Rolling out bread dough

Carl, what kind of bread does the recipe make?

I've mainly seen these steps in enriched, sandwich bread-type recipes--especially those in more general, "mainstream" cookbooks, like "Better Homes & Gardens," etc. In fact, I'm sure I haven't seen it in a dedicated bread book written in the last 10 years. But I may be mistaken there.

I think the main effect would be to squish down the gas bubbles and make a very fine-crumbed loaf. I don't think it would ruin it, necessarily--just depends on the result you're after.

:)

Can be an interesting effect if dough is highlighted with chili or herbs or seeds.  I've seen it done, and tend to do it when making showy toast bread.  The disadvantage is that you don't want to roll it out too far or you may have to double up the log instead of just tucking (also optional) the ends.  One also has to be careful not to trap air inside the layers when rolling up the "log." 

Rolling out and then up is a technique used with loaf pans and the like but can also be free standing.   If you score into the layers, there are also some neat effects.  Roll up a long thin log (rest) and cut like an epi for some organic fun!  Tea Rings are also made in this manor only the ends are joined into a ring and the fillings spread on the rolled out dough tend to be sweet & nutty.  Then the dough is cut deeply and half slices slightly turned to show the "rings."   I can think of some dinner rolls that are done by rolling up the dough and deep scoring to create a layered effect.  Have some fun and experiment.

When I add large nut pieces to a loaf, I tend to pat it out instead of rolling and spread my nuts out on the dough.  (one less thing to wash) Then when I roll the dough, I get a better distribution of nuts, even If it eventually gets shaped into a round loaf.  I will also add salt to dough in this fashion but add a little kneading too, so the spiral effect is lost but it is a good way to distribute additives.  Not a bad way to add cheese or bits of olive.

Mini

I used to do it when I started baking bread, but found that gaps tended to appear in the finished loaf, probably because I wasn't very good at getting rid of any errant flour that wandered onto the rolled out dough.  I have a lot of those old, basic bread books and still use them, except for the shaping.

...of sandwhich breads.  I pat it out into a rectange the length of the loaf pan and roll the dough into a loaf.  I kind of like leaving the ends "untucked".  The comment PaddyL made about gaps is very valid, but in my case I attributed it to oil on the top of the dough after fermenting and before rolling. 

I do this for making my twisty cinnamon bread, and that bread is a 100% white whole wheat.

Some mini breads in my South Tyrolean Baking book (Richard Ploner: "Brot aus Suedtirol") require the dough being rolled out to shape a crescent like bread.

Karin

Tyrolean Chickpea Breads

Hi,

For commercial tinned bread, the dough pieces are fed through a hopper which sits on top of the boxed area on the right of the machine.

Each dough piece is flattened between 2 steel rollers [adjustable] and it emerges at the bottom passing underneath the chain-mailed guard.   The tabled section is covered with a moving band so once the dough has passed through the chain-mailed section it then is forced underneath the steel plate.   The height and width of the gap is adjustable here.   This has the effect of rolling the dough piece tightly into a cylinder shape designed to fit the tin.   There is generally a catching plate attached to the end of the machine, and the operator loads the dough pieces to prepared tins from here.

Obviously, the machine is designed to mimic traditional hand moulded bread of a similar type.

I seem to have solved the flickr issues, and can post photos once more....thank goodness!

Best wishes

Andy

Hi Franko,

Yes the hopper would catch the dough pieces coming down through from intermediate proof.

Yes the machine can be a total pain to adjust, and skilled bakers like you and I just prefer to mould by hand...it must be difficult to try and work as a baker without hand skills..yet so many do over here; what about where you are in Canada?

Yes, resolving photos is good too.   However flickr have put up a new photo page.   The only way I've resolved the issue is to opt out of it and carry on using the old page.   So if they drop the old page altogether, I'll beback to the same issue no doubt!

BW

Andy