Really, you don't. Like me (until recently), you're probably using too much flour in your bread.
I've been playing with breadmaking the last few years, beginning with the no-knead Artisan bread and including the abysmal crockpot bread. Until this autumn, I'd made bread maybe once a week or so, to accompany dinner -- this was mainly for my toddlers who were certainly just as strangely and inconsistently picky as every other toddler I've ever met (but they'd always eat bread/butter and vegetables or fruit).
So how did I work my way up to the mouthwatering French-style loaves I positioned proudly at the top of this post? Well, this past autumn, a friend gave me a bread machine, and it is so easy to use that my spouse and I started making all of our sandwich bread from scratch. He has a wonderful light wheat with chia seed recipe, and I have been experimenting with sourdough.
Along the way, I've been seeking out instructional videos and advice from other sources about breadmaking and kneading, and I found out something really, really useful for anyone who is making anything that requires both flour and kneading: most of us use way too much flour when we first start baking.
I don't have a marble countertop, so I usually knead on a silpat. It works well!
Now, I have baked plenty of tasty loaves before learning this tidbit. In general, I find baking bread to be surprisingly forgiving for an experiential learner (like myself). But what a revelation! Next time you plan to knead, save our some of the recipe flour; you'll be glad you did.
