Shaping baguettes using three folds vs. rolling it up?

What's the idea behind the standard French technique of three folds to shape a baguette where you fold it in from top and bottom and then the whole thing over, sealing it with the heel of the hand? The standard Mexican and Vietnamese method is to simply roll the dough up and seems to work just as well for making bolillos or banh mi. I have also seen artisan bakers using the roll-up method to shape batards and probably baguettes as well. Which makes me wonder, if the roll-up method works just fine, why did the French come up with this 3-fold method? What advantage could it have, theoretical or practical?

Best Answer

One of the key skills in dough making is forming a decent crumb and light texture. While the action of the yeast will go a long way to doing this, by folding the dough in such a way, more air is trapped within the pocket. It is the same way when making pizza, you should not press on the outer crust (or use a roller) on the pie itself, as this expels air or CO2 and could lead to a heavier and less bubbly texture.

While it is not essential, it is generally considered good form to have a light touch when finally shaping bread or pizza. By giving the bread this final forming, the baker is giving their dough every possible chance to achieve decent oven spring when baked.

Pictures about "Shaping baguettes using three folds vs. rolling it up?"

Shaping baguettes using three folds vs. rolling it up? - Different sizes and forms of scissors

Shaping baguettes using three folds vs. rolling it up? - Woman Wearing Round Eyeglasses Using a Laptop

Shaping baguettes using three folds vs. rolling it up? - A Woman Using Wooden Chopsticks on Sushi Rolls

How do you shape a baguette?

There are five key steps when shaping baguettes in this way:

Starting with a preshaped round (or rectangle), first fold the top half down to the middle and seal (upper left image, below)

Flip the dough 180\xb0 and fold the new top down to the middle again, slightly overlapping the first fold (upper right image, below)

Why are my baguettes flat?

When yeast is active in your dough it eats away at starches and sugars and releases gasses. These gasses are then trapped inside your dough by the gluten mesh that has been created. If your gluten mesh is not fully developed it will not be able to supposer those gasses and thus resulting in a flat or collapsed bread.

How do you use a baguette flipping board?

Start from the outermost baguette, flatten the outside edge of the couche. Hold this excess material of the couche, flip the baguette onto the board which is held parallel to the baguette. This will make the baguette roll onto the board with the scored side facing down.

Baguette Shaping

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Kampus Production, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Ivan Samkov