On the medium setting, the crust on a french bread recipe appeared the same as dough would appear if left out to dry. The bread itself tasted good, but appearance is important to me also. When I put the crust on the high setting, it seemed to be the regular color of french bread crust, but the crust on the sides and ends seemed to well done. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong?

Any insight you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

I bought the unit last Sunday after reading all the helpful posts on here. I am baking at least a loaf a day to take advantage of Page's suggestion to really get used to it for the first 30 days to make sure it is going to do what I want.
Another advantage to that strategy is that my family is already getting used to fresh baked bread every night with dinner, and I'm getting more practice at using the machine. This usage also reduces the odds that the breadmaker will become another dust collecting gadget after the novelty wears off.

Thanks all for your terrific info on breadmakers. Keep up the good posts!