Theresa asked: "How does one figure out how much to reduce the yeast?"
Shortly after I started baking bread, I found Elizabeth David's book
on English Bread on a remainder table at Famous and Barr (no longer
in existence). Using her basic bread recipe, I only put one-half
tsp. of yeast in the dough and put it in a very cool room
overnight. That loaf was the best tasting bread I had made at that point.
I'm sure you'll get better answers from other list members more
knowledgeable than I, but after that experience, I started using less
yeast than called for and giving the dough 2, and sometimes 3 rising
periods. My bread actually had flavor after that.
Marsha
in southern Illinois