Short pause after a double barline?

I keep a manuscript notebook with melodic ideas, and would like to start a similar notebook as a Dorico file. The idea is to have all the melodies in a single flow, separated by double barlines. In play mode, is it possible to automatically have a short pause (say 5 seconds) after a double barline?

No, I’m afraid not. Dorico will pause between flows, determined by an option in Playback Options, but not at double barlines, and as yet things like fermatas, breath marks, caesuras etc. do not play back.

What you can do is draw in a tempo change in the Time track in Play mode at the end of each melody. Tempo changes you draw in Play mode are automatically hidden in the score (they appear as signposts) but if you briefly make the tempo very slow for a beat, you can achieve a ‘pause’ in playback.