-In a large bowl, add the warm water (about 80º is ideal, more than 130º can kill your yeast) and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes. (If nothing is foaming or bubbling after 10 minutes, your yeast may be old and you may not get the rise your dough needs.)

-Add the milk (if using), oil, sweetener, and salt. Mix to combine.

-Add in about 1-2 cups of your flour (and other optional dry ingredients) and stir. Now, gradually add in more flour, holding the last cup of flour to use as needed. Stir well.

-Let sit for 10 minutes. (Why wait? The water is hydrating your flour and the little bit of stirring you’ve done has begun forming gluten. This rest will help soften your flour, releasing more gluten-forming proteins. This rest is especially helpful for whole grains.)

-Continue stirring. If your dough is sticky (totally normal), gradually add more flour.

Knead.

-When the dough becomes too thick to stir, begin kneading (by machine or by hand). “Kneading” is basically just mixing with your bare hands (or machine). -By hand - put the dough on a clean, floured surface (or get a pastry cloth, details below) and mush it around. It will get easier to work and less sticky.

-If the dough is really sticking to your mixer or hands, add a little more flour, just a tablespoon at a time.

-How sticky should it be? It should stick to your finger but pull off entirely without leaving much behind.

-Note: It’s easy to add more flour, but trying to add more water is very difficult. Add flour slowly.

-Knead for about 10 minutes. Return dough to your large bowl, cover it with a flour cloth, oiled plastic wrap, or whatever else you have available. I like to use a repurposed plastic grocery bag.

First Rise and the Magic 17. “Let the dough rise,” is probably one of the more confusing parts of this process. How long will that take? It depends. Yeast love an 78ºF environment. I don’t know when/where you’re reading this, but it’s 7ºF outside right now and about 64ºF in my kitchen. When it comes to yeast, “17” is the magic number. For every 17ºF below this happy 78º threshold yeast will need twice as long to do the same amount of work. That means that if it normally takes yeast 40 minutes to rise in 78º, my 64º kitchen will need about 70-80 minutes to get the same results. A 70º kitchen would need about 60 minutes. This magic formula is handy for setting expectations but not foolproof. Watch your dough, and when it’s about twice as big, proceed. Estimate 40-90 minutes.

Form your loaf (or rolls). Confusing part II. Don’t “punch down” your dough. That’s just insulting the yeast. They just spent an hour pumping all those beautiful air bubbles into your dough. Gently dump your dough ball onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Divide the dough ball into two roughly equal halves and have two loaf pans (about 9”x5”) ready. Gently encourage the dough into a rectangular shape. Fold up the bottom end of the rectangle, then the top (like folding a letter). Fold it in half and pinch the edges closed. Confused? Check out this video on The Kitchn for a quick demo.

Only have one loaf pan? No loaf pan? No problem. When life hands you dough, make rolls. Continue dividing the dough into equal parts. When you have a roll-sized bit of dough, shape it into a roll! This can be a simple ball, roll the dough and tie it into a little knot, or put three smaller balls into a muffin pan for a clover leaf shape. Hot dog buns, hamburger buns...get creative and have fun. If the dough is too sticky to work, roll it in a little flour.

Second Rise. Let the dough rest and grow again, shorter this time. It should grow about 1.5 times the starting size. Estimate 20-45 minutes. More time is not always better. Too much air in your dough can overwork the gluten network, making it crash. Your dough will fall. Err on the lower end of the scale until you get the hang of it.

Preheat your oven during the second rise, 425º F. You won’t bake at this temp, though.

Slice. When your loaves/rolls are ready to bake, slice the top of your loaf with a serrated knife, about ½” deep. 1-3 slashes will do the trick. This releases a little extra gas and will make a prettier, more even loaf/roll.

Bake it! Put your loaf and rolls into the oven and LOWER THE TEMP to 375º. Bake rolls about 15-20 minutes, loaves 30-40 minutes.

Remove from oven and check for doneness. If you have an instant read thermometer, check the internal temp. You want about 200º F. No thermometer? Flip the loaf out of the pan and thump the bottom. It should sound hollow.

Enjoy!