Like everyone else, I use my bread machine to mix the dough and for the first rise, then pull it out, shape it, rise it again, bake it. Salt and yeast should be kept separated, as was mentioned. I put the liquid in the bottom, then add the salt to the liquid, then the flours on top, then a well with the yeast. That way it is quite separated and will take a little while to come in contact with the salt. It makes sense to me to put the liquid in the bottom because it would be very difficult for the blade to mix if there is a lot of flour and only a little liquid (as would be the case if you put dry in first). With liquid on the bottom, it will more gradually bring in the dry ingredients. IME, when I use a "regular" recipe in the bread machine it comes out a little bit drier - I think because it is mixed better. You can open the machine when its running (even though the instructions say not to). Let it mix for a few minutes, till everything is mixed together, then open it and see if it needs either more flour or water - you should be able to tell by the texture of the dough. Otherwise, you shouldn't have a problem adapting recipes. Have fun! I make an average of two loaves a week - one for sandwiches, one french or italian type for dinner. Here is the French bread recipe I use (with comments from the book and my own comments): PAIN ORDINAIRE Plain French Bread Light and fluffy with a thin, crisp crust, this is the everyday bread of France thats only at its peak for about 8 hours after baking. Master this recipe and you can have French bread any time you want. Dont believe for a minute that you can bake real French bread in your bread machine on the French bread setting. Technique is all. Use your bread machine on the dough setting, then form the loaves by hand, bake them on a stone or in a French baguette baking pan. That, friends, is French bread. The ordinary kind. 1 ¼ cups water 3 cups bread flour (I use 3 ¼ cups) 2 ½ teaspoons bread machine yeast 1 teaspoon salt 1 egg white whisked together with 1 tablespoon water for glaze Combine the ingredients except egg wash in the bread machine pan and process on the dough setting (I keep salt separated from yeast). Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and punch it down. Form it into a tight ball and cover it with the bread machine pan (I cover with a light cloth napkin). Let the dough rest for 30 to 45 minutes. Divide the dough into two pieces, form each piece into a tight ball, and set aside uncovered for 10 minutes. Flatten each piece into a rectangle about 6 x 3 inches, then form into 2 baguettes. Place on parchment or in special baguette pans (I use the pans which I ordered from The Bakers Catalogue) and cover with plastic or a tea towel while the loaves rise one final time, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven with a stone in place on the middle rack to 450°F. for at least 30 minutes (I dont use the stone if I use the baguette pans). Just before baking, brush the loaves lightly with the egg wash, and make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf. Bake the loaves in the preheated oven until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Spritz the oven with plain water 3 or 4 times during the first 10 minutes. Turn the bread out and cool on a rack. Eat it the same day its made. Forming baguettes With a rolling pin, roll the dough away from you into a long oval about eight by twelve inches. Fold the dough in half lengthwise by bringing the twelve-inch edge farthest away down over the edge closest to you. Seal the edges by pressing the seam with your extended thumbs. Now roll the dough a quarter turn up so that the seal is on top. Again flatten the dough into an oval with the rolling pin. Press a trench along the twelve-inch-long center of the dough, then fold it in half toward you again, and this time, seal the edges by pressing with the heel of your hand. Now roll the dough back and forth, sliding your hands along the length, making a sixteen-inch-long sausage roll (mine are never this long). Place the roll seam side down on a cornmeal-dusted peel or parchment, or in a special baguette baking pan to rise a final time before slashing and baking. Make three or four quick, sure diagonal slashes in the bread just before baking.

That does seem odd -but I completely agree with yaya, just keep an eye on it for the last 30 minutes. What brand is it? You might try googling it. And btw, if your first few loaves are not to-die-for-yummy, don't give up. Mine weren't either, but you can get consistently good loaves once you get the knack of it. Some of the things I did that made a difference: -Get a thermometer, and measure the water temp. -Take the yeast out of the fridge, measure what you need, put that amount into a mug, and then set that mug into a bowl filled with very warm water. I found it helps to do this, rather than using cold yeast straight from the fridge. -Babysit the machine the first five minutes. Some days the dough will be too dry, sometimes too wet, despite your best efforts. Be ready to add a teaspoon of warm water when it is too dry, or a tsp. of flour when it is too wet. Have fun with your new machine!

Marilyn (fammsimm) - "Must this be done immediately or is it possible to freeze (or refrigerate) the dough for future baking? Any tips you could share?" The dough cycle on your bread machine is designed to make the dough only, up to the point where it needs to be formed, allowed to rise once more, then baked. This particular cycle feature comes in handy when you want to take the dough and make dinner rolls, hamburger/hot dog buns, cinnamon rolls, English Muffins, bread sticks, pizza, calazone, bierocks, kolaches, panned or free-formed loaves, etc. Things that must be formed and baked in your conventional oven. I'm a do-it-now personality, so I remove the dough from the bread machine and form, rise, and bake. The only time I retard bread dough (or items made with bread dough) is if I have too much to be accomodated in the oven and I don't want to risk over-proofing the dough before I can get it baked. So if I make 4 loaves and my oven only accodomates 2 loaves, I'll form the loaves, cover with plastic wrap, place 2 in the refrigerator to slow down the rising, allow the other two to raise, and bake. About the time the first two go into the oven, bring out the refrigerated loaves, and allow them to finish proofing. They should be ready to go into the oven about the time the first two come out. I also refrigerate half the dough when I make English Muffins because it's easier to work with in smaller amounts. It's all about timing and years of mistakes and experience. Bread is a very humbling thing... Here's where it can get tricky...especially for newbies. Can the dough be refrigerated? Yes. It's called retarding the dough. You can retard formed loaves for a few hours or dough for up to 5 days. To retard dough, you will need to remove it from the bread machine BEFORE it goes through a rise cycle (as soon as it stops kneading, remove it) to retard the dough in the refrigerator for later use. The dough will continue to rise, even in the cold confines of the refrigerator, and you may occasionally need to knock the dough down. The dough needs to be well-covered in a sealed dough-rising bucket, or a bowl covered with plastic wrap so the "skin" of the dough doesn't dehydrate in the refrigerator. A helpful hint when making refrigerator dough: they keep best if there is some potato - or any pureed vegetable - (mashed potatoes, potato flakes, etc.) in the recipe. The potato preserves moisture in the dry climate of the refrigerator. But any type of dough can be refrigerated successfully for a short period of time, up to 12-24 hours. If you are going to keep it for several days, you will want to choose a recipe with some potato in it. Most refrigerator dough is ready to use after 8 hours, and will keep for up to 5 days. When you are ready to use refrigerated dough, punch it down. Shape, cover, let rise and bake. One of the famous recipes for this type of dough is Betty Crocker Potato Refrigerator Dough. You can Google the recipe to give you an idea of what you can make with refrigerator dough, even though it's not a bread machine recipe. Retarding dough in the refrigerator is also a way to add flavor to the bread. Can the dough be frozen? Yes. It is best if you form it before you freeze it, and needs to be used within 4 weeks, whereas baked bread can keep for 3 months in the freezer. Check the link below for complete information about freezer dough. I'm like many of the others, I only use my bread machine for making dough. I don't even let it rise in the bread machine. I use a dough rising bucket instead, so that I can judge when the dough has doubled. Dough doesn't rise to a clock and it's easy for dough to over-proof in a bread machine. But bread machines are great labor-saving devices when it comes to kneading. I have carpal tunnel and tennis elbow in both arms and wouldn't trade my Zojirushi for anything (other than another Zojirushi). The bread machine is what I use to make all our yeast and sourdough breads and I bake some kind of bread/s at least once or twice a week. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Baking 911 - freezing bread dough

After the dough has doubled, take it out of the machine and lay it on a lightly floured or oiled surface. Fold over and knead once....and pat it flat.....then roll up and form into a loaf....and put it into a greased pan.' Cover with oiled saran. Then put a 2 cup pyrex measure in your microwave and run it until the water boils. Quickly open the micro and put in your bread pan and let it sit until the bread doubles...or rises above the top of the pan. bake it in the middle of a preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes, turn the oven down to 325 without opening the door and continue until the inside registers 190 with an instant read....if the top looks too brown (all the fruit and honey will make it brown) just lay a piece of foil over the top and continue. Make sure it is done....of it will be soggy in the middle and again with all that whole grain and fruit it will take a while! Linda C