How to Shape Dinner Bread
Dinner bread is usually served sliced in a basket, or in small roll form for guests to enjoy. If you make it yourself, you have an advantage -- the bread will be hot and delectable, and you'll know for sure that it's fresh when you serve it. French bread dough traditionally contains just four things: flour, salt, water and yeast. Dinner rolls are usually made of a richer dough, and may include butter, milk and sometimes eggs to give them a more tender texture. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
Things You'll Need
- French bread dough
- Dinner rolls dough
- Kitchen scale
- Parchment paper
- Half-sheet pan
- Sharp knife
- Bench scraper (optional)
Instructions
-
French Loaf
-
1
Allow your french bread dough recipe to proof, or rise, until it has at least doubled in size. This should usually take about an hour to an hour and a half. Consult your recipe for its specific time frame.
-
2
Press the air out of the dough, starting with your fingertips and rocking back onto the palms of your hands. Continue pressing all the little air bubbles you see out of the dough with your fingers, until you don't see any more. The dough should be flat; don't worry about its shape right now.
-
-
3
Roll the dough together tightly, bringing the long sides together. Keep the seam of the dough roll on your counter.
-
4
Press the dough roll down to the counter and away from you with your palms. Rock the roll back and forth along the length of your hand, from palms to fingertips, pressing gently as you go. Start with both hands in the middle of the roll, then move your hands out to the ends of the dough while doing the rocking motion with your hands.
-
5
Round the ends off by applying a little more pressure to them with your pinky fingers and that entire side of each hand. Repeat this shaping motion until the dough is a nicely formed loaf in the length you want.
-
6
Slash the top of the loaf diagonally five times with a sharp knife. This helps steam escape while it bakes, and allows the loaf to keep its shape. Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and set on a parchment-covered half-sheet pan on top of the stove to rise while your oven preheats.
Simple Dinner Rolls
-
7
Allow your dinner roll bread dough recipe to rise until at least doubled in bulk. This should take about an hour to an hour and a half. Consult your recipe for a more specific time frame.
-
8
Portion the dough into 1 oz. pieces with your kitchen scale. Use a bench scraper or small, sharp knife to cut the dough; this avoids tearing the gluten strands that formed as the bread was rising. Cover the dough pieces with plastic wrap after you've measured them, so they don't dry out.
-
9
Pull one piece of dough at a time out from under the plastic wrap. Roll it into a ball between the palms of your hands. Then roll it into a ball on your counter top. Once it is sufficiently ball-shaped, put it back under the plastic wrap and move on to the next one.
-
10
Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, until all rolls have been formed. Move rolls, spaced 2 inches apart on all sides, to a half-sheet pan covered with parchment paper. Keep them covered with plastic wrap.
-
11
Set the pan on top of your stove to rise to at least double their bulk while the oven preheats. Bake according to your recipe's instructions.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
If you bake a lot of bread, a bench scraper is an invaluable tool. In addition to using it to scrape sticky dough off the surface of your workbench, you can use it to cut dough without worrying about cutting your counter -- unlike a knife. It's essential when making rolls, or slicing a dough recipe into long strands to make braided breads.
For a rustic look, dust your French bread loaf with a little flour over the top before baking. To give your dinner rolls lovely brown tops, brush them with a little melted butter just before baking.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
