[erdnuss]

I recieved a bread machine which I am very greatful for. Since I only have a small toaster oven to bake in, it's been nice to have something for bread.
But I don't know if I'm doing stuff correctly. I've followed the instructions in the book that came with the bread machine but my crust always turns out burnt or as hard as a rock. Whether I put the crust as light, medium, or dark, it doesn't seem to matter.
When Iwould allow to the bread to cool and then cut it into to slices, it would require a lot of work to cut through the crust. The bread inside tasted good, but it was just a huge chore to cut. 2 days ago, I decided I would try to cut the bread while it was still hot. It worked pretty well, Since it hadn't cooled, it was slightly softer then previous times. I decided just to cut the crust off completely since it was too hard to eat anway.
Has anyone else had this problem before? Did you do somethign different with the recipe?
I haven't tried other types of recipes, I've mainly been sticking with whole wheat breads. Purhaps just the whole wheat setting on bread machines will do that, so maybe I'll try another type of bread and see if I get better results.

[DMT]

It might very well be that the whole wheat mixes create a tougher crust than you're used to...

We mostly stick to sourdough recipes (bags of mix) and simply follow the instructions.

These are premixed bags of ingredients...

One thing to note, the crusts on home made breads are (in my experience) significantly more rigid than those of "store bought" breads, and chewy or not, I really like the freshness and taste...

Keep playing with it (trying out different recipes), and you're likely to find one or ten that you enjoy.

Or get yourself an electric knife (or chain saw) and use the thougher breads as a side (instead of crackers) for soup!!

[erdnuss]

Thanks.
I was beginning to wonder if perhaps bread machines usually make tougher crust than store bought bread. It's really not too much of a problem since I've discovered cutting the crust completely off while it's hot is much easier than after it's cooled. My husband loves homemade bread for toast in the morning with our eggs. I still buy store bought for sandwhiches, but most other stuff I use the bread machine for.
I have been wanting to try other types of breads but most of my time has been spent gardening. Now that the major work of the gardening is done until harvest time, I can spend more time cooking inside So I'll get to work on trying new recipes soon!