Dividing & Preshaping chapter (#36)

This adds the content for the dividing and preshaping chapter.
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Hendrik Kleinwaechter
2023-01-13 14:33:53 +01:00
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4 changed files with 123 additions and 3 deletions

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@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ that tastes much better than any store-bought bread.
\path [line] (proof) -- (bake); \path [line] (proof) -- (bake);
\end{tikzpicture} \end{tikzpicture}
\caption{The typical process of making a wheat-based sourdough bread} \caption{The typical process of making a wheat-based sourdough bread}
\label{j:wheat-sourdough-process} \label{fig:wheat-sourdough-process}
\end{figure} \end{figure}
The whole process of making great sourdough bread starts with The whole process of making great sourdough bread starts with
@@ -1159,7 +1159,6 @@ in the decay stage shown in figure \ref{fig:dough-strength-sourdough}.
its dough strength a stretch and fold should be applied.} its dough strength a stretch and fold should be applied.}
\end{figure} \end{figure}
Now the reasonable amount of stretch and folds you should do greatly depends on how much you Now the reasonable amount of stretch and folds you should do greatly depends on how much you
kneaded initially and how extensible your dough is. A good recommendation is kneaded initially and how extensible your dough is. A good recommendation is
to observe your dough in your bulk container. Once you see that the dough to observe your dough in your bulk container. Once you see that the dough
@@ -1171,7 +1170,128 @@ waking up. Then the bulk fermentation might take another 2 hours before I
proceed with dividing and preshaping or directly shaping. proceed with dividing and preshaping or directly shaping.
\section{Optional: Dividing and Preshaping} \section{Optional: Dividing and Preshaping}
This chapter is still pending and will be added soon.
Dividing and preshaping is an optional step that is done
once your sourdough finishes with the bulk fermentation stage.
The step is required if you are making multiple loaves in one
batch. It is optional if you are making a single loaf.
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\begin{tikzpicture}[node distance = 3cm, auto]
\node [block] (init) {\footnotesize Dividing required?};
\node [decision, right of=init, node distance=5cm] (more_than_one_loaf) {\footnotesize More than 1 loaf?};
\node [block, right of=more_than_one_loaf, node distance=5cm] (yes) {\footnotesize Yes};
\node [block, below of=yes, node distance=3cm] (no) {\footnotesize No};
\path [line] (init) -- (more_than_one_loaf);
\path [line] (more_than_one_loaf) -- (yes);
\path [line] (more_than_one_loaf) -- (no);
\end{tikzpicture}
\caption{Dividing is only required when you are making multiple loaves in a single dough batch}
\label{fig:dividing-decision-tree}
\end{figure}
The goal of dividing your dough into smaller pieces is to portion
your dough accordingly. This way you'll have multiple pieces of bread
which all weigh the same. For this reason, a scale is commonly
used to weigh the pieces of dough. If one piece of dough weighs
too little you can simply cut a bit more from your dough blob
to increase its weight.
When cutting the dough try to be as concise as possible with your
movements. You don't want to unnecessarily damage your dough too much.
Quick movements with a knife or dough scraper help to prevent the
dough from sticking too much to your tools.
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{divide-preshape}
\caption{The steps of dividing and preshaping your dough}
\end{figure}
I sometimes like to draw small lines with the dough scraper's edge
on the large dough mass before cutting it into smaller pieces.
This helps me to better plan where I want to do my incisions. When
I plan to make 8 loaves I try to use the lines to divide the dough
into 8 equally sized portions before cutting. If this is not precise enough,
you can use the aforementioned scale.
Now that you cut your dough the resulting chunks are not in an equal shape.
This is problematic for the next stage when you are shaping your dough.
The resulting loaves wouldn't look nice and even. You would probably
end up with areas that tear the moment you are shaping your dough.
You wouldn't start the whole process on a good foundation. For that
reason, you need to preshape your dough.
Preshaping is done for several reasons:
\begin{itemize}
\item You divided your dough and require preshaping
\item Your dough lacks dough strength. Preshaping will add more strength
\item You want to even out the final loaf's crumb structure. By preshaping
the resulting crumb will look more even.
\end{itemize}
If you are making a single loaf from one dough batch the step is not required.
In that case, you can directly proceed with shaping, skipping this step.
The preshaping technique is the same as the process figure \ref{fig:dough-ball-steps}.
Whereas earlier you could tear the dough's surface this could now result in a catastrophe.
For this reason, I recommend practicing this step for as long as you need after kneading.
The gluten network might be so extensible and degraded at this point that there
is hardly any room for error. The dough wouldn't come together again. The only
way to save such dough is to use a loaf pan.
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{preshape-direction}
\caption{Drag the dough in the direction of the rough surface area. This
way you minimize the movements required to complete the step.}
\label{fig:preshape-direction}
\end{figure}
Preshape the dough as much as is needed to round up the top
surface area. Try to touch the dough as little as possible
to reduce its chance to stick to your hands. Drag the dough
in the direction where you see a rough surface area. In
case you have too little space to drag the dough because it might
fall from the edge of your counter, simply lift it with a swift movement and place
it in a better position for preshaping. Please refer to figure \ref{fig:preshape-direction}
for a visualization showing the preshaping direction.
Try to set yourself a limit of movements to finish preshaping
a dough. Then you will be more conscious about each movement
you are performing. At the start you can try 5 movements,
iteratively reducing this to 3. The only reason for exceeding these
numbers could be if you on purpose want to even out the crumb
structure of your final loaves further.
\begin{figure}[!htb]
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{preshaped-dough}
\caption{Baguette doughs resting after preshaping}
\label{fig:dough-after-preshaping}
\end{figure}
Once you finished preshaping allow the dough balls to rest
on your counter for at least 10-15 minutes. Do not
cover the preshaped balls. By drying out the surface
the following shaping step will be easier. The dried-out surface
will not stick to your hands as much. As
you tightened the dough's gluten you will need to
allow it to relax. Without a resting period, you wouldn't
be able to shape your dough into for instance a baguette-like structure.
The dough would resist each movement
always springing back into the previous shape. You
might have noticed this before when making pizza dough. If you
don't wait long enough after balling the pizzas it's impossible
to stretch the pizza. By waiting a few more minutes
stretching becomes a lot easier. The dough will not resist
being transformed into the final shape that you like.
The aforementioned 10-15 minutes bench rest time depends
on how strongly you preshaped your dough. The more
you preshape the longer you need to wait. If your dough
resits a lot during shaping, extend this period up to 30 minutes.
If you wait too long your dough's surface area can become too dry,
resulting in the dough tearing during shaping. As always please
take these timings with a grain of salt and experiment in
your environment.
\section{Shaping} \section{Shaping}
This chapter is still pending and will be added soon. This chapter is still pending and will be added soon.