Rob - it sounds like you're off to a good start.  I did have a few suggestions I thought I might share with you.

Two years ago I took a 40-hour bread-baking class at the San Francisco Baking Institute (SFBI).  Again last year, I took the next bread class there.  They're considered one of the best artisan bread schools around, and they took a very careful, sequential approach to this.  They started with straight doughs, much like the one you described.  They then added some other flours, like whole wheat, semolina, and then some "soakers" like grains and seeds, etc.  Only one, or perhaps two, variables were changed at a time.  When we were comfortable with a variety of straight doughs, they introduced "autolyse" which is simple but has a disproportionate impact on flavor and crumb.  They then added "preferments" including "poolish," "biga" and "sponge."  Each lends it's own characteristics to the bread.  When all of this was comfortable, we began sourdoughs, including liquid and firm levains, again with various flours, soakers, etc.  One step at a time.  You might try a similar  approach, where you build from simple to complex. 

Two other  things.  First, with respect to folding, I would not view it as an alternative technique, but as a tool for supplementing dough strength.  (I know there are those who advocate folding in lieu of kneeding, but that's not how I was  taught.)  Mix minimally.  If you learn how to test for a "gluten window" you will know if your dough has adequate gluten development.  If your dough seems lax or if it has inadequate structure and strength, then you can then fold once, or periodically as needed.

Finally, don't get bogged down in the do's and don'ts.  There are better ways and worse ways to make great bread, but there is also tremendous flexibility and room for experimentation.  Most importantly, have fun.

I also just started a couple months ago.  I took a somewhat different approach.  I read a lot on TFL and elsewhere, and decided to try a few different kinds of sourdough breads (that's what I like best).  I tried a few recipes with not too many steps, but using different flour combinations, different kinds of levains and different fermentation periods.  That way, I got a sense of the time and temperature variables, and the texture differences, of different formulae.

After five or six sourdough bakes, I tried a yeast-leveaned Cheese Bread, and today Cinnamon Rolls!  Last weekend I tried a somewhat more complex sourdough formula and process (San Joaquin Sourdough) found here on TFL, and it was mostly successful.

At each attempt, I've learned a lot.

I agree with emmsf that the most important thing is to have fun.

Glenn

I wrote down a list of all the different additional ingredients I wanted to try (olive oil, butter, dried milk, wheat berries, canned milk, dried cranberries, walnuts, etc. etc. etc. etc.) then started working down that list. That list alone kept me occupied for six months. When it's done, I want to try flatbreads next, and after that deep dish pizzas... Every so often try a Ciabatta or a Baguette, partly because they taste so good and partly to show yourself how your breadmaking skills are continuing to improve.

I've kept a diary of every loaf I baked: what the ingredients were, what procedures I used, what it looked like, and what it tasted like. I have something like 100 pages on my computer so far. I'm really glad I did; it's turned out to be an invaluable resource. Quite often when I have a question, I can just look back over my previous experiences and tease out patterns that weren't apparent at the time. For example I can find all the different techniques that helped produce "big holes", or all the different loaves that had some kind of fat added, or what typically happens with part whole wheat flour.

Test out recipes that people tried and recommend.

Work in small amounts first because you don't want to end up throwing things out if something bad goes wrong. 

.... although the luddite in me likes the feel of a notebook with each page dedicated to a new "bread experiment", with slight variations on previous recipes, mods of cookbook recipes, etc. - up to #141 and counting.

Good luck, don't be afraid to branch out (and bake the occasional flop as you learn) and enjoy!

Hi gingerbob,

Welcome and good to hear about your baking so far!

I count myself a newbie, having only returned to yeasted bread baking in January this year and sourdough this May.

Apart from getting a baking stone and working out how to steam, which improved the crust greatly, the key steps I found really helped to develop a lean dough were 

• Autolyse
• Stretch and fold
• Preferment

Thanks guys.

Been busy baking this weekend again - although at my girlfriends, so different oven, flour, yeast etc!

Either way, I tried out a different technique for "kneading" where you slap it down and stretch it. Although I still have alot of practice to do, it seemed to be quicker and less tiring!

Also, been doing shaping alot better, so my loaves are not as flat.
Think that the next step, now I am back at home, is going to be autolyse. For the sake of another 30 mins, and no hassle - it has to be a no-brainer!