Do you cook your own bread ....I'm spoiled,as a half dago living near NYC I get my hands on great bread and rolls.
.....what is it about the south where the bread just doesn't come out the same {and in my view not as good}.everybody tells me it's the water
Its all about the recipe first and foremost and then the ingredients. The other MOST IMPORTANT thing is that ingredients HAVE TO BE WEIGHED BY THE GRAM on a scale. Bread will never turn out, EVER, if not weighed correctly with exact accuracy. Most start off with a terrible recipe first, then of course they use standard measuring cups which is a huge No-No and their ovens probably are not calibrated correctly so its either too hot or not hot enough. Also, water content, not type (hard or soft) is very important to whatever application you are making. A Ciabatta for instance has a high water content which makes the dough sticky whereas a Whole Grain Loaf has less water and does not stick at all.
Bread is very easy if you follow the above rules and you can churn out any kind in any geographic location 100 percent of the time. There are also tricks you can do to mimic a steam oven with a Dutch Oven or with water.