I never actually thought the towel kept the crust soft--the potato flour kept the entire loaf moister (and I love a crisp crust). One other problem I ran into--it may be my imagination, but when I used the dough cycle on my Zojirushi (either programmed for this loaf in terms of time/rising etc. listed in the recipe or simply the dough setting), that's when I ran into the most problems with the loaf--sinking, falling when the lid is opened at 25 minutes, oozing out of the pan early in the baking process. The dough somehow comes out more sticky when I use the bread machine (weighing the ingredients when feasible); I went back to using my KA mixer, which makes a lovely dough. Does the mixer do a better job of kneading? I also thought it might be weather related since the worst problems happened in the humid months of summer. So this is what I do now...KA mixer, let rise, but not to within 1/2 inch...more like 3/4 or even 1 inch, bake 28 minutes before removing lid. I also think the "new" recipe says bake 20 minutes, where the "old" recipe was not so long. This is really a wonderful loaf--my son's favorite in both white and wheat. It's just sometimes a challenge because you can't see how the dough is responding when the lid is on the pan! I have found everyone on the Baking Circle to be helpful on these points, too. Tracy, in our test, the Zojirushi makes bread that rises higher; it seems to knead more thoroughly. Summer does indeed factor in; bread dough will be stickier in summer, because flour is like a sponge, and absorbs moisture from the air in the summer; thus you should add a bit less liquid to your bread dough in summer. As for the pain de mie - let it rise to about 1/2" below the rim, put on the lid, wait 10 minutes, and put into a hot oven. If you have the right amount of dough in the pan to begin with (about 40 ounces, about 4 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour), it should work fine. PJH

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