This is in response to David King's request for tips for shaping bread.
David, I have been baking bread for approx. 16 years and my bread always
turns out beautifully. I always make two loaves. At the end of the second
rise, I punch the dough down and, using a dough scraper, knead the dough
five or six times while still in the bowl. I then remove the dough to a
lightly floured marble surface and use my hands to shape it into a
semblance of a square. Then, using a large sharp knife, I cut the dough in
half. Place the cut side of each half in the flour on the marble, then
into the bread pan which has been liberally sprayed with PAM. I then
simply pat the dough to fit the inside of the pan. When I first started
baking, I tried pressing the dough out into a rectangle, then rolling jelly
roll style, pinching the seams together as I rolled. This seemed like a
lot of additional work to me. I can tell no difference in the appearance
of my bread then and now. Hope this helps.
Joy Alexander