I don't use a bread machine for three reasons:
1. Space. Just don't have room for one.
2. I find working with dough to be somewhat theraputic.
3. A bread machine limits what I can make, particularly as I get more and more involved with delayed fermentation and the use of preferments. And, as you noticed, you are limited in shapes.
Note that none of these reasons involve a moral committment.
The idea that using one is cheating is just silly. Go to bread forums such as The Baking Circle, forums filled with serious bread makers, and you'll find almost as many of them using bread machines as are working from scratch.
As CanMan says, a bread machine is just another kitchen tool. You can choose to use one, or choose not to use one. But that's all it is; a personal choice. Nothing to feel guilty about, one way or the other.
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