With my latest bread obsession I have been to many sites gathering information to better understand this skill of bread making. I have found that reading the directions is great, but understanding them is even better. I am trying to narrow down what the different stages of dough stickiness/firmness really mean. Also, how does a quick rise yeast affect the recipe? I feel like I have just entered into a whole new art form.
You would think that 3 years of pretzel shop experience would give me some insight into this process, but unfortunately it hasn't. When you work in that type of environment you just put a big package into a huge mixer turn the timer on and walk away. Then throw the dough into a bowl for a rise time, roll 'em out, and bake. We did not hand knead anything or adjust flour amounts per the air's humidity. The pretzels were what they were and always came out excellent. I guess maybe that tells me that bread recipes are more forgiving than some make them out to be.
So far all of the breads I have tried have come out well. There have been no major disasters as of yet. I did have one loaf come out a little doughy in the center, but if I would have just left it in the oven for 5 minutes more it would have been fine. I hope to have some bread making tips for you all some time in the future, but for right now we will just refer to a few great sites out there.
Baking Success by Red Star Yeast-There are some great basic tips on this site. Especially useful it how to tell if you have kneaded your dough long enough.
How to Bake Bread at Fabulous Foods-Super information about yeast and so much more can be found here.
Farmgirl Fare's Ten Tips for Better Bread-She has some wonderful tips on how to get great bread. I have to go out and get a wooden bread bowl now!
Step-by-Step Instructions from Fleischmann's Yeast-Great tips on the proper way to knead dough.
I am sure as time goes on I will find many more great sites, but for now these are a good start. I hope you have some fun making bread from scratch at home too!