Bread is made mostly out of love. Yeast is a living organism, be sure to handle it gently, with respect and love. They say that the yeast rises better when we say positive words to it. It will get 'afraid' of sounding when handled nervously in a noisy environment. (Would be interesting to do an experiment on that.)
Yeast becomes active only in a dough that is high in gluten, and is most active at temperatures around 30⁰C in a humid and draught-proof room. Lower temperatures inhibit the fermentation of yeast, and temperatures above 54⁰C kill yeast fungi.
Best environment to raise yeast is a constant temperature. (Not near the stove as we like to do it to raise it faster, the dough will not rise equally if the temperature is not constant).
Yeast ferments faster if you feed fungus with a bit of sugar or flour, but don't add too much as the fermentation slows down. (Fungi get fat and lazy? 😆)
Remember not to leave the yeast or dough for too long when it rises, to prevent it from falling apart.
The more times, the bread is kneaded and risen, the softer and better it is.
Be careful not to add too much flour when kneading, as the bread will get crumbly and it will taste sandy. You need to fight through the stickiness when kneading and adding only as much flour to get it off your hands and the bowl.
You can make bread without kneading, but you need to let the dough form in a fridge for 12 hours.
Be sure to always cover the dough with a clean cloth or plastic wrap, not to get an undesired dried crust on top.
Preheat the oven before baking to keep a constant temperature.
When baking bread, be sure not to open the oven, at least for the first 15 minutes.
With Dutch oven, you will avoid pots of water that are pushed into the oven.
If you don't have a Dutch oven use a cast iron pot or a ceramic pot with a lid.
If you still decide to bake it in an open tray, place a bowl of water, next to the bread in the oven, to keep it moist.
