Started with a bread maker 30 years ago. I got tired of it and sold it. Picked up a stand mixer and a bread making book by Williams Sanoma (?). Some good loaf recipes but I knew there was more. Then signed up for some baking classes at a culinary school a few towns over. Oh baby, the world opened up. Baker's formula, measure by weight not volume, and some good tips. In the last few years I was awarded with blue ribbons from the county fair and even got a "Best In Class" fancy pants ribbon for the rye.
For some reason, I have really gotten into bread baking. A few years back I even trailed a baker for a week. That was a bitch. Those guys start at two in the morning and deal with 50# sacks of flour and pounds of yeast all in a giant Hobar mixer that could be used to make concrete in a pinch.