I agree that most European recipes will give the amount of flour needed by weight - as long as you have a scale that measures in grams you'll be okay.
You might also want to try delaying the addition of the salt to the dough. The recipe I've been using for sandwich bread the last six months has me combine nearly all the ingredients first (yeast, half the flour, sugars, etc), and once the dough has been mixed together, let it sit for autolyse for about twenty minutes. Then I add the rest of the flour and the salt, and continue with the recipe.
The reason you're supposed to hold back on the salt - and let's see if I remember this correctly - is because the salt inhibits the formation of gluten, and by giving the yeast about twenty minutes to go crazy without it, you'll end up with a better loaf. The salt might not be directly causing your dense loaves - but it might be something interesting to try when you've got it figured out.
King Arthur unbleached AP. I used to use bread flour, but the recipe I'm currently using calls for AP, and that seems to be working well. (I also add vital wheat gluten - I think it's supposed to help with rise, but I can't be sure.) I have noticed that I get a much better rise on cooler days with more humidity than I do bright and sunny ones - I know that can affect making fudge, but hadn't thought how it might affect yeast before (though I admit it makes sense).
Oh... wait.... you wanted to know what kind of flour the OP uses, didn't you? Never mind...... :)
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You might also want to try delaying the addition of the salt to the dough. The recipe I've been using for sandwich bread the last six months has me combine nearly all the ingredients first (yeast, half the flour, sugars, etc), and once the dough has been mixed together, let it sit for autolyse for about twenty minutes. Then I add the rest of the flour and the salt, and continue with the recipe.
The reason you're supposed to hold back on the salt - and let's see if I remember this correctly - is because the salt inhibits the formation of gluten, and by giving the yeast about twenty minutes to go crazy without it, you'll end up with a better loaf. The salt might not be directly causing your dense loaves - but it might be something interesting to try when you've got it figured out.
Good luck!
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Oh... wait.... you wanted to know what kind of flour the OP uses, didn't you? Never mind...... :)
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