Homemade bread - it always turns out flat (convection ovens no good?)

I made a bit of brown earlier and it was a tiny bit soggy. I'm thinking of putting in a bit less buttermilk the next time.
It was grand with a bit of jam though!

What kind of bread is she making?

I make mainly yeast breads and find you need to give them time to proof, otherwise you get poor oven spring.

Soda breads are a chemical rise, but the temperature can affect things.
Just mixing through is usually enough for soda breads, no "knead" to spend 15 minutes massaging it!

My oven also has a hot spot in it so I have to turn my breads to cook evenly.

Fan assist ovens generally cook "hotter" than the temp. setting suggests and can cook the crust before the middle is done.

Do you pre-heat the oven before putting the dough in? I like to give a good blast of heat at the start and turn down the oven after five or ten minutes.

I also use some large floor tiles on the shelves as a pizza stone heat sink kind of thing.
With yeast breads, for a crusty crust, I spray water from a plant sprayer and also put a pan in the bottom of the oven and pour boiling water in it as the dough goes in. Plenty steam makes a good rise and thick crust.