The bread-making potential of flour may be roughly estimated by dough rheology, especially its tolerance to over-mixing as determined with the farinograph. The objective of this study was to identify the relative effects of experimental conditions likely to affect dough mixing stability: mixer speed, temperature, salt, yeast and bread additives such as ascorbic acid and preservatives. The addition of 1–2% salt or ascorbic acid (50 mg kg−1 flour) improved dough mixing stability and counteracted the negative effect of bread preservatives. Mixing salted dough at slow speed (63 rpm) and 25 °C might be a more realistic bread-making procedure for performing dough rheology assays with equipment such as the farinograph, compared to official methods (only flour and water, no salt; 30 °C). Amongst five bread wheat cultivars, differences existed in dough strengthening response to both salt and ascorbic acid, a property that may find application in wheat breeding and screening.