My milky fruit bread is so good. Why can't my normal bread turn out this way?

When I make fruity milk bread it's wonderfully soft and slightly dense inside, with a soft dark golden crust. But my normal bread (plain flour + water + yeast + salt) is usually heavy, dense, boring, with a crust that tastes likes it's already stale.

I was wondering why the ingredients and technique of my milk bread create wonderful bread whilst normal bread doesn't? The differences in ingredients and technique are:

1. Rather than water, I use purely milk, orange juice and zest.

2. Rather than bake at 180 centigrade, I bake at 220 degrees centigrade.

3. I glaze it with egg, rather than oil.

4. I give it two risings, not just one.

5. I divide the dough in three then braid them and form into a circle, rather than using a loaf tin or dropping it on the pan as with foccacia.

6. I use honey and dried fruit rather than sugar.