I suspect the dough may have needed more liquid. This can be more of a problem when you use a bread machine and just plop the ingredients into the machine and walk away. IMO, with bread, you can't just measure or weigh ingredients and expect the exact same results every time. Hold back on the expected total amount of liquid and babysit the early stages of the bread machine cycles. Adding more water as needed. Flour is affected by changes in humidity--more so than you would think.

Trying a no-knead recipe is an excellent suggestion. No-knead recipes are typically high hydration which avoids moisture starved dough and the long, slow rise really helps to develop flavor.