Bread machines have different settings, and some also have different instructions as to which order ingredients should be added to the machine. Listed below are some tips about ingredients that will hopefully improve your bread making skills.

For making bread it is preferential to use proper bread flour. Bread flour has more gluten than regular flour, and it is this gluten that as well as providing structure to the bread will also give it a great rise.

It is quite okay to use honey in preference to sugar to sweeten the bread. Remember though that using honey will increase the liquid content of your bread, unless the amount of other liquids, milk and water, are reduced then your bread could become soggy after baking.

When using butter or margarine it is vital that they are at room temperature when being used, rather than them coming straight from the fridge. When either dairy substance is added to your mixture it is also important that they are cut into small pieces as it will allow it to mix more evenly.

Accuracy in measuring is vital in creating the perfect bread, and also in replicating the results at a future attempt. If using measuring cups or spoons always ensure that the tops of the measuring utensil is level, so that excess ingredients are not added. If measuring brown sugar, it needs to be compacted into the measuring cup before it is added to the mixture. It is also important that when measuring liquids, that this is not done over the mixture, it is far too easy to spill the liquid, thus adding excess amounts.

If you find that after baking your loaf sags in the middle, the most likely cause is too much liquid, especially water, in the dough mixture. Unfortunately, bread machines cannot add water to your dough if it's too dry. It might be a case of trial and error adjusting the liquid content each time you bake to find the perfect amount. If after a number of attempts, with different water content, you still find your loaf sags then it may be an issue with your yeast. If the yeast is too active during the baking process could cause the bread to rise excessively resulting in a sag on the finished product. Adding a minute amount of salt will cause the yeast to be less active. Alternatively of course try using less yeast in the recipe.

It is quite possible that even following a recipe exactly you may not produce the perfect loaf; it is easy for the dough to be too moist or dry. The temperature and humidity of place where preparation occurs can affect the consistency of the dough. Also remember that measuring cups and spoons may not be accurate. Again practice will tell you how much of each ingredient you will need to make the perfect bread from your bread machine. Just make sure that you note exactly how much you use, this will enable you to replicate the results time after time.

Even with the best bread machine on the market, home baking is not a simple thing to do well initially. Practice, as they say, makes perfect. It is unlikely that your first efforts are going to create bread that is to the standards you expect, but perseverance pays off. Eventually you will be making bread the envy of all your friends and neighbors.