I've made bread in my the bread machine before and also mixed the dough in it but put it in the oven to bake. Why would you say the crust comes out very hard? I just made some in the oven & the crust is hard. I put butter on top while it was still warm. Can you help me? I'm waiting till supper to cut it. I have 2 kids & the 19 yr old won't be eating with us tonight, but this is us sometimes.