Have been trying a few things recently, found that using the Kitchen-aid for the kneading, the dough hook just picks up the dough and the whole lot spins so I have to stand there holding a wooden spoon to stretch the dough from the hook, have been using the vinegar in the dough mix, find the best explanation for the vinegar is to lower the pH allowing the yeast to work better, not sure about the other explanations that it also acts as a mould inhibitor.
But the easiest method to make bread I have found is the no knead and leaving it for a long ferment, have tried additions like seeds, and rosemary and garlic and my next one will be rosemary olives and garlic.
http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread