SHAPING THE DOUGH INTO LOAVES

53.
After the dough is properly kneaded in the manner just explained, it is placed in the mixing bowl
and allowed to rise again. When it has risen sufficiently for the last time, depending on the process
employed, it should be kneaded again, if it must be reduced in size, and then shaped into loaves and put
in the pans. Here, again, much care should be exercised, for the way in which bread is prepared for the
pans has much to do with the shape of the loaf after it is baked.
54.
In order to shape the dough



into loaves, first loosen it from
the sides of the mixing bowl, using a knife or a spatula for this purpose, and then turn it out on a flat
surface on which flour has been sprinkled, as in preparing for kneading. Knead the dough a little, and
then cut it into pieces that will be the correct size for the pans in which the loaves are to be baked, as
shown at the right in Fig. 11. Dust each piece with a small quantity of flour and knead it until the large
bubbles of gas it contains are worked out and it is smooth and round. In working it, stretch the under
side, which is to be the top of the loaf, and form it into a roll that is as long and half as high as the pan
and as thick at each end as in the center. A good idea of the size and shape can be formed from the loaf
held in the hands in Fig. 11.
55.
As each loaf is formed, place it in the pan in the manner shown in Fig. 12 and allow it to rise until
the dough comes to the top of the pan, or has doubled in bulk. So that the loaf will be symmetrical after
it has risen--that is, as high at each end as in the middle--the shaped dough must fit well into the corners
and ends of the pan. At
a
, Fig. 13, is shown how dough placed in the pan for rising should appear, and at
b
is illustrated how the dough should look after it has risen sufficiently to permit it to be placed in the
oven for baking. To produce the result illustrated at
b
, the dough must be kept in a warm temperature,
and to exclude the air and prevent the formation of a hard crust on the dough, it must be covered well
with both a cloth and a metal cover. Another way in which to prevent the formation of a hard crust
consists in greasing the surface of the dough when it is placed in the pan, as at
a
, for rising.