Dough ball steps (#31)

Adds instructions on how to make a smooth dough ball

book/book.tex

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-% Optimise for A4 size
 \documentclass[a4paper, 12pt]{book}
 
 % General packages
@@ -41,6 +40,8 @@
 \advance\cftsecnumwidth 0.5em\relax
 \advance\cftsubsecindent 0.5em\relax
 \advance\cftsubsecnumwidth 0.5em\relax
+
+% Space between paragraphs
 \usepackage[skip=5pt plus1pt, indent=0pt]{parskip}
 
 % Define styles for the flow chart graphics

book/wheat-sourdough/wheat-sourdough.tex

@@ -704,6 +704,16 @@ feel. As the dough holds together it will no longer stick to your hands as
 much. This is a common problem beginners face. A sticky dough is frequently
 the sign of a not well enough developed gluten network.
 
+\begin{figure}[!htb]
+  \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{dough-surface-touchpoints}
+  \caption{A schematic visualization of how a rough dough surface
+  creates more touch points compared to a smooth dough surface.
+  By touching the rough surface the dough will swell and get into
+  contact with more areas of your hand.
+  }
+  \label{fig:dough-touch-points}
+\end{figure}
+
 Kneading more is great in almost all cases. You'll have a stronger
 gluten network. Only in case you are making soft milk breads you
 might want to have a more extensible dough to begin with. For every
@@ -719,6 +729,56 @@ However, if the dough is mixed too much, the compounds that contribute
 to the bread's flavor, aroma, and color may be destroyed, negatively
 affecting the quality of the bread.\cite{oxidization+dough}
 
+The last step before beginning bulk fermentation is to
+create a smooth dough ball. By making sure your dough's surface is
+smooth you will have fewer touch points when touching the dough.
+See figure \ref{fig:dough-touch-points} for a schematic visualization
+of how your hand touches a rugged and smooth dough.
+With the smooth surface your dough is going to stick less on your hands. Applying
+later stretch and folds will be a lot easier. Without a smooth
+surface, the dough becomes almost unworkable. Folding the dough later
+becomes an impossible task. This is a frequent mistake I see many
+new bakers commit.
+
+\begin{figure}[!htb]
+  \includegraphics[width=\textwidth]{dough-ball-steps}
+  \caption{The transformation of a sticky dough blob to a dough
+  with a smooth surface. The goal is to reduce surface touchpoints
+  with your hands to make the dough less sticky when working it.
+  }
+  \label{fig:dough-ball-steps}
+\end{figure}
+
+
+To make the dough's surface smooth place your dough on a wooden board or
+on your kitchen's countertop. Drag the dough with your palm over the surface.
+A dough scraper could be used here for assistance.
+Drag the dough towards you while making sure the top center of the dough stays in place.
+It can help to gently place your second hand on top of the dough so that
+the dough mass moves while retaining its orientation. Once the whole dough
+is too close to the edge of the container/countertop gently move it back
+with two hands. By doing so you are stretching the outer surrounding gluten layer.
+For this reason, it is important to not use any flour during this process.
+By using flour you can no longer drag the dough over the surface and thus
+you can't stretch the gluten. Always imagine you are touching something utterly sticky.
+By doing so you will automatically try to touch the dough as little
+as possible. Keep repeating the process until you see that the dough
+has a nice smooth surface. The final dough should look like the dough
+shown in \ref{fig:dough-ball-steps}.
+
+If your outer gluten layer tears you have overstretched your dough. In
+that case, take a 10-minute break leaving your dough on the kitchen countertop. 
+This allows the gluten to re-bond and heal. Repeat the same process
+and the damaged rugged areas should disappear.
+
+The same dough-rounding technique is used later during
+the pre-shaping process. After creating dough strength you
+have all the time you need to practice rounding. Round the dough
+as much as possible until it tears. Then wait the mentioned 10 minutes and repeat.
+Later you don't have any room for error. Your technique has to be on point.
+An over-pre-shaped dough can potentially not recover.
+
+
 \section{Bulk fermentation}
 
 After mixing the starter into your dough the next stage of