My dates were whole with the pit in them, so i chopped them in the Cuisinart. ( And, yes, I did take out the pits first!!) What i did was to sprinkle them with the cinnamon and nutmeg so they woldnt all stick together on the blade. I figured they were dusted enough and I put them on the very top of the flour. I am just not one to wait for the beep. So in about 4:10 hours, i should know if this worked or not. I am aiming for a 2 lb loaf since my machine can handle that size. This was predicated on the need to either use the pears or watch em rot before I got them all eaten. hence making a virtue of a necessity. Posted to Bread-bakers Digest by Gloriamarie Amalfitano on Apr 19, 1998