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.

A lot of things can factor into the equation. Pan color (dark, shiny, glass, the new plastic); rack placement in the oven; recipe/type of bread; convection/standard oven; oven temp; rising time; single kneed/double kneed & rise; temp of dough when you put it in; baking time; altitude.... see what I mean?

I usually use an egg wash instead of butter. You want to do a double egg wash before you put it in the oven (letting the first coat dry)

Here's some stuff I found online about different washes

Brushing the dough with an egg wash before baking is important to produce the proper color and sheen. The top of the dough should be lightly brushed with egg wash, but care should be taken to prevent the egg wash from running down the sides of the pan and preventing the dough from rising properly in the oven. Two light coats of egg wash or milk and oil glaze are better than one heavy coat. The following is a list of egg and dairy washes and the effect each has on the final crust (Collister and Blake 23).

Wash Crust

Egg white with a pinch of salt matte, golden brown crust
Egg yolk with a pinch of salt glossy, golden brown crust
Whole milk matte, golden crust
Half and half matte, golden crust
Heavy cream matte, cracked golden crust
Olive oil slight gloss, golden brown crust

Greta makes yummy bread...

checking the actual temp of your oven helps. if it's hotter then it says, it dries the crust out too fast.

i bought an oven thermometer for about $2.

Temperature matters and I've found butter makes thing crispier, always use an egg wash on bread - egg white fork whipped with some water. Love butter spread on baked bread slices. Now I'm hungry!!

Okay, now I'm confused. Lor, did you brush it with butter AFTER baking to soften it? That's what I thought you meant.

Butter before baking would basically deep fry the first (crust) layer!

Wow, Gret, I had no idea there was such a variety of washes! I have always just used whichever milk is in the fridge. I use it on pie crusts too.

Okay, now I'm confused. Lor, did you brush it with butter AFTER baking to soften it?

Yes Cindy, that's what I meant

I make a mean pizza crust too!

I brush my bread with butter or
egg wash 3 minutes before its done,
for a nice gloss.

Then AFTER when it's removed from
the oven, and let sit in the pan for
no more than 3 minutes (I don't care
what the package says) ... this is
what my great-great-granny always
did ... knock the bread out ...
put it on the wire rack with a towel
(but I use wax paper or newspaper)
and brush it with butter AFTER it comes
out of the oven ... AND ONLY on the:
TOP and SIDES ... NEVER THE BOTTOM!

Since this bread is fresh, the shelf life
of it is not very long ... but heck, it
never lasts very long around here anyway!

*laughs*

<------ waiting to hear what Greta's
side has to say...