When I make bread, I use my Kitchen Aide mixer with a dough hook to do the kneading. I let it rest covered on the countertop for about 20 minutes. I then shape the bread and put it in the refrigerator for at least hours up to about 48 hours, then I bake it. I have one recipe that I have to make in a more traditional fashion, but I do use the mixer then put it in the oven (now I have a proof setting, but I used to heat the oven to 200 while I was mixing the bread and then turned the oven off before I put the bread in it). I had a friend who complained that she could not make this bread -- she assumed since I put it in the refrigerator she set it in front of an open window and her bread fell flat....
