I originally learned how to bake bread the old way... Kneeding by hand, baking in the oven...

Now I use a bread machine and I love it. Mind you, the techniques you learned baking bread traditionally also can apply to the bread machine... Some machines are better than others... You still need to make sure you have the right texture of the dough before it bakes. You are also limited to one, or in some models, two loaves of bread.

Some people think you can set it and forget it, but that isn't true. Not if you want a good loaf. If you take the time and have the right machine, it is tough to determine any difference from the bread made by hand using the same recipe.

One trick I did learn was to remove the paddle before the bread bakes... Keeps from having that huge hole in the bottom of the loaf.