How to Shape Sourdough into a Round Boule by Make It Dough (2024)

FAQs

Why won t my sourdough boule hold its shape? ›

If dough hydration is too high, the dough will be too slack to hold its shape. Try adding a little more flour or a little less liquid to the dough.

Roll the dough's edge across the counter. to make it perfectly round. It should look like a big hockey puck. Then on a flowered counter, roll your rolling pin back and forth over the circle, pushing away from you. until your dough becomes an oval.

The Number #1 Reason your sourdough bread might be flat is using the wrong flour. Bread mix, all-purpose flour, self-raising flour or cake flour can produce undesirable results when making sourdough.

In my experience, the shortest final proof (at room temperature) that I prefer to do is one hour. The longest final proof (at room temperature) is about 3 hours. When going past 2-3 hours in a final proof, the crumb tends to get very gassy and opens up large gas bubbles with a longer countertop proof.

A sourdough batard is simply an oblong or oval shaped loaf of sourdough that is shaped and placed into a longer banneton or basket for its final proof. Batards can be easier to slice and a more manageable size for sandwiches, making them the perfect loaf.

After bulk fermentation, the next step is to shape your dough into a loaf. That's the last thing you need to do before the final proofing step. Most of the time, you see people use a two-step shaping process. They preshape their dough and shape it a second time after a short bench rest.

Too little folding can result in weak dough. But too much folding can produce excessive tension and compressive forces. An over-folded dough might have a tighter crumb as the layers of alveoli push against each other and coalesce. In the worst case, excessive folding might cause a dough to tear under too much tension.

Why is my dough sticky? This can either be due to the flour you are using, some flours will always be sticky to work with, or maybe all you need to do is to try using a bit less water in your dough and see if it makes a difference; some flours are happier with less water. Try 25g less water and see if it helps.

Overproofed is when the dough has rested too long and the yeast has continued making carbon dioxide while the strength of the dough (gluten bonds) have begun to wear out. The dough will look very puffy, but when you touch it or move it you may notice it deflate or sag.

It's a variation on the tip of using a plate and a knife to cut around it to make a perfect circle. Then for small circles, many people use drinking glasses to actually use the lip of the glass to cut the dough.

How do you cut bread into circles? ›

According to French chef, author, and culinary educator Jacques Pépin, there's another item you can use to shape the bread on your sandwiches that everyone has in their kitchen. Pépin recommends using the rim of a drinking glass to cut your sandwiches into uniform circles.

How do you cut sourdough round bread? The best way I've found to cut into a sourdough boule is by cutting it in half first. Place the cut-side down on the cutting board and then cut slices from the short end. It makes for perfect slices for sandwiches and toast.