Made fresh bread for almost the first time today--from scratch :-) Followed a full-proof recipe so I couldn't go wrong.
Recipe called for 2c. of water, but it said I could also use any combination of water & milk that I wanted up to 2c. What is the purpose of milk in a recipe? I had NO idea whether I wanted milk in there or not, or how much, but I did use 1/2c milk and 1 1/2c water. Bread turned out fine, btw, but would like to know what milk does to a bread recipe for next time.
btw, the recipe didn't call for eggs, but in the mixing instructions it said that if I had an egg or two that I wanted to add, I could. What do eggs contribute to fresh home-made bread dough?
Any expert advice would be appreciated as I'm still a newbie to bread making techniques.
Milk makes bread more tender, a bit more moist, and slightly sweeter. It improves crust color and flavor, and adds flavor overall. Full-fat milk will have a more profound effect on texture and flavor than skim milk, but if you want to be really precise, you should account for the fat in your measurements (1 cup of full-fat milk has less water in it than 1 cup of skim milk) but most recipes will be forgiving. Milk also improves keeping quality (i.e., makes the bread last longer before staling) and adds a good helping of protein.
Egg whites make bread drier and fluffier, and add protein. Egg yolks create a tender, smooth, silky texture, good flavor, and a rich color in both crust and crumb. Whole eggs, of course, do both (with the fat in the yolks balancing the drying effect of the whites somewhat). Don't feel you have to add whole eggs -- play around with different ratios of white and yolk if you want to really see what effect they have. Take it easy on both, though, because doughs with a lot of egg (more than one egg per loaf, roughly) change the character of the bread completely. High-egg doughs are something to tinker with after you've mastered the basics.
You are asking excellent questions! You obviously want to understand the fundamental principles rather than just blindly follow recipes. Understanding what's going on and making up your own bread formulas is what is most fun about bread baking!
With respect to the particular questions you are asking, fantastic bread can be made with simply flour, water, and salt. (No, you don't even need yeast -- head on over to rec.food.sourdough after you've mastered the basics if you're interested in naturally leavened breads.) In fact, there is a sub-culture of bakers that never use anything other than flour, water, salt, and sometimes yeast, and scoff at any "encrichments" such as milk and eggs. These bakers improve flavor and texture by using long, slow rises, pre-ferments, and other "artisanal" techniques. You could dedicate a substantial portion of your life to mastering these techniques. Other bakers add things like milk, eggs, honey, barley malt syrup, carraway/fennel/anise, cranberries, cheddar, jalapeños, etc. in order to add flavor and texture. Some borrow a little from both schools of thought -- a pre-ferment for complexity of flavor, and a little enrichment to mellow things out.
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