How to mix ingredients in bread machine?
Some (many) bread machines don't mix well, so you might not get a good mixture whatever you do. But it's worth trying.

If you are making the bread immediately after adding the ingredients, it probably doesn't matter much how you add the ingredients; just put the yeast and the sugar and such in the centre.

If you use the timer, it is important that the yeast stay dry up until the moment the machine starts mixing. What gave me the best result is this:


add water, sugar, salt, egg, fat;
mix this by moving the pan around until the ingredients are mostly dissolved (or stir with a wooden implement); 
then put all the flour in a heap in the middle of the pan; 
make a hollow in the centre of this heap, put the yeast in this hollow;
then set the timer.


Another tip: if you put the pan on a kitchen scale while adding ingredients, and you press "tare" on the scale after each ingredient, it's much easier to weigh everything. This only applies if you use ingredients by weight, of course.

Lastly, experimenting with amounts that differ from the recipe may greatly improve your bread. It depends on the machine. I also found that the "French" setting on the machine (= longer baking) gave the best crust.