Hello!

I'm so gald to have found this website.  For several reasons I've decided to get serious about making my own bread.  I hope this isn't sacrilegious, but I have a simple bread machine and would like to use that for my baking or at least mixing the dough.  This is mostly a convenience issue as I work full-time and have little time to actually wait 90 minutes for bread to rise etc.  Making bread by hand seems very time consuming.

I desire good whole grain loaves.  Mine so far seem to come out very heavy and not something my spouse enjoys.  I do plan to get some bread flour and vital wheat gluten to add to the dough today.  I read in my bread machine instruction book that it may help lighten the loaves.

I am open to any and all suggestions, and looking forward to participating in discussions.  Most of all I appreciate your sharing your wisdom.