Thanks to Y'alll
Sometimes I surprise myself, and thanks to y'all it happened again yesterday. I was making a batch of dough when 1- the telephone rang & 2- the door bell went off; all at the same time. Of course by the time I got back to the mixer I had totally forgotten how much flour had gone in. I added the rest of the "stuff", less any flour, and dumped it out onto the counter top. I did autolyse the dry/liquid so I felt fairly confident. It looked very wet, so adding some more flour, some kneading and then the dough felt "silky and nice" to me, so thinking of y'all I said what the heck! Sometimes the fingers know what the text book does not. The loaves turned out great. Both my wife and our friend who was here for dinner thought it was one of my better tries. It just reinforced what y'all have said that measurements are important, but feel is something that can not be overrated. I have not made a lot of bread, but enough to "feel" what I like and that is without a doubt the most valuable thing I have learned from this site. Thank you one and all for sharing your experiences with us newbies!!!!