To Form Rolls

Forming a perfectly round, smooth, tight roll with the palm of your hand is easy if you use the right technique. As when forming bread loaves, your objective is to create a tight skin around the mass of dough. Place two balls of dough on the table with your hands cupped on top, fingers clenched like claws. Press down fairly hard on the dough as you move both hands simultaneously in tight circles. Move your left hand counterclockwise and your right hand clockwise, so both are moving toward the outside (Figure 4-2). As you press down, forming the dough into a tight round ball, let the dough stick to the table just a little, or it will not form a skin. For this reason, as little flour as possible should be used, and if the dough just slides and doesn’t stick at all, try rubbing the table with a wet towel. If you are making oval rolls, such as Milk Rolls, first roll the dough round. Then, without lifting your hands, which remain cupped around the dough, move them away and back toward you a few times in a straight line.