Bread - Shaping and rounding

[doronin]

After reading few bread books where authors explained their way of rounding and shaping, I still have few unclear points.

First, what is the actual difference in technique between rounding and shaping - first is actually preliminary shaping, but, say, after rounding into boule my bread looks already pretty round - so how should I proceed with final shaping?

Second, what are the most successful techniques of shaping in basic forms while retaining as much gas as possible - please, share your findings.

Third, how to seal a boule properly? As I have some flour under the loaf to prevent sticking to the bench, when I'm trying to seal the loaf, that flour doesn't allow sides of the dough to stick to each other; another side effect is that some of that raw flour remains inside of the seal is, i.e. goes into the loaf. Should I use less or no flour at this stage?

[piazzola]

I think you using too much flour

Just watch this videos here http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_baki...D_18996,00.html

[Woods]

After reading few bread books where authors explained their way of rounding and shaping, I still have few unclear points.

First, what is the actual difference in technique between rounding and shaping - first is actually preliminary shaping, but, say, after rounding into boule my bread looks already pretty round - so how should I proceed with final shaping?

Second, what are the most successful techniques of shaping in basic forms while retaining as much gas as possible - please, share your findings.

Third, how to seal a boule properly? As I have some flour under the loaf to prevent sticking to the bench, when I'm trying to seal the loaf, that flour doesn't allow sides of the dough to stick to each other; another side effect is that some of that raw flour remains inside of the seal is, i.e. goes into the loaf. Should I use less or no flour at this stage?

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Hi, Piazzola is right about too much flour. You need to use the resistance of the dough to the table surface to shape the dough. When I first started I know I tried to hard to force the dough into a shape. That is self defeating. I finally learned that you coax the dough into shape. If you watch shapers in a bakery it looks like they are slapping the dough around and being rough. If fact, they have a very light touch. Shaped dough doesn't have to be tight, just shaped into to what you want. For boules try tucking under all around then place that side down and coax the dough in a circular motion to round. If you over do it the top will split. If you are putting the boules in baskets, drop them in and pinch the bottom if is loose. If you are fermenting them on sheets it doesn't matter. Practice is the key. Good luck. Remember, it may not look perfect but it will be good to eat. Woods

[piazzola]

There is also a basic video here http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/cvt019.asp

[doronin]

Just watch this videos here http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/ck_dm_baki...D_18996,00.html

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Interesting, before rounding, she's kneading the dough so thoroughly that if there was some gas, it would be completelly expelled...

Edited September 22, 2005 by doronin (log)

[danlepard]

Hello doronin,

First, what is the actual difference in technique between rounding and shaping - first is actually preliminary shaping, but, say, after rounding into boule my bread looks already pretty round - so how should I proceed with final shaping?

"Rounding" is a type of shaping, but it is usually preferable to get the piece of dough into an even round shape before letting it rest and shaping it again into the final form. So with most dough I lightly shape it into a round, then leave it covered on a flour dusted surface for 15 minutes before shaping it again, even if the final shape is a round.

There are three main reasons for this:

(1) After weighing/dividing the dough you're left with an uneven lump. By smoothing and tightening the surface and turning it into a ball you are more likely to even with a symmetrical final form. Symmetry is preferable so that the loaf stays useful, with the slices at one end the same height and width as those at the opposite end. You can still have a beautiful asymmetric loaf, but it might not be so useful. I must admit to being a bit of a "form follows function" kinda guy.

(2) It's usually the intention in all bread dough shaping (even when making a focaccia sheet) to keep the outer surface taut. So when we shape the dough into a round, the round shape is simply the result of pushing the dough down and across the bench evenly. As woods says (and this is ever so important):

You need to use the resistance of the dough to the table surface to shape the dough

And in order to do this, as piazzola says (melbournians have a natural affinity with good bread ), don't use too much flour. Flour your hands and only lightly dust the surface. And aim to work very quickly as this will help avoid "the stickies"

(3) Artisan bakers tend to work with fragile dough that has been given extensive bulk fermentation, and often using softer flours (lower in gluten, and often higher in natural fermentable sugars like maltose). So the dough is right up in the danger zone - fragile, very gassy, on the road to collapse. So when they start to shape, after about 10 seconds or so, they'll expect to see the dough tearing - this would be a bad thing. If you start with an uneven lump, by the time the dough is smooth and even it will have started to tire. If you then go straight into a complicated shape, the outer surface will lose it's tension and tear.

So what they do is stagger the shaping. First into a ball, cover and rest, then into the final shape. I specified "Artisan bakers" at the beginning because it is possible, if you use very young immature dough (achieved with little bulk fermentation), made with flour containing a great deal of both extensible and highly resilient gluten, to bash the dough around aggressively without pause. Artisan baking is all about the baker submitting to the dough. Post war industrial baking techniques, that have influenced most pre-1980s domestic recipes, are about getting the dough to submit to your needs.

Second, what are the most successful techniques of shaping in basic forms while retaining as much gas as possible...[and] how to seal a boule properly?

Assuming you're talking about softer dough, I prefer a two-step first shape:

First I quickly pull the outer edge of the dough into the centre about 8 times around the circuference, holding the bits in place with the thumb of my left hand, rotating the dough at the same time. Sort of like making a very rough kaiser roll, and taking barely 10 seconds. Then I flip the dough over so the smooth side is upward.

The next step is the tautening. Though with practice you'll turn the next steps into a fluid movement, think of these instructions a bit like a technique drill for a musical instrument:

(a) With the worksurface barely flour dusted (perhaps a tsp of flour over an area 20cm square) and the hands flour dusted, push the dough gently at the base (with the heel of your left hand) so that it balloons out towards the right. As soon as it does, stop. It must grip the work surface ever so slightly for this to happen. What you'll see and feel is the outer skin of the dough pulling taut, and the dough ballooning out to the right as a result. You should only move the dough across the bench 10 cm, no more.

(b) Lift and rotate the dough an eighth turn clockwise and return it to it's starting spot. Then repeat the push. Stop and repeat eight times until you have a very taught ball of dough.The quicker you do this, never really giving the dough a chance to relax, will help stop the dough from sticking. But it must grip the surface otherwise the dough skin wont be taut.

It is worth remembering that the post-war industrial shaping techniques intended to de-gas the dough to create an even, homogenous crumb. These techniques weren't bad - they just aimed to produce a different result to the one I think you're referring to.

regards

Dan

[doronin]

Dan, thanks for so detailed answer.

I guess I have to see it - otherwise it's like trying to understand a dance explained in words...