Ingredients ... Most Of The Time

Flour: If you want to make a simple loaf of bread with as little fuss as possible on your initial effort, use 4 cups of all-purpose flour. The result will be close to Italian or French bread. There are all kinds of recipes with all kinds of flour and all combinations of flour. Most of the time you will use some all-purpose flour. Sometimes you will use bread flour--look at the bag to see if it is labeled 'bread flour' as opposed to 'all-purpose flour.' We have also used many other kinds of flour in combination with all-purpose and bread flour.

Yeast: the kind of yeast you use will depend on the amount of time you allow the yeast to ferment. The 'ideal' recipe Breadtopia and I suggest ferments for about 18 hours. For this amount of fermentation the kind of yeast for sale at most markets (the yeast in three packet strips) is not right. Instead, some markets sell a JAR of Fleishman's brand yeast for maybe $8 that contains several ounces of yeast. If you have time, order yeast on the net. Google 'bread yeast'. Buy one of the half pound or pound bags of Fleishman's or other commercial brands of active dry yeast. The cost should be around $10 including postage--which makes it much, much more economical than those three packet strips. The larger unit will probably last you several months or a year.

I have occasionally made bread (or pizza crust) which I allow to ferment for only a few hours, not the 'ideal' 18 hours. For this kind of quick bread, the yeast in packets of three is acceptable. I long ago ran out of three packet yeast and have used slower-rising yeast even for quick bread. It has worked well, even though that's not the advertised use of the slow-rise product.

In either case, STORE THE YEAST IN THE FREEZER. It will stay hearty for a long time if it's frozen.

Salt: Kosher salt is my strong preference. If other kinds of salt work I wouldn't know.

Water: PREPARE YOUR WATER IN ADVANCE. Boil a pot full of water. When it cools store it in glass jars (okay, maybe plastic containers are acceptable, but I'm old fashioned that way). Regular tap water in most places has chemicals that might inhibit the yeast. Boiling knocks out the chemicals. If you want to use bottled water, I imagine it will work.