9 Bread Shaping Methods Explained

[@ChainBaker]

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[@roballan4661]

Another fantastic video - thanks Charlie! With all your training I've been having some great success with a mulitgrain bread that I cold proof overnight - I substitute 20ml of water with sesame oil which really adds to the flavour. In the morning I separate it out to 2 loaves (my friend want me to bake one for them every week!) and roll each out to a long rectangle and cover it. I leave it to warm up rolled out on the bench for about 15-30mins. I then roll if from the long ends into the middle and then form it into a rectangular loaf - this distributes the temp though-out the loaf. I flour the base and turn it over onto a baking tray and cover to ferment for about 1.5 - 2hrs. Next I spray them down with an add sesame seeds to the top before scoring them and putting them into the oven. I guess the tension I am creating by rolling them up must be why they spring so well in the oven - now I understand it. Thanks Charlie!

[@ChainBaker]

Nice one! Sounds great 🤩

[@meisievannancy]

What a useful video. I will keep it as a reference. Excellent. Much thanks. ❤

[@jonnscott4858]

Thanks for helping us get to the stage, we are making a loaf every 2nd day. Smells SO good.

[@Jeepy2-LoveToBake]

Okay, I finally watched this entire video - outstanding instructional video, I love it! Thank you for creating it. And yes, I have made all of the nine shapes featured plus the others you mentioned at the end of the video. 😊

[@lifeTechnicolorGuy]

Great explanation!

[@billsimpson2392]

Thanks Charlie 👍👍

[@rodconner9079]

The info on this channel -- and the instruction, with demonstration! ... UNMATCHED! Knead and No-knead methods at that! Amazing! Thanks so much Charlie Be Safe

[@ChainBaker]

Cheers 🤩

[@BigboiiTone]

@@rodconner9079 my mum was disappointed in her latest loaves and was saying she needed a refresher on certain techniques. I told her, "mum ya gotta save that Principles of Baking playlist i sent you...because there is no better baker's resource beyond THE CHAIN BAKER!!!!😄🤓

[@BigboiiTone]

6:15 ya gotta train the hole or it'll just spring back due to elasticity of the dough. I totally agree

[@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596]

Omg 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I’m not sure if you were trying to be funny or not 🤣🤷🏼‍♀️

[@BigboiiTone]

@@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596 glad you appreciate humour!

[@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596]

@@BigboiiTone oh i do! Especially those jokes 🤣 I’m a 39 year old woman with the humor of a 14 year old boy 🤣

[@BigboiiTone]

@@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596 i am in my early 30s myself and keeping your sense of humor seems like the most important thing. It helps from taking things too seriously and getting too bummed out. Hold onto that!

[@laurajaneluvsbeauty9596]

@@BigboiiTone i definitely will. Unlike most of the NPC’s today i know exactly who is causing all the geopolitical problems, and don’t get me wrong it’s upsetting for sure, but i have to laugh. I guess humor is my coping mechanism but it works 😂

[@marianagabel8361]

Thank you so very much. ❤️❤️❤️

[@erikadogmomanddoc]

AMAZING! as always

[@Jeepy2-LoveToBake]

This was such a fun video to watch and to brush up on my bread dough shaping skills. Again, thank you for creating and sharing this video - it is a perfect reference tool. Hi Everyone! Charlie is now at 228K subscribers - slowly, but surely we will get to 250K!! Please continue to share your bakes with family, friends and colleagues and share photos and your baking experiences with Charlie's recipes on your social media channels (including links to Charlie's YT) - don't forget to ask your followers to subscribe to his channel. He has taught us "all things baking" with his fantastic videos: principles of baking, sweet bakes, breads, bread-making techniques, his annual Christmas playlist and his always "fun to watch" year-end compilation video - I know all of you LOVE that annual tradition!!! Let's keep spreading the word about his YT channel and get him to 250K subscribers by the end of the year. Go "Team ChainBaker" 🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@ChainBaker]

I need to practice them more often myself 😅 Cheers, Lan! 🤩

[@davep4101]

Well I think you have outdone yourself this time Charlie. What a fantastic video and all the added links just puts this over the top. Thank-you very much.

[@ChainBaker]

🙏🏼

[@Night_Rose_94]

Yes! I wanted a video like this! Thank you!

[@Jeepy2-LoveToBake]

Thank you so much for this, perfect timing! Recently I have had to search through your playlists to locate “which of Charlie’s recipe was shaped as …… ?” ❤

[@doraharrison1642]

Charlie, thank you, you're AWESOME, I shared this video on my FB page,,,Have a great week :)

[@ChainBaker]

🥰

[@TheMacCloud]

one thing ive always wondered about which you kind of cover on your folding video on the basics of breadmaking playlist is folding, specifically how you work out how many folds a bread needs and how log a bread requires to proof to be able to determine the period between folds. is there a general rule of thumb about mass of bread and hydration of bread? tyvm for all your work buddy, your catalogue of videos is awesome!

[@ChainBaker]

There are so many variables that it's hard to say. The looser the dough the more it should be folded. Folding intervals can be determined by the bulk fermentation time. That is something only you can find out in your kitchen. Here's another video about folding and degassing - kzbin.info/www/bejne/el6kfXaeg6eUeNU

[@4.0.4]

My favorite is the milk bread one, with 4-5 thick rolls that rise together. I first did that from your milk bread video!

[@kevinu.k.7042]

Magnificent - Saved to my favourites. This really is a masterclass. The braiding, which I don't know how to do, had me grinning all the way. Folk might note that you only had a very light dusting on the dough before flipping it over to work on an unfloured worktop with dry unfloured hands. This is in itself a great demonstration that developed gluten prefers to stick to itself and not the worktop or hands. Minimal fresh / unhydrated flour gets into the dough and when it does it gives a poorer finished bread. As a wannabe heritage flour home baker can I add?... With weak doughs, heritage flours etc, gentler shaping with much less degassing is important. It doesn't get better than this! A joy to watch - Thanks.

[@ChainBaker]

Thank you, Kevin!😊

[@VIDEOGAMEPLUS]

Love your channel, I'm a baker myself from Brazil, your explanations are clear and there's always a tip to learn.

[@ChainBaker]

Thanks!

[@Bearpack89918]

Gotta find a way to split these into Shorts man! Excellent video and instruction as always. Praise the Algorithm, All hail the algorithm.

[@wok1978]

Thank you very informative!

[@31.8mm]

yooo, i just made a dough almost exactly like that, just about 3 hours ago, and i was thinking about its final shape (was trying to do country loaf style without proper equipment, but not very sure) then u uploaded this? Perfect timing, thank u!

[@ChainBaker]

😁

[@kevinu.k.7042]

This is excellent! You probably didn't have time to cover pre-shaping. I'm just mentioning it, because it does give a better crumb structure which is what shaping is all about. If I may moving on to the next skill level? The amount of degassing that takes place in shaping is also important. If we shape more vigorously, that is stretching the dough out more using the actions you demonstrate, or we pat down more heavily, then we will get a finer more even crumb. If we want a more open crumb (large uneven holes) minimum prodding and patting works better. The craft is in getting the balance we want. With heritage and ancient grains and weaker flours, degassing should be very low. They 'leak' CO2 as the weak gluten is not good at trapping it. So it is important to hang on to the gas we have trapped. If the shaping has not tightened the dough enough it is always an option the pull the dough along the work bench a little to tighten it. Again for weak gluten doughs that is sometimes all I do for a free-form loaf. Obviously pulling a baguette, or a ciabatta along the bench does not work. Good gluten development and good shaping are at the heart of all good breads. A great video - Thanks Charlie 👍

[@ChainBaker]

Thank you for the valuable input, Kevin! :)

[@tritan20]

One day I'll finally understand how bread is scored. no matter what I use, even a brand new razor known for sharpness, it just gets caught by the dough and immediately stuck. Hours of work instantly ruined. Oh well, baking is about learning and improving. Great video as always.

[@ChainBaker]

Try lowering the hydration a little. Or dust it with flour to make it easier for the razor to slide along. Try cutting down on the final proofing time.

[@M-a-k-o]

Your explanations Charlie are second to none🏆

[@david.kirmayer]

Thanks for sharing the mastery techniques. not everyone is keen on such things.

[@lifeTechnicolorGuy]

Have tou tried that balkan flatbread called "lepinje" ? It's so fluffy and tasty. Perhaps would be a nice video as well

[@ChainBaker]

Not yet. I'll add it to my list. Cheers :)

[@alexbowman7330]

Presently, I have to be on a zero-carb diet for health reasons...I still never miss a ChainBaker episode and "smash" that like button. What's your excuse? 😉 ✌ ♥ Bread can still be a therapeutic process, even if you're not the one eating it...for now. 😂

[@ChainBaker]

I wish you a speedy recovery! ✌️

[@DopamineSage]

Hi there! Would it be possible to make a video about comparing baking powder, yeast, etc?

[@ChainBaker]

Baking powder and yeast work in totally different ways. Beads like the ones I showed in the video cannot be made with baking powder.

[@DopamineSage]

@@ChainBaker I understand 😁 I got me 1kg AP wheat flour and 10g instant yeast and I am going to bake my first ever bread 😁😁

[@ChainBaker]

Good luck! 😎

[@XanyCuisine-ox1rb]

For the batard, would I bake it seam side up?

[@ChainBaker]

Seam side down. You can bake a boule seam side up for a more abstract look.

[@XanyCuisine-ox1rb]

@@ChainBaker Thanks, appreciate the info

[@poche660]

I thought perhaps you would describe the "why" these different shapes are useful. Everybody is familiar with the names.

[@feliciagaffney1998]

Depends on where you are in your bread journey. Not everyone is advanced, such as yourself. Some folks are just beginning.

[@ChainBaker]

The usefulness of anything is up to you.

[@drmcjenkins3062]

I've developed a simple method for shaping bread into complex shapes, like animals. It can look quite impressive, and people will assume you worked really hard on. To do this method, you simple divide your dough into uneven shapes for each part of the final design. This will all depend on what shape you are making, but it's a forgiving technique. You then preshape the pieces into balls. Any pieces that are going to be long and thin should be preshaped into tubes. Then during final shaping, just get each piece into the shape you want and lay them next to each other on the parchment paper. They should be touching, but that's all you need. During final proofing and the oven spring, the pieces will bake into eachother like buns, forming one, complex shape that was no more difficult than making buns. That method is quite vague, because it is a very general technique. But let's do an example, such as a squid. For a squid you'll need to divide your dough in 4 ways: the mantle (the long segment), the head, the arms/tentacles, and the fins. The mantle is the larges part of a squid, so you'll need to make it largest piece. Exact weights aren't needed, but I had the mantle consist of 300 g of dough. Make sure to preshape into a ball, and then make it a long loaf shape during final shaping. The head is going to be second largest piece, I used 100 g. You'll need several arms/tentacles. You don't need all 10, but 4 is a good amount without crowding your baking sheet. I made them about 50 g each and preshaped them into cylinders. The fins will depend on what squid you making. The easiest squid would be a reef squid, whichhas fins the length of their mantle, so two 50 g cylinders will be good for that. After the dough has relaxed, shaped the mantle into a loaf shape. Try to taper one end. Place the mantle on the parchment, and make sure it is close to an edge to ensure you have room (tapered end by the edge). Then take the head, shape it into a ball, and place it next to the other end on the mantle. Ideally, you want it touching. Then take the arms/tentacles, roll them reasonably long, then place them with one end next to the head (on the opposite side of the mantle) and place the rest of the arm on the parchment. To make it more anatomically correct, you should ideally have the arms directly next each other by the head, and then have them spread out. For efficient space usage, I have the arms go out and then curve back, making a U shape. Also, start with the centre arms, working outwards. This makes sure you have room for the arms, and helps with making the arms symmetrical. Once all the arms have been placed, it's time for the fins. For a reed squid, take the fin pieces, roll them out so they about as long as the mantle and place one on each side of the mantle. To make sure its more anatomically correct, make sure the fins don't connect or reach the head. Now you have squid shaped bread ready for baking! It's definitely a more showy technique, as you will have bread of different dimensions that all have to be cooked the same way, but it's usually not a huge issue. Plus you can get creative and make impressive designs.

[@ChainBaker]

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Awesome! 🤩

[@quakerwildcat]

Love everything about this, EXCEPT for the bagel. Your "poke a hole" method of forming a bagel isn't simply an alternative to rolling it out and connecting the ends. Punching a hole produces a bagel that simply doesn't have the signature "chew" that comes from rolling it out AND twisting before connecting the ends. If you doubt this then call it a suggestion for another video! Compare: 1) Poking a hole 2) Rolling out and connecting, 3) Rolling while twisting and connecting. (PS - This test has been done kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXend6Wwob6CjsUsi=QIFaN4rtglgNAh2l)

[@ChainBaker]

I'll add that to my projects list :)

[@JoeGotta]

This is overly helpful. Thank you! But I have one question: how do you judge proper rest time between preshaping and final shaping? In practice, final shaping is always a very difficult step for me in part because the dough is usually too tight for final shaping.

[@ChainBaker]

Resting usually takes between 15 - 30 minutes depending on how tight the dough was after pre-shaping. Judging it accurately comes with experience. Pulling the dough and feeling it will develop a sense for it over time. If it feels too tight, then simply let it rest for longer. You can find a quick video on resting in the Steps of Baking playlist.

[@Sports_Geek]

You left out Pizza, I was waiting for the pizza example

[@ChainBaker]

I left many more out than just pizza 😁 you can find full pizza videos on my channel 👍🏼

[@hexefroschbein8486]

Sadly, none of the above :( I bought a Gferrari Pizza oven, and whilst pizza is nice, I started making small breads in it --- 10 mins to heat to 350C and 5 mins to bake is a very good set up and the resulting bread is ever so tasty, searious heat makes a huge difference. But, the pizza oven is very pizza shaped, so there is a hot stone and a ring element in a low dome a few centimeters away. If you make a roll shape, it tends to blow up and get burned. Making a pretzel just about works with almost no burns, but like a roll, its a bit too small, for efficiency, a 200gm dough piece is the best size/time ratio (and the limit of what I can eat). So I started to make a pizza shape and then use scissors to make interlocking cuts and then bake it into a W (2 cuts from the left, one in the middle of those from the right, pull a little). I've been trying to cut to make cheese plant leaves, fishes and suns, but the result so far has not been very presentable. Probably because of the dough, high hydration with a glug of olive oil works very well taste wise on this set up, but, it's not easy to keep in shape during transfer and it tends to expand a lot too.

[@ChainBaker]

Gotta work with what you have! 😎

[@RockChild56]

Where is the little "dough-boy" pushing stuff off screen?

[@ChainBaker]

😄

[@hw260]

Brilliant. I do lots of braided loaves for the holidays. Chain Baker, you are an excellent teacher. Thanks.

[@ChainBaker]

🙏🏼

[@Ross1of1]

Wow, lots of bread in your place. I guess you have people that you can give it away to. Orrrrrrrrrrrr bring to work, sell.