Serves: 5

Some things are out of our control when making dough. Many factors, including the weather, humidity and amount of moisture in the flour, affect the amount of flour necessary to make smooth dough. To check your dough, you'll need to peek into the bread machine after the first three to five minutes of the kneading cycle.

Dough with the correct amount of flour and liquid will be soft, satiny and pliable. It will form a smooth ball of dough during kneading. During the rest cycle, the ball of dough will relax and spread to the corners of the pan. If the dough looks dry and crumbly and the machine seems to be having difficulty kneading it, the dough needs more liquid. With the machine running, add liquid, about 1 teaspoon at a time, until the dough is smooth and forms a ball.

Wet, soggy dough that spreads to the sides of the pan and doesn't form a ball needs more four. With the machine running, add bread flour, about 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is smooth and forms a ball.

More Recipes from the Betty Crocker's Best Bread Machine Cookbook Cookbook:
Any Way You Want to Slice It
Basic Cycle Features
Betty's Tips for Shaping Dough
Bread Baking Glossary
Five Steps to Great Bread
Flour Power!
Freezing Bread
Helpful Nutrition and Baking Information
Here's How We Test the Recipes
Keeping Bread Fresh
Know Your Bread Ingredients
Let's Make a Great Bread Machine Loaf
Measuring Your Bread Machine Pan Size
Metric Conversion Guide
Mystery Punch
Refrigerating Dough
Some Like It Hot: Reheating Your Bread
The Proof Is in the Dough
Your Bread Machine Baking Questions