Thank you, PJ, for all of your work, recipes, and teachings. I love this post because I’ve had a ZO Virtuoso for several years. It makes wonderful bread and GF bread. I am particular and don’t mind taking the time to make a bread from the machine to look and be professional. I interact with the machine at several stages. That said, sometimes I’d like to make a decent loaf without the extra tweaking. So, I already to the steps you’ve mentioned except replace the bread for cooling. Only because I’ve never had that problem with it. When I want to remove the paddles, I watch the time till the last punch down, and then i gently lift one end of the bread, remove the paddle, and gently replace that end, patting it a little if need be. I do the same with the other end, and then if necessary, I pat the loaf to shape it o be ready for rise and bake. Once, I took the bread out to completely reshape it and it was very easy. And just before the bake cycle starts, I often brush the loaf gently with egg white or something and sprinkle seeds or oat flakes, etc., on top. People are surprised when they find out its’ been made in a bread machine. It would not be my nature to “set it and forget it.”

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