TL:DR: I always have to add more flour to my dough and knead way longer than recipes call for making my bread dense and tough, rather than soft and airy. I have been making bread on and off for the last few years and I'm never happy with the result. My main issue is that I always have to add so much extra flour before it actually turns from mush into dough. Between 1/2 - 2 extra cups of flour! I got a stand mixer last year hoping it would make a difference and I think it has slightly, but it's still not good. I'm using a KitchenAid 5.5 Quart Bowl-Lift Mixer with the included ceramic spiral dough hook. In this case, I'm using this recipe from King Arthur . To be fair, in this recipe, it does call for adding additional flour if needed. The dough will not form a ball at this point — it will be just shy of coming together. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix with a spatula or the dough hook until a smooth ball begins to form.…