I’ve now got two bread books – “The Handmade Loaf” by Dan Lepard, and “The Bread Book” by Sara Lewis.
Haven’t made anything out of either of them yet, but I have changed the way I make my ‘standard’ loaf after reading the Lepard book. The first kneading, I don’t do continuously for a long time. instead, I give it brief kneads, leaving it for a couple of minutes between each. Oh, and oil the surface, don’t flour it. Then after a few of these short kneads, it goes into the bowl for a first rise. Used to give the dough only one rise (fast action yeast; says it only needs one). Now, I knock it back and give it a second knead (briefly). After that, shape it and put in onto the baking tray for a second rise. That’s another change – I used to bake it in a loaf tin, now I just shape the loaf. Score the top a few times, and once it’s risen again, bake it.
It does seem to turn out much better.