I bought my wife the 5.5Qt lift bowl model number "KV25mexer5" from Costco. It has all steel gears. I got when they had basically 2 sales on it at same time. $50 off from KA and $30 off from Costco so we paid $249.00 total. For $250 it is probably the best choice you can find for a mixer, we have not had any problems with ours after 5 months of use so far. Hasn't had any problem making a 3 cup batch of bread dough using the dough hook and on speed 2 like it says to do. So far for us and especially for the price it was the best deal for our needs. It is loud but so is every other mixer in this power range. It seems rather solid, no grinding, everything works smoothly. I seriously looked at the Bosch Universal which is definitely a better mixer especially if you make a lot of large 6+ cup dough batches. But for the one I would buy (stainless bowl with blender) is $550 on sale. So more than double the price. For how much we use a mixer this Costco KA was our best deal by far, plus the added perk of if anything happens to it the first year or maybe even longer we could just take it right back for a full refund or replacement with no hassles. IF you use the hell out of a mixer though I would pay the extra and get the Bosch Universal. As far as where the KA "Stand Mixers" are made they are actually made in Greenville OH. The KA hand mixers are however made in China. But like most everything else made in China it is made there under the exact specifications that the American Company wants, unfortunately that happens to be cheap as humanly possible which is why they are made there. IF the American company stated we want the best possible mixer you can make and stated exactly what they wanted, what materials to use etc that is exactly what they would get from China. So while everyone continually puts the blame on China it really has next to nothing to do with them. It is the American company that purposely wants crap at the cheapest price possible.

I follow Sooner's and others' suggestion about the parchment paper. I place the shaped bread on a paper covered peel and trim away all but an inch or two. The bread & paper slide easily onto a preheated stone. About 2/3 through the baking time, I quickly open the oven door & yank out the paper so the bread bottom crust finishes baking directly on the stone. It's so much easier than worrying about corn meal. I'm glad to see this topic surface again. I was toying with the idea of re-trying this recipe. The bread rose fine for me, and my husband liked it. But I thought the taste was pretty blah, less tasty than other breads I'd made with a pre-ferment. Even after letting the dough "age" in the fridge for several days, I couldn't taste any improvement in flavor. But the convenience can't be beat. That's why I was thinking of giving it one more try.

I've been reading these and all of trailrunner's post. They are just great. All the hints were great. I bake bread out of boredom, I rarely use a recipe, for better or worse and like the wet doughs as well as quicker higher yeast doughs for pizza. Someday I'll get that "super peel" with the cloth belt thingy. I am forced to pre-cook my thin pizza crusts without one- My favorite bread is an olive bread that is made locally in the East Bay and sold now only at the local Berkeley farmer's market- you can go to their bakery, and they will sell stuff to you, but it's not a store front, no sales help, no hours- if they are there they'll sell it to you- they're also fresh pasta makers- 'Phoenix Pastificio'- if you're ever in the area. I've never tried to make that bread, it's almost Holy to me...( although I know he uses a biga and those black Kalamata olives). It has a thin almost black burnt crust, with large ciabatta holes to the crumb and flavor to die for.

So, the thing about deciding to bake bread is to have time. My mother always started bread early, like before breakfast. I might start after my work is done and be willing to have it finally done after midnight. You need to choose a time when you can give it time. You can always shove your dough in the fridge if something comes up, but since you need to bring it back to room temperature before baking, I don't find it saves time. A long ferment in the fridge can do other nice things, but time saving really isn't one. Here are the instructions and the recipe for the bread above, with the additions as I specified in the original post: Bread is easy. Nearly foolproof and you're not a fool. The good thing about stylish recipes is the cast iron Dutch oven. As with other kinds of cooking, it takes away the variability of the ovens, which is the hardest part. The other thing is getting your hands to learn bread. To know when it needs a little more flour or water, more kneading, etc. Just keep trying. Don't go trying to use all the tricks and advice from different people. Just bake. Most times when you try a new recipe you can get a doorstop, or other mess. You can always turn it into bread pudding or crumbs. Try again. Bread is much easier with a kitchen scale, especially one that will do grams. You also need a big bowl and something to cover it with (could be a mixer bowl and a tea towel. I also use the Anchor Hocking 2 qt. measuring jug with cover). You need a clear counter space and a baking board or silpat to knead and shape your loaves on. A Danish dough whisk is useful, but not required if you're willing to use your hands to mix your dough. A heavy mixer will mix and knead. KitchenAid Artisan will do one loaf, or up to three if it’s soft dough. Anskarum will do big batches of dough. If your dough is very sticky and drippy, add a little more flour. If it’s too stiff to work, add a little water. A single loaf can be made in a 2 qt. Dutch oven, loaf pan, baking sheet, pizza pan, cake pan.... Make a bed of flour for the dough to rest on for a flat pan,or spray some oil in any pan. Ingredients: Flour. Malt will help your rise. I add malt powder to many recipes, but for daily bread (eaten daily, not baked daily) I use Central Milling Artisan Bakers Craft Plus. It's 11% protein, which is on the heavy end for All Purpose flour, about equivalent to King Arthur AP, but has the malt already in it. If you want a very hearty, heavy bread with a lot of stretch, a 14-15% protein flour will do you better. I've made bread from Central Milling Tony Gemignani pizza flour, which has fantastic flavor and 15% protein, as well as a fine "00" grind, and it was really good, but it's too much for general bread. Highly recommended for pizza. The high hydration breads need more protein so that fewer of the gluten strands break and you get a better crumb. I'm not fond of King Arthur flours. Gold Medal Better for Bread (12% protein) is a good choice, but King Arthur All Purpose (11.7% protein) will work fine. N.B: The protein content on the nutrition label loses the difference as a matter of rounding error. The protein content tells you the ratio of gluten you can develop. Kneading speeds up the gluten forming, but it’ll happen just sitting if you leave it alone long enough. Whole wheat breads are a whole different story. The bran cuts the gluten and 100% whole wheat takes some experience and confidence. You can use up to 40% whole wheat flour in a regular recipe without too much problem, but you might not get as much loft. Water. Do use spring water or whatever good tasting water you can. There's nothing in bread for it to hide behind if it doesn't taste good. Salt. Regular granulated table salt works fine. If you prefer a larger grain, grind it up for bread, so it dissolves fast. Tuscan bread has no salt but is mean to be eaten with very salty foods. Generally, breads want half a TBSP (or 1.5 tsp or 11g) table salt per pound of flour. Otherwise, they're exceedingly bland. If you want to weigh your salt, you may need a special scale. They cost about $25. You don't need that kind of precision, however. Your dough should taste salty--unless you use a lot of salt in general and can't taste it in small quantities any more. Salt retards the rise. If you're having trouble with the rise, you can add the salt later, but you shouldn't need to. Stir the salt into the flour first, and you'll be fine. Yeast. ADY=Active Dry Yeast. The Instant is for bread machines. It's the same thing but ground up to work faster. It's a pain to use in other applications. Yeast should be stored in the fridge, but set it out to warm up to room temperature before you use it. A packet is the same amount as a small cake (1" square) is the same as 2.25 tsp. Two tsp should work fine if you don't want to be bothered. Jars are much more economical, and if you're going to be baking regularly, get the 2 lb. bag and store most in the freezer. Given the above, just follow the recipe and you should have bread. :) JC's Daily Bread Lower Hydration Adapted from King Arthur flour Ingredients 1 packet ADY (Active Dry Yeast) = 2 ¼ tsp. 11g or 1.5 tsp Salt 1.5 cups lukewarm Water 475g Central Milling Organic Artisan Baker’s Craft Plus malted flour Or Gold Medal Better For Bread or King Arthur All Purpose plus a teaspoon of diastatic malt, dried malt extract (powder), liquid malt, or even a heaping tsp. of Malt-o-Meal Optional: An egg or milk to brush the top with for sheen and color, and oil spray for pot. Optional: Replace up to 1 cup of the liquid with vegetable puree of any kind, beer, juice or other liquid. You may have to add up to half a teaspoon more salt if the liquid doesn’t have salt. You may also add other seasoning, spices, etc. but better to add it to the liquid first to get the balance right. Directions Combine all ingredients, mix, and knead at least 10 minutes to a well-stretched, smooth, elastic dough Put dough in greased bowl, turn over (grease both sides, thereby), cover, and let rise at (warm) room temperature for about 1 hour, to double volume. If your kitchen is cool, you can run a load of towels and set the bowl on the dryer, or the cable box, or set it on top of a simmering pot of water, or heat your oven for an hour before starting to its lowest temperature and turn it off and put your dough in when it has cooled to pleasantly warm.. Punch down—i.e., let out the air by poking it, and bake in a 2 qt. cast iron pot or other high sided vessel. Optionally spray with oil to fry the sides a little. Cover and let rise to double again. Optionally, brush the top lightly, without deflating the dough, with a beaten egg or milk. You can slash the top of the dough with a very sharp knife, but don’t deflate it. Preheat to 415° F Bake for 35 minutes. Remove cover and lower temperature to 375° F for 12-15 minutes.