MoneyCayt, it sounds that you bought a second hand machine with no instruction book. The instruction book will have recipes, a well as telling you how the machine works, which would have helped when you saw the machine knead dough, then 'punch it down'. Punching down is normal. You might find the user's manual on the internet.
I agree with others that what works in machine A need now work well in machine B. I do not know why.
Accuracy is essential. Buy measuring cups for cooking, and a little plastic jug with graduations.
I use a cooking brush to smear olive oil over the internal surface of thee bread making, er, steel bowl, or whatever it is called. The olive oil allows the loaf to slide out more easily after baking. I add a slice of butter, no accuracy needed, the equivalent of a tablespoon, to make the loaf slightly creamy. Then I add 200 ml of water, and two measuring cups of bread flour. I fill each cup, then use the back edge of a table knife to make the flour level in the measuring cup. I use a teaspoon to make a small well in the top of the flour, and add a heaped teaspoon of bread yeast.
If you are delaying the start, then you will need to ensure that the yeast cannot make contact with the water, to avoid activating the yeast ahead of time.
Hope this helps.