Dale, allowing the dough to rise too much during the first rise will likely lead to diminished rising power later on, as the yeast will consume all the available starches and have little to fuel it during the later stages of dough development. This may well be contributing to your loaf spreading and not rising well. If you find your dough is fermenting very quickly and you're using instant yeast, you may want to reduce the temperature of the liquid to room temperature. This will slow down fermentation to a more manageable rate. If your dough feels very wet, this could also contribute to rapid fermentation and your shaped loaf spreading. In this case, adding a bit more flour may be helpful. Barb@KAF

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