I've had a breadmaker for years and I love it. I just follow the recipe to a tea and I've had no trouble. The bread is not cake like. I would guess it depends on which recipe you used. Was it a recipe for white bread or something else?

Anyway, I do know that you have to follow the recipe exactly. And you do not just scoop the flour out of a container. You put it in a measuring cup with a spoon and then level it off. I do not use any special flour. Just regular all purpose flour or a wheat flour, etc. if making that kind of bread. You do need sugar as it's needed for the yeast to work properly.

My breadmaker makes a 1 lb. loaf. I've had it since the 1980's. You will need receipes that fit your breadmaker.