I'm a stickler for bread science, so I don't just load the machine and push start. The last thing I want, and the thing I NEVER make, is a tasteless loaf of white bread that was start-to-finish done in one-hour on the Quick Cycle. But that IS an option that works very well for busy people and is primarily why so many people buy bread machines. They're fast when you want them to be... I like a nice 2-1/2-hour to 12-hour sponge to start with and go at it from there. For all beginners - although I don't like the title - I think "Bread Machines For Dummies" by Glenna Vance and Tom Lacalamita an EXCELLENT book for general education as well as a wide variety of bread recipes - a great book. Tom Lacalamita also has authored "The All-New Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook" (Fleischmann's Yeast Edition) that is also very good. I add unusual ingredients not normally used by most people. Always adapt standard bread machine recipes to those ingredients, and use many of my own original recipes. I guess I primarily use the bread machine as a mixing and kneading tool. I don't even allow the dough to rise in the bread machine. We only use a one-pound loaf of bread per week, but I keep a constant supply of other things in the freezer, like hamburger/sandwich rolls, hot dog buns, pecan rolls, cinnamon rolls, English Muffins, dinner rolls, speciality breads, etc. I do mill my own flour for pennies, like tricia pointed out. Even with my expensive wheat, it takes 10 cents of wheat to make a 1-pound loaf of bread. With the price of commercial bleached/unbleached flour going up so much, I keep NONE in the house anymore, but use all home-milled flours and process my own multi-grain cereals that I add to many breads, and make my own flakes, as well. When I used up the small amount of commercial flour I had last winter, that was it. But I'm committed to whole grains for the health of it, and use a great variety of beans/seeds/grains in my breads. Not just wheat. It's not just about dollar and cents and getting our money out of the price of the bread machine. How often do you use any number of high-priced gadgets and appliances in the kitchen to make them pay for themselves? (And don't even LOOK in the manly areas of the home for rarely-used tools! ;-) If you want it and can afford it and really plan to use it, then enjoy it for what it is. It's a great way to control the ingredients in the breads you eat. I got my Zo so that I could eliminate trans fats, use freshly-milled ingredients and keep the heat out of the kitchen and save energy by baking in the bread machine (which I did do in my first one when I first got it). I have carpal tunnel in both arms, arthritis in my fingers, and tennis elbow in both arms from too many years of professional knitting and crocheting. The bread machine is a great tool for me to extend my ability to make bread. Some people play golf, have a boat and camper, RV, gamble and enjoy all kinds of expensive vices and hobbies - I do none of those, but I have my bevy of mills and my bread machine and a large amount of grains/seeds/beans in storage and that's MY hobby/vice. About cleaning the bread machine... The Zo is very easy to clean because it has a non-stick surface. However, you CAN'T submerge the pan in water. When I make dough, I clean the dough out of the pan with a silicon spatula. Allow the pan to sit while I make whatever bread product I'm working on. Within 20-30 minutes, any dough residue left in the pan will be hard and dry and I brush it out with a soft cloth or a paper towel. Wipe out with a dishrag and hot soapy water, rinse, and dry. Occasionally, things get tossed out of the bread pan and get inside the machine. I take a clean, soft paint brush (or a pastry brush would work), and dust the area free of any errant flour and other things. -Grainlady

Oh so right about adding coconut oil (liquid) to cold ingredients!!! Make sure your eggs are room temperature, and you may need to take the chill off of milk, yogurt, or other cold ingredients (few seconds in the microwave), otherwise you'll end up with chunks of solid coconut oil. The "solid nature of coconut oil is a PITA but will need to adjust to it" isn't a problem if you leave your coconut oil at room temperature, especially during warmer weather in an ambient temperature warmer than 70-degrees F. It gets harder the cooler the ambient temperature, but I've never stored coconut oil in the refrigerator - EVER. As part of the "Seven Survival Foods", I store enough coconut oil for 3-years (which I do of all the "Seven Survival Foods") and rotate it regularly and it's stored in a cool basement storage room until I move it to the kitchen. Several years ago I kept a cup of Nutiva Coconut Oil in our pantry for several years after the use-by date to see if it would go rancid. It never did and I finally went ahead and used it for homemade deodorant mixed with baking soda, cornstarch and essential oils. I mix coconut oil with homemade peanut butter or almond butter. You can purchase it already mixed, but it's a lot cheaper to do-it-yourself. I use several brands, and LouAna brand (I can get it at Wal-Mart and Dillons/Kroger) doesn't have any coconut flavor, and it's also the least expensive I can purchase locally, and use it when I don't want any coconut flavor. I like to use a brand that has the light coconut flavor in baked goods that has chocolate in it. It's my little "secret" flavoring ingredient in brownies. Coconut oil is also great in homemade yeast bread to help slow staling and mold. I also use coconut oil in many of my homemade "convenience" foods that call for shortening or butter - pancake mix, baking mix, Magic Mix (a mixture of powdered milk, cornstarch and coconut oil - used for making homemade Fudgsicles, pudding, cream of ______ condensed soup, Pesto Alfredo Sauce, etc.). There are all kinds of things you do with coconut oil (see link below). I always wipe any off a spoon and use it as hand lotion. I apply it to my face each morning and night. I often make a hot beverage mid-morning and add a dollop of coconut oil and a tablespoon of gelatin powder as a pick-me-up (I get up around 3 a.m. daily) and it keeps me from snacking. For bacon grease.... I purchase packages of bacon ends from a local meat packing company and will cook the entire package. Much cheaper than buying bacon and you can use it in nearly the same ways you would strips. I strain the bacon grease, put it in mini-muffin tins and make bacon grease "pucks" and freeze them in a vacuum-sealed container. I freeze the cooked bacon ends on a flat cookie sheet in a single layer, then portion them in snack-size plastic bags and vacuum-seal them in a FoodSaver bag. The bacon pieces work in egg dishes, topping a BLT (sandwich or salad), etc..... -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: 101 uses for coconut oil

Cookbooks and booklets are great fun, especially old ones. There were many versions of Rumford cookbooks and were quite common to most households, so aren't valuable (about $15-$17). Fannie Farmer wrote a 1922 version (plain red and black cover) and 1906 Rumford Cook Book. I have the Lily Maxworth Wallace version. I sometimes think the hand-written recipes inside the books are the most interesting part of the book. In my Rumford Complete Cook Book (1908), originally owned by Mrs. Jack Bush of Glen White, W.VA. (I purchased it for $3 in central Kansas), is a typical-for-the-times Jell-o recipe for "Under-the-Sea Salad" and "Date Surprises" (scary, huh) on the MOMORANDA (blank) sheets. I wonder if this hand-written recipe was a family favorite.... Graham Cracker Ice Cream 1 c. crushed Graham Crackers 2 c. coffee cream 1/3 c. sugar 1/2 t. maple extract (no other instructions) -Grainlady

I think you'll find those stars are plenty deep enough. That company was started by the husband of the original owner of House on the Hill. The business was sold when she got cancer but on a trip to Switzerland his interest revived. So the name may be new but it's a company with a lot of history. Two things come to mind about deep designs aside from the mold itself. One is the cookie dough. Humidity (water content) makes a big difference. If you develop a recipe that really works for you and have a scales, I'd transpose it to weight. Volume isn't very helpful except for those really skilled bakers who know by feel when the dough is "just right" and adjust with every batch. Secondly, a good impression takes a fair amount of pressure. A lot of springerle makers press the designs on a lower table or counter to get more leverage. One guy even got up ON the counter and KNEELED on the mold. That may be extreme, but you can't be dainty with these things. Getting a good impression also is dependent on the amount/type of leavening (the recipe) and the accuracy of a slow oven so the dough doesn't spread too much. That's just the tip of the iceberg. Basically it's practice and figuring out what works for you. Carol