Bread part dos

Okay, let's just say I made 2 ten-pound bricks.  Learn from my mistakes.  Batch two made later in the day came out beautiful. Here is what I think happened.

I made the mistake of putting the yeast proof in a small glass bowl.  I thought that I could make the mix in the KitchenAid with the beater.  After proofing, I added everything to the mixture and then when it was done mixing change out the beater for the dough hook.  I noticed right away that the consistency was not the same.  There was a lot of dough that stuck to the sides of the bowl.  It didn't knead cleanly and was an elastic mess. 

Here's what I should have done.  I should have started the proof in a large glass bowl. When it was done, I needed to add the other ingredients to the bowl (like the recipe) and mix it all by hand.  It took a few minutes, but the result was worth it.  I added about a tablespoon of flour to the bottom of the KitchenAid bowl, to help prevent sticking, and added a nice ball of dough to the bowl.  It kneaded the bread to a beautiful, non-sticky, dough.  I followed the rest of the recipe as it was and guess what? The next two loaves came out great.

BTW, I'm in Las Vegas to attend my daughters graduation from Le Cordon Bleu's baking and pastry program.  Then it's on to Utah for her wedding open house.  More later...