Those who give this a poor rating don’tunderstand bread. Period. This isnt for your sourdough or long ferments. This is for your straight mix knead rise and bake breads. Mix ingredients. Autolyse if desired. Knead. Bulk rise. Shape. Second rise. Bake. This keeps your bread soft. It helps it brown. It makes the bread spongy. I bake all kinds of breads from around the world.Pro tips: use instant yeast in your breads. Add this to your flour. No need to proof in water/sugar. Also always autolyse. It makes a difference. This is done by simply adding all your ingredients into a bowl except yeast and salt. Towel cover. 20 mins rest on counter then add yeast and salt . This hydrates the dough beautifully. Now when you go to knead, your dough wont fight you so much. For those who want browning and flavor to your sourdoughs and chiabattas etc. you can use malt powder. Add to flour always. Not liquids.Invest in a mixer with a dough hook. Nothing you can do by hand can compete with the slapping action the mixer does. Good gluten development is achieved by slapping the dough against a hard surface such as a mixing bowl or even a counter.. For those who have arthritis or cant knead dough, learn the fold and tuck technique on youtube. This is done by folding the dough every hour at least five to six times to create gluten. These layers youre creating make a fluffy high rising bread. Always use room temperature water when doing this. Not a lot of yeast. Youre making bread using time instead of a pack of yeast and baking bread in an hour.Always work with wet hands when dealing with dough. Youll be happier. Nothing sticks. One mistake a lot of bread bakers make is over flouring their boards to create the final shape. No flour should be needed on properly hydrated dough. Use a silicone mat and cooking spray. Flour messes up the hydration of your dough you worked so hard on. This is important.Bread flour or all purpose? Not sure? Remember bread flour is used for recipes you want a chewy and crispy product. All purpose is for breads you want fluffy. Some breads need the correct flour. Chiabatta and pizza crust must be baked with bread flour. Sandwich loaves, and anything else i use a combination of both.Never ever use bread flour for biscuits, cake flour and a tbsp of vinegar makes the fluffiest and softest biscuits. This is a bakers secret. The vinegar activates the leavening agents really well.. Also, bread flour makes excellent chocolate chip cookies. Because they make them chewy and crispy! I love king arthur flour. It is simply the best and worth the money. The other flours make kneading difficult and have a tough result. I like unbleached flour best. Its healthier. If using wheat flour, remember not to use too much. It makes a dense loaf.If you want fluffy brioche dough for donuts cinnamon rolls and such, use double zero flour. Walmart has this in a small red and white bag I forget the brand. This is milled finer and creates fluffy and pillowy dough. This flour makes a very crispy coating on fried chicken as well. If it’s expensive, use half of this zero flour along with maybe your AP flour. 00 flour is wonderful.Always use the smallest amount and flour you can when making dough in general . This is achieved by getting that mixer and use cooking spray. . The mixer works that moisture into the dough for you where your hands cant and more flour is added by the baker to prevent sticking to the counter and your hands. This leads to a dense bread.Lastly, bread should never be baked at 350. Hot evens make good bread. If your unsure, set your oven to 400. Put your dough in to bake. Close the door then set to 375. That initial hot air will help it rise a lot better..I see a lot of pictures of loaves of bread that look very very dense when sliced. They are undercooked. Bread should read between 200-205. In some cases 195 can pass too. Also too much flour was added and i can tell. Bread reading at a temperature of 205 makes the best bread where its not heavy and doughy inside. Thermometer is your friend.Get an oven thermometer for less than ten bucks. You think your oven is set at 400 but its colder or hotter . This little gadget really changed my final product as my oven was colder than i thought and it isnt that old.Not sure where to proof your dough or rise it? Spray youre entire microwave with water. Turn it on one minute. Put your covered bowl inside this warm and humid environment. Yeast loves this.Most importantly..Invest in a cheap spray bottle with water. This can be sprayed onto your dough right before it goes into oven. Spray the lids of dutch ovens for sourdough. Spray the enitre exterior of your baking sheet. Steam is required for a crusty exterior.If you find when you score your dough and it deflates, not enough air was kneaded into that dough. The mixer needs to run for 10-15 mins.Store breads in your fridge or freezer if your bread goes bad quickly, BUT only if you know how to properly reheat them. Tortilla mitt. Place bread pieces inside this wonderful contraption. Spray with water twice. Microwave twenty seconds. Allow to sit in microwave for one minute to steam. Remove. For toasted bread, spray bread once then put in toaster.One last tip: if you want a more fluffy and soft bread add an egg yolk to your dough. Dont use all milk. Half water half milk. And the best secret of all? Use milk powder. It makes the best breads. The chemistry of milk powder is just different and yields a fantastic homemade product.Btw, I use 1.5 teaspoons of this improver per loaf. I add to my flour. Hope this helps someone.. happy baking!!