Mrs. Safa shares the ways listed below to improve your shaping abilities. Whether you’re learning how to make bread for the first time, you might want to try one of these activities to help you learn faster.
Prepare a batch of dough that contains less yeast
Making a batch of dough with half the amount of yeast and practicing shaping it is the greatest approach to learn how to form bread. Pre-shape, relax, re-shape, and repeat. Your shaping skills will undoubtedly improve after a half-hour of practice! Yes, you can bake it once it rises, but it will take a little longer.
As you bake, improve your shaping talents
Skill-shaping practice doesn’t have to be a chore. At the start of the first rise, take a few minutes to perfect your skill, or shape your loaves a few times.
Make bigger batches
Instead of making one loaf, make 3-4, or more! This will allow you to practice with various pressures and approaches. Once they’ve been baked, you can determine which method performed best. You can keep the loaves of bread you don’t use in the freezer.
How to shape bread rolls?
Shaping bread rolls may look easy but will require a bit of practice to master.
- Firstly, try this procedure without any dough. The ideal technique begins with circular rotations with a flat hand, progresses to a claw-like hand position, and concludes with a lightly clinched fist.
Because the stickiness of the dough often dictates the form of your hands, mastering this technique takes practice.
- Place your hand flat above the dough piece to begin shaping bread rolls. Then, making light touch with the dough, move your hand in an anti-clockwise circle. Continue to move the dough in a circular motion while cupping your hands around it and moving it against the surface.
The overall process should last not more than 20-30 seconds.
When you get confident try using both hands to shape two rolls at the same time. Many bakers find it easier to do two at a time as they are more balanced.
Don’t be dismayed if you struggle to master shaping bread dough at first, just keep trying and enjoy the process!
Bonus: What is the difference between shaping and preshaping?
The dough is preshaped and let to rest before being formed into its final shape. This pause is referred to as the “bench rest”. Preshaping has the following effects:
- Air is removed from the dough
- After that, the gluten structure is re-defined
These benefit the dough as a stronger, more even structure is produced when the dough is shaped the second time. This enhanced structure supports the shape of the dough during the final proof, whilst also benefiting the strength of the crust.
