How to Shape Dough: A Simple Guide to Shaping Bread

Bakers shape bread dough into its final shape before baking. Bread can be baked as loaves, rounds, and baguettes and with knotted, braided, or twisted designs. Shaping is a process that allows the gluten to develop and creates surface tension by forming a skin on the surface of the dough. This skin helps the dough to create a crispy, even exterior during the baking process to prevent it from collapsing or breaking apart in the oven.

Doughs with high fat content, like brioche or challah, can be easily braided and turned into elaborate shapes. High-hydration doughs that are sticky, especially bread doughs made from whole wheat flour, are harder to handle in the shaping process.

Shaping the dough is the final preparatory step before putting your dough in the oven. Follow these steps to ensure your bread is ready to be shaped:

1. 1. Mix: Mix all of your dough ingredients and strengthen the dough by kneading or folding.
2. 2. Bulk fermentation: Bulk fermentation (aka first fermentation or first rise) is the dough’s first resting period after the yeast has been added and before shaping.
3. 3. Pre-shaping: In this step, cut the dough into individual pieces and roughly shape each into its final form. De-gas your dough by punching out any excess air bubbles that may have formed in fermentation.
4. 4. Bench rest: Next is the bench rest, a resting period before the final shaping to let the gluten relax. The length of time depends on the type of bread you’re making.
5. 5. Final shaping: Shape, twist, or braid your dough into its final form before baking. You can also score the bread before placing it in the oven.

A round bread loaf, also known as a boule, is a standard shape for bread, particularly sourdough bread. Follow these steps to create the perfect boule:

1. 1. Dust your hands and work surface with flour. To shape dough into a round, lightly dust the dough, your work surface, and your hands with flour.
2. 2. Form your dough into a round shape. Move the dough from the top left side of your workspace to the bottom right side by turning it a quarter turn. In the process of turning, use one of your hands to tuck the dough underneath itself toward the center bottom of the loaf. Your other hand will act as a stopper to help maintain the round shape of the dough. Repeat the movement until you’ve reached the bottom right of your workspace.
3. 3. Repeat the quarter turn and tuck. Pick up the dough and move it back to the top left to repeat the turning and tucking process. Continue this process until you have a smooth, taut ball of dough that holds its shape. Try to do this in as few turns as possible—you don’t want to overwork the dough.
4. 4. Identify the dough’s seam. You’ve rolled the dough properly when you flip the dough over seam-side up into your proofing basket and see the key—a hole in the center bottom of the dough. This indicates that you’ve correctly shaped the dough.

The loaf bread shape is great for making white bread and sandwich bread. Follow these steps to create a loaf:

1. 1. Prep your work surface with flour. Lightly dust the dough, your work surface, and a rolling pin with flour.
2. 2. Roll the dough. Using the rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rectangular shape.
3. 3. Fold the dough. Picking up the top third of the dough, fold it upon itself toward the center. Take the bottom third of the dough and fold it up toward the center, like folding a letter. The dough will now be a long loaf shape.
4. 4. Pinch the seams. Use your fingers to pinch the fold seams together so the dough doesn’t come apart. If the seams aren’t sticking together, brush it with water and pinch again.
5. 5. Seam the ends. Both ends of the dough need to be closed. Fold one end in and pinch it, using water if necessary, and repeat with the other end.
6. 6. Repeat the folding process. The dough should be taut. If the surface of the dough still seems loose, repeat the folding process, and make sure to pinch the seams.
7. 7. Score the dough for an even bake. Place the dough seam-side down in the loaf pan. Score the top of the dough with a sharp knife or razor blade to ensure it bakes evenly.

The art of shaping dough takes time to perfect. Follow these tips when forming different shapes of bread:

1. 1. Do a final proof. Most shaped doughs will need proofing at room temperature before baking in the oven. This last proof will help the gluten relax and allow the dough to expand in size. Depending on your kitchen’s temperature, this can take anywhere from 30 minutes for small buns to an hour-and-a-half for an entire loaf of bread. You know the dough is ready to bake when you press the top and the dough bounces back.
2. 2. Use a bench scraper. If your dough is sticking to the surface, use a bench scraper to pick it up and dust your work surface with more flour.
3. 3. Choose the correct bread pan. Most dough recipes can bake on a baking sheet, but there are times when using a specialized bread pan will yield a particular result. For instance, if you want the perfect loaf shape, use a loaf pan to ensure that the bread rises straight and tall—otherwise, it will bake into an oblong shape, similar to a bâtard. Baking a round loaf in a dutch oven will create an extremely crispy and golden exterior, similar to artisan bread.

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