You've fed the leaven for a week, you've selected the most suitable type of flour, you've added water, you've let the dough rise, and you've put it into the hot oven. Now the only thing left to do is sit back and watch how the bread fills out, grows, and changes, just like a child.
(From the wrapping of a Lehem Erez loaf)

Basic bread dough is made from flour, water, and yeast. Wheat flour is unique in that it contains the protein gluten, which gives the dough its elasticity, volume, and ability to rise - a combination of qualities referred to as "flour strength." The water, which constitutes about 50% of the dough's weight, triggers the action of the yeast. The yeast causes the gluten to ferment and the dough to rise. In the past, sourdough starter - a small piece of dough from an earlier batch of baking - was used to make fresh dough rise, but today commercial yeasts are used to speed up the process. Thus, within the space of an hour, the dough is ready for the oven.