I recently fulfilled a desire of many years to own a grain mill and my bread has never looked worse! The loaves are squat, dense and difficult to slice. The dough feels heavy and unresponsive when I knead, even after 20 minutes. It rises rapidly for a short time, then stops--after 30-45 minutes for the first rise, and 20 max for the second and third rises. It doesn't double in volume. There is no oven-spring.

 I'm milling hard red wheat (that's all I know about it, not where it came from or whether it's Winter or Spring wheat, etc). The yeast bubbles energetically when proofed. I've tried both sponge and straight dough methods with the same disappointing results. I  love the flavor of the freshly-milled flour but I so want a lighter, better looking loaf. Can anybody help?