Troubleshooting
Cratered bread
If the top caves in, it is probably too much moisture inside the bread. This could be caused by using canned fruit or vegetables. You are better to drain well and dry first or to reduce your water by 1 tablespoon. Crater Bread also happens with cheese bread because each cheese has its own moisture content. A mishaped loaf with soggy sides could result from leaving a loaf in the machine after baking is completed.
Mushroom bread
There is too much yeast, so that it's risen too much. Yeast is almost always measured in teaspoons and is active dry type. Please do not mix your active dry yeast with fast rise yeast in same bread. There could also be too much sugar, or ingredients with sugar like dried fruit. Decrease the sugar or honey accordingly. Another possibility is too much water used. Try decreasing it by 1/8 cup at a time. If a recipe still explodes to the top, try to replace 1/4 of the total flour with whole wheat flour/wholemeal flour.
Gnarly loaves
Your dough probably needs more moisture. It is
suggested to reduce flour 1 tablespoon at a time or to increase liquids 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the right balance for your machine.
Most recipes contain sugar in some form for sweetness and to start the yeast and to promote browning. Salt, on the other hand inhibits the yeast, but is needed for flavour. Thus you can control the balance of the chemical reaction between flour, yeast, water, sugar and salt to make a good loaf of bread according to your desired texture, weight and browning.
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