Crockpot bread update

I have been making further experiments with the crockpot as bread oven. I made some sourdough oatmeal bread yesterday. Here are my findings.

• I got the best results when I put the bread in a mold (since my crockpot is round, I used a spring form pan as my mold) that I placed on a trivet.
• I also put a small quantity of water in the pot, around a quarter cup. Since I wanted the steam, I kept the pot lid tightly on.
  
• Even though several sites recommend rising in the crock with the machine on low or warm, I wanted a slower rise so did it the conventional way. If I was using a regular bread recipe I might try that method.
• I found that the bread was cooked with in 4 hours on high. I tested it by thumping (a hollow thump means cooked).
• I need to set my timer, my crockpot goes automatically to warm after the timer. This resulted in a bread more suitable for a long voyage at sea or maybe building a wall.
• It didn't always brown on top but according to my research this is common.
• I tried using a smaller crock liner instead of a mold, according to my research on the web, it's better to have space all around the loaf. It's certainly easier to remove the bread if you do! But it seemed to work fine either way.
  

Here are some websites with recipes. The Crockpot: an Alternative Bread Machine, A year of Crockpotting bread links, Couldn't be Easier Slow Cooker Bread, and How to bake yeast bread in a Crockpot which calls for frozen bread dough, but I often freeze extra bread dough since most recipes make 2 loaves which is too much for just Husband and me.