stiff dough forms. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 7  8 minutes. Turn dough into greased bowl and let rise in warm place until double. Punch down dough, shape into loaves or dinner rolls and let rise again. Bake at 350 until done (25 - 30 minutes for loaves, 12-15 minutes for dinner rolls) Makes 1 large or two small loaves or 18 dinner rolls BREADMAKER INSTRUCTIONS: Heat milk, butter and sugar. Place two eggs in bread pan, add liquid. On top of liquid place flour, salt and vital wheat gluten. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour yeast in well. Do not allow it to contact wet ingredients. Process as for dough, or allow machine to bake. Honey Rolls 1 cup milk 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup butter [1 stick] 2 teaspoos salt 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar* 2 pkges. dry yeast 1/2 cup warm water [110º-115ºF] 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 6 - 6 1/2 cups AP flour Heat the milk, add butter and salt. Set aside while butter melts. Stir in the honey. In another bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let it sit until yeast is completely dissolved, about 6-7 minutes. Combine milk mixture with yeast mixture. And stir in the beaten eggs. Beat in 4 cups flour. Add enough remaining flour to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to coat both sides. Cover and allow dough to rise 1 hour. Punch dough down, and allow to rise another hour. Punch down again, and shape dough into rolls. Let it rise again 45 minutes to an hour or until doubled in volume. Preheat your oven to 375ºF and bake rolls for 25 minutes or until a deep golden brown. For a very soft crust, brush rolls with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven. Note: You could omit the sugar from this recipe altogether. I sometimes use about a teaspoon of the honey called for in the recipe to feed the yeast instead of the sugar. Finally, here's one that's especially targeted at the food processor, if you want to try it. It was simple, came out fine, but I liked the one I made with the bread machine better, the interior texture was "holier", if you get my drift. It goes without saying that I didn't proof the yeast, and I do have french bread pans. The dough is pretty "slack", so if you don't have french bread pans you'll need a "baker's couche". I understand that the canvas in a real couche absorbs some moisture and makes the bread crustier. I've used parchment paper to "prop up" the loaves and it works, and I've baked these freeform and it also works but my loaf tends to flatten out. I don't really care, but it's not the traditional shape, LOL. French Bread in the Food Processor 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar 2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package) 1 2/3 cups warm water (105-115°F) 1 tablespoon olive oil Pulse flour, salt, and vinegar in a food processor to combine. Stir together yeast and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl until yeast is dissolved, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.) With motor running, pour yeast mixture and remaining 1 1/3 cups warm water into flour mixture in processor, blending until dough forms a ball and pulls away from side of processor bowl, about 1 minute. Cover processor feed tube and let dough rise until it fills bowl, about 1 hour. Pulse several times to deflate dough. Generously oil bread pans with olive oil. Turn out dough onto a work surface and divide in half (dough will be very soft). Press 1 half into a 10- by 8-inch rectangle and fold in the 2 short outer sides to meet in the middle, pinching edges together. Turn over (seam side down), then roll and stretch into a 15-inch-long irregular loaf. Put loaf, seam side up, in bread pan and turn to coat with oil, leaving loaf seam side down. Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Let loaves rise, uncovered, in a warm draft-free place 30 minutes. Put oven rack in upper third of oven, then put a large roasting pan with 1 inch of water in it on bottom of gas oven or on lowest rack of electric oven. Preheat oven to 450°F. Make 3 shallow diagonal slashes down length of each loaf with razor. Bake loaves 30 minutes, then carefully remove pan of water from oven. Remove bread from pans and turn upside down on upper oven rack, then bake until golden and crusty all over, about 5 minutes more. Cool loaves on a rack. Good luck. Don't forget that if your water is too hot, you'll kill the yeast. If you think it the dough needs to be kneaded more, it does. More better than less, when kneading bread. Oh, and if you want to rip that end chunk off hot from the oven, go ahead. It's your bread, but there is a difference in taste and texture if you let it cool a bit. Annie

Here's a recipe for a single loaf. NO-KNEAD BREAD NO-KNEAD CAST IRON BREAD This no-knead bread is inspired by an original recipe from Jim Lahey, the bread maestro behind New York City’s Sullivan Street Bakery. Even the most intimidated baker can feel confident using Lahey’s method, which requires little work but a bit of time. Cooking this bread in a hot Staub cocotte is ideal, because the steam created in the cocotte creates a crispy crust and a luxuriously soft interior. INGREDIENTS 3 cups bread flour, plus more for the work surface 2 teaspoons salt 1⁄4 teaspoon active dry yeast 1 1⁄3 cups lukewarm water, plus more as needed HOW TO MAKE IT In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Pour in the lukewarm water and, using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture until it comes together into a sticky dough. If it isn’t sticky, add more water, a couple tablespoons at a time, to get there. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and keep in a draft-free place for 18 to 24 hours. Lightly flour a work surface. Gently remove the dough from the bowl onto the work surface. Form the dough into a ball, gently tucking the sides of the dough under. Place the dough onto a large piece of parchment paper. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise for 1 to 2 hours, until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 475°F. Place a medium cast-iron cocotte into the oven while it preheats. When the cocotte is hot, carefully remove it from the oven. Using the parchment paper sides as handles, gently lower the dough into the cocotte. Cover the cocotte, place it into the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the bread is golden brown in color. Remove the bread from the cocotte and allow to cool for 1 hour before slicing and serving.