Forming Dough Rounds

Perfect dough deserves a perfect shape.

Forming smooth and shapely dough rounds is one of the most important skills a baker learns. Dough rounds are the basic form used in a wide variety of baked goods like dinner rolls, pizza crusts, bagels, and monkey bread.

1. Forming dough properly accomplishes two things:

• It stretches the thin sheet of gluten on the outside of the round to form an attractive spherical shape for the loaf or rolls.
• It tightens the gluten strands within the dough. Loaves that lack this structure will be dense and heavy rather than light and airy. The goal of this method is to form a very tight, smooth, and round ball.

2. We are using dough made from the recipe for Bagels II, the dough has already risen once. The size the dough must be portioned into varies from one recipe to another, so be sure to double-check the recipe you are following to ensure you portion the dough correctly. The recipe we are following calls for the portion size to be 5 ounces. This forming method can apply to dough weighing from 1 ounce to 1 pound.

• Bagels II

3. Take two ends of the dough and fold them into the middle; repeat 2 or 3 times. In essence, you are turning the dough inside out. The dough will be noticeably tighter.

4. One side of the dough will be perfectly smooth (except for a possible small carbon dioxide blister, which is good), the other side will look like a seam of dough closing in on itself. Place the ball seam-side down on the work surface. With the palm of your hand against the smooth side of the dough, move the ball around in circles on the work surface. Keep as little flour as possible on the work surface, as some friction is required for the dough to stretch. The non-smooth end needs to be in constant contact with the work surface. Be careful not to use too much force and tear the outside of the round; too much pressure will weaken the structure of the dough. The act of moving your hands in circles will cause the seam to close and the smooth side to stretch, forming a perfect sphere. If another proofing needs to be done before baking, set the rounds down on a greased tray or the work surface before baking.

5. Another more complicated way to form dough rounds is to exert pressure with your palm when rolling. This extra pressure will make the dough even tighter but requires a lot of practice to avoid over-working the dough. Begin acclimating yourself to this process by rolling one of the balls with one hand the first couple of tries, then switch to the other hand a few rounds down the road. Study the rounds that you exerted extra pressure on and judge whether you have done a successful job. After both hands feel comfortable and you feel you are not exerting too much pressure on the dough, try rolling two rounds at once.

6. Once all of the dough pieces have been formed into rounds, set them on a floured or greased tray to be proofed once again. To keep them from drying out and forming a skin, cover the rounds with a slightly damp towel or plastic wrap.

Now, whip up some dough and practice your dough-shaping skills! Try these recipes: 

• Orange Pull-Aparts
• Soft Onion Sandwich Rolls