Bread making is a skill that is learned best with a reliable recipe and lots of practice, but to some people it just comes naturally.. It can lead to wonderful homemade breads and rolls instead of store bought ones. Many people who make bread as a hobby enjoy the pleasant aromas provided by a freshly baked loaf of bread.                         

TAKE US THROUGH THE MAKINGS OF AN YEAST DOUGH.
With a few simple tips, it's easy to make yeast bread. These step-by-step instructions will help you get it right every time.
Step 1: Choose a bread recipe

The first step is to choose your bread type. Are you a fan of soft-textured white bread, hearty artisanal breads, mixed-grain loaves, sourdough, or sweet bread? Each style of bread has a slightly different method, but most of them start with the same key ingredients — flour and yeast. Count on kneading and rising to create texture.WHATS NEXT?Step 2: Choose the Type of yeast
Yeast feeds on sugar in the dough to make little carbon dioxide bubbles that get trapped in the dough and make it rise. It works slowly and helps develop flavorful dough.HOWMANY DIFFEENT TYPES OF YEAST ARE THERE?Active Dry Yeast: This is the most common yeast for home baking because it's easy to use and yields reliable results. These tiny, dehydrated granules come in packets and larger jars and are mixed with flour or dissolved in warm liquid before they are used.

Quick-Rising Yeast: (also called fast-rising or instant yeast): A more active strain of yeast, it cuts the rise time by about a third. Quick-rising yeast can be substituted for active dry yeast, except in recipes requiring the dough to rise in the refrigerator and in dough using sourdough starter.Compressed Yeast: (also called fresh yeast): This type of yeast comes in small foil-wrapped square cakes and is sold in the refrigerator section of the grocery store. It works well for bread, especially loaves with long rise times, but this style of yeast has a short shelf life and must be refrigerated. Soften it in warm water, according to the package directions, before using.Starters: Sourdough bread is made without added yeast. A starter allows wild yeast to grow, which enables the bread to rise naturally, giving the bread a tug-apart texture as well as sour, tangy flavor. The starter is made of yeast, warm water, flour, and honey or sugar, and it ferments over five to 10 days. You can keep the starter going for a long period of time by adding honey or sugar every 10 days to "feed" it (if you're sharing the bread recipe, for instance).

Step 3: To make sure your bread rises, follow these tips:
•Use the yeast before the expiration date on the package and keep any opened yeast in the refrigerator.Ive used expired yeast in d past with perfect results. BUT USE IT as a last resort.
•Many of us don’t have thermometers so we just use luke warm water.
•If the water is too hot the yeast will die and your bread won't rise. If it's too cold the yeast won't activate, also causing it not to rise. Step 4:now HOW DO MAKE THE DOUGH?

TOPrepare your bread dough there are different methods of preparing yeast dough. You can mix in a dish or in an electric machine. You can either first mix all your liquids first or add liquids to dry ingredients to form a dough. You can either add the yeast to the warm water
with a little sugar to proof or what we generally do these days is to add the dry yeast to dry ingredients. Make your dough and knead.

HOW DO WE KNEAD THE DOUGH? IS THERE A SPECIAL METHOD?                     

Step 5: To knead the dough, fold it and push down with the heel of your hand. Flip over dough, fold it, and push down again. Repeat process over and over, adding enough of the remaining flour as needed, until the dough reaches the stiffness specified and is smooth and elastic.
Moderately soft dough is slightly sticky and used for rich, sweet breads. It requires 3 to 5 minutes of kneading.
Moderately stiff dough is used for most nonsweet breads. It is slightly firm to the touch and requires 6 to 8 minutes of kneading.
Tip 1: Lightly flour OR OIL your hands before kneading to keep the dough from sticking to them.Tip 2: You're finished kneading when your dough is soft and smooth but not dry, and IT holds together nicely in a ball

Step 6: NOW THAT WE’VE KNEADED DOUGH WHATS DO WE DO?
Shape the dough in a ball and place it in a greased bowl that is twice as large as the ball of dough. Turn the dough over to grease the surface, which will keep it from drying out. The greased bowl keeps the dough from sticking. Cover dough with plastic wrap that's been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray so it won't stick to the wrap. Now your dough is ready to rise.

Tip: For best results,MAKE dough into a smooth ball with your hands before you put it into a bowl to rise. A rough surface can allow gases to escape, which will prevent the bread from rising.

Step 7: SO NOW WHY DO WE Let the dough rise?
A lot is happening as your bread rises. The yeast is multiplying and creating carbon dioxide bubbles, and the gluten is reinforcing the bread's structure as it balloons in size. The dough is also developing flavor.
Place your yeast bread dough to rise in a warm (80°F to 85°F), draft-free place. An unheated oven with a bowl of warm water on the rack below works well. For the first rise, the dough should double in size. It is ready when indentations stay after two fingers are pressed 1/2 inch into the center.  

Tip: Rising times are only an estimate. It's important to continually check the bread dough. The temperature and humidity outside, the temperature of the rising spot and of the ingredients, and the ingredients in the dough can all affect the rise time.
Step 8: NOW DOUGHHAS RISEN WHAT DO WE DO WITH IT?Once the dough is double in size, deflate it by punching your fist into the center of the dough, pulling the edges in. (Deflating the dough after it rises releases the carbon dioxide built up in the dough and relaxes the gluten, making it easier to shape.) At this point in the process, most recipes require that you let the dough rest about 10 minutes. Letting the dough rest also relaxes the gluten, making the dough easier to shape.
Step 9: Bread dough's second rise

Once your loaf is shaped and in a pan (if you're using one), cover the dough and let it rise again in a warm place. This time, let it rise just until nearly double in size. If dough doesn't double in size for this second rise, your bread will rise higher when baking (this is called "oven spring").

Step 10: Bake and cool bread
Place the loaf of unbaked bread in a preheated oven and bake until the bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped with your finger. If the loaf is browning too fast but doesn't sound hollow, create a loose tent out of foil, loosely cover the loaf, and continue baking (yeast breads containing butter and/or sugar often need this step). Immediately remove the bread from the pan and cool it completely on a wire rack. This allows air to circulate around the bread, keeping the crust crisp as the bread cools.

Finishing Touches for Bread
Try one of the following finishing touches to "dress" up bread that is risen and ready to bake.
Crisp crust :     Brush loaf gently with cold water before baking.
Shiny bronzed crust:  Brush loaf gently with 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water before baking.
Shiny crust : Brush loaf gently with 1 egg white beaten with 2 teaspoons water before baking.
Golden crust : Brush loaf gently with 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water before baking.  
Soft, tender, bronzed crust:     Brush loaf gently with milk before or after baking.

Softer, richer flavoredcrust :   
Brush loaf gently with a little melted butter before or after baking.
Slashed top : Just before putting the loaf in the oven, slash an oval loaf diagonally three or four times approximately 1/4-inch deep with a serrated knife. Slash a round loaf twice one way and twice again at right angles across the first cuts.  
Sprinklings:  Brush loaf gently with 1 egg white beaten with 2 teaspoons water before baking. Sprinkle on one or more of the following:  course sea salt; herbal salt substitute; sesame, sunflower, or poppy seeds; minced garlic or onion; grated hard cheese; or chopped nuts.

Refrigerating Yeast Dough

Yeast dough made with water (except plain bread dough) can be refrigerated up to 5 days. However, if milk and at least 1/4 cup sugar was used, refrigerate for no longer than 3 days; the milk could sour. Mix dough as usual, place in bowl. Grease top well. Cover with moisture-proof wrap, then a clean, damp cloth. Keep cloth damp during the storage time. When ready to bake, shape the dough, let it rise until double (approximately 1 1/2 hours). Bake as recipe indicates.