
It sets the stage for a more streamlined shaping step.

While preshaping is not strictly mandatory, it does provide an opportunity to check in with your dough, to assess its strength and fermentation activity. This simple act can add much-needed strength and structure to a dough that might otherwise prove tricky to shape.įurther, if the dough is especially weak, possibly from undermixing or overhydration, you can perform a second preshape step to bring more structure to the dough before shaping. This ensures your dough will rise high and make it less likely to collapse or spread. If your divided dough feels a little loose or slack, you can give it a slightly tighter preshape. Preshaping also gives us an extra chance to add strength to our dough. This way, when we begin final shaping of our dough - whether it be a boule, baguette, or anything else - we’re starting from a consistent and orderly structure. To facilitate the final shaping of these unruly forms, I perform a preshape step to bring some measure of uniformity to the pieces.

Typically I'm left with lumps of different shapes and sizes - not to mention the small scraps I slice off the larger mounds and stick onto the smaller ones. Most bread recipes call for enough dough to make multiple loaves, but it can be challenging to divide up a large mass into perfectly sized pieces on the first try. Let's walk through several considerations that can influence how you preshape your dough. Ultimately, the approach is up to the baker. Others gently gather the dough and let it rest seam-side-down for a uniformly smooth surface on top. Some people like to pull the dough together tightly and let it rest with the seam facing up. Preshaping is precisely what it sounds like it sets the stage for successful final shaping - and there are many approaches a baker can take. But right before that, there's an often overlooked yet equally important step: preshaping bread dough. In the typical life cycle of baking bread, there’s a point where your dough must be transformed into its final shape.
