Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We bought this machine based on a recommendation from a friend at work and other reviews we read on Amazon. First of all, let me say that this is a great product. The recipes are easy to follow and the bread is outstanding. We brought the machine with us when we visited relatives over the holidays, and two of them are now going to get machines for their families. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WROTE NEGATIVE REVIEWS, AND THOSE WHO HAVE READ THEM, PLEASE READ THIS!! For my first loaf I went to the store to get flour. At the store I talked to the guy stocking the flour aisle about what kind of flour to use (note that the recipes specify "bread flour"). The grocery store guy and another woman who joined in the discussion assured me that I could use all purpose flour, so that's what I bought. The loaf came out so-so. It was quite dense, and the middle of the loaf was sunken instead of nicely puffed up (many of the negative reviews describe exactly this problem). So I googled "bread flour" and found out that it is significantly different from all purpose flour. It's higher gluten and protein content produces stretchier, chewier bread, but more importantly, it traps more of the carbon dioxide from the yeast so that the dough rises properly. Equipped with this information, I went back to the store and bought King Arthur BREAD FLOUR. What a difference! My son described it as a 1000% improvement. Every loaf since then has been outstanding. One more thing. The recipe instructions tell you to set the loaf size and crust color, then select the bread program (white, wheat, gluten free, etc.). You actually want to SELECT THE BREAD PROGRAM FIRST, then the loaf size and crust color, because setting the bread program first will RESET the loaf size and crust color to the defaults (2 lb. loaf, medium crust).