Tips for making bread

Tips

 * Make sure to weigh your flour; volume is a very inaccurate way of determining how much you have.
 * If your bread isn't fluffy enough, you can add some more yeast the next time you bake homemade bread.
 * Use bottled water if possible. Tap water usually contains chlorine, which will inhibit the yeast. Boiling tap water to evaporate the chlorine will also work, but be sure to let it cool.
 * This page goes well in combination with How to Make Bread.
 * The recipe uses 1 pound of bread flour and bread flour usually comes in 5-pound bags. When you get the hang of it, go for a quintuple recipe all at once. Since you're investing so much time in the rising and kneading and gluten resting, you may as well get enough bread to last you.
 * The rest periods are important: they let the gluten relax and keep you from overworking your dough. If you are impatient, pass the time by smelling the dough while it rises -- a quite enjoyable experience.
 * Use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has a higher protein content and therefore forms more gluten in the bread dough, and gluten is good. Bleached flour rises higher than most.

Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Bread-from-Scratch