Someone gave my mom a bread machine once when they first came out...she tried it once or twice and passed it on to me. I gave it away without trying it. Now, I was a single mother of 3 boys and working long hours...but I always found time to make bread by hand because the time consuming part is really in the baking and not the kneading/mixing.
There are a lot of things I do or incorporate to save me time and I've tasted some really tasty bread machine bread...so I'm not putting down the machine generation.
I guess the only reason I never used one was because I really feel a connection with past generations when I have my hands in bread. The thought that millions of women down through all the ages have made their bread in such a manner makes me feel connected to all those women, my mother in particular.
I knew one old lady who had this enormous wooden, shallow, trough-like bowl that she said was passed down through her family for over 100 years or more and that it was for bread making. After seeing that, I got the bright idea of just making my bread right in the bowl and kneading it there also...it worked great and saves all the flour mess all over the counter or table. My mother saw me doing it that way and she tried it also...found it to be good and made cleanups so much easier.
Sure wish I had a giant, wooden bowl to make bread in.....
BTW: The bread turned out lovely and tastes soooooo good with the butter melting off it!
I tossed it to some very thankful chickens and made another batch 
The last batch was goooooood 
