Once you get used to getting your bread up and on the rise and know what you are looking for, which really boils down to taste....then you are on your way to some serious artisan breads such as french breads and bagettes and sun dried tomato and even a cinnimon roll bread as well as pizza dough.
I use the basic recipe for all of my bread with variations depending on what is in the house and what I am setting out to make.
Basic Recipe
Three cups of water and three TBSP butter or oil or bacon greace or whatever oil you have, heated on stove or grill top until it is hot to touch. They say not over 120 degrees but I have found if you can hold your finger in it without getting burnt but slightly hot to notice then it is perfect.
At this point you add three TBSP of sugar though I usually put the sugar in the water that I am heating so it desolves quicker and helps the yeast activate when added.
3 TBSP of yeast into a bowl.
So you dump your butter sugar water in the bowl, add the yeast if the h2o is not to hot to touch and your sugar if you have not let it desolve in your heating water. Some people have their water heater turned up high enough that the straight tap water comes out at the right temp, but we don't so I heat it up to touch.
Let this combo sit for a while. Your yeast should foam up. Don't forget about it too long or it will retreat or whatever they call yeast that got over excited..
So once you have a good foamy top it is time to add your flour and salt. Should be about 15 minutes or so but it really depends on the house temp.
You are going to need around 13 cups of flour but don't put it all in at once. You are going to add it in stages so that you don't dry our your bread too much. It should be a little sticky but not to you if you have flour on your hands to knead the bread. Once the bread starts feeling like a soft warm ball then you are ready to let it rise. Oh I forgot the salt. Add that while you are adding the flour.
You add 3 TBSP of salt at this time also while mixing in your flour. If you add it to desolve in your yeast water mix then it kind of kills the yeast early so I wait until I am adding the flour.
Mix it all together and cover with a bread back or wrap or whatever you have. A towel will work too, and let it rise. It can take only thirty minute or an hour or two depending on the room and humidity.
Once it doubles plus in size it is time to put it in the pans OR punch it down and let it rise again for more airy bread. Don't over proof and let it grow over three times its size or you will overproof kill the bread. Once you have it in your bread pan then let it rise again to the desired highth but not to high as to over proof. You also cover it in the pan but if it sticks to your proof cover you will ruin it so I spray plastic wrap with spray oil and then cover so it does not stick while raising. When you pull off your cover to put in the oven, be careful not to pull the top. Bake at 350 (what else) for 25 or until golden brown.... (you can add an egg wash just before baking for a shiney top) Egg wash is one egg and twice that much water mixed together really well...WISK even. Brush or spoon on just beforfe baking.
This will yield three loaves of bread or one big pizza dough and one big loaf and some bread sticks. It can also be kept in an air tight container in the fridge to make tomorrow or the next day. Watch it when you first put it in the fridge because it CAN keep rising and blow the top off the container in the fridge. It will quit rising when it cools. I sometimes put is straight into the freezer.
That it is in a nutshell. To branch out, I use evaporated milk instead of water (also warming) or potato water that I boiled potatos in (that makes the yeast go crazy and makes really big bread. Add three eggs or parsly or garlic powder or butter. Different breads with different amounts of water to flower. You have just have to play with the recipe to see what you like the best. When making Rye bread take out two of the regular flour and only add two cups of Rye flour to the recipe if you want it fluffy. Same goes for the wheat bread. Straight wheat is hard to get airy bread. It is more dense.
Also HONEY makes a great substitude for sugar, even better. Three eggs added when adding the flour gives it a little something different as well.....
HAVE FUN in your mother earth living....... feel free to ask any questions...
Hot dog buns.
potato water bread.......big rise
Bread Bowl and Wreath...