Step Six: Preshaping

Once divided, the dough is preshaped in order to change the randomly shaped pieces into more consistent shapes. Preshaping organizes the dough pieces, making final shaping easier and more effective. A light rounding suffices for most breads, but it’s worth noting that a strong preshaping can be a good tool to bring an extra dose of strength to weak doughs. However gently or firmly the preshaping, final shaping must wait until the dough has sufficiently relaxed. Since the tightness to which a loaf is preshaped determines when the final shaping can occur, the baker can use this to his or her advantage. For example, if, because of other aspects of the production schedule, the bread needs final shaping in a relatively short time, a light preshaping is sufficient; if, on the other hand, other doughs must be divided, mixed, or loaded into the oven before the preshaped dough gets its final shaping, then a tighter preshaping is indicated, since the dough will require more time to relax before final shaping.