Yeast bread shape
By:Austin Parker
CLOVER LEAF ROLLS
Form bits of dough into balls about 1″ in diameter. Place 3 balls in each greased muffin cup. Brush with butter for flavor.
PARKER HOUSE ROLLS
Cut with biscuit cutter. Brush with melted butter. Make crease across each. Fold so top half slightly overlaps. Press edges together at crease. Place close together on pan.
Crescents
Roll dough scarcely 1/4″ thick into a 12″ circle. Spread with soft butter. Cut into 16 pie-shaped pieces. Beginning at rounded edge, roll up. Place on pan, point underneath.
Round
First, make sure the dough is divided evenly; a scale is invaluable here.
Second, pay attention to your shaping; a roll that starts out less than round isn’t going to get any prettier.
And finally, select the right pan.
Braided
Gather the ropes and squeeze them together at the very top. If making a 3-stranded challah, braid the ropes together like braiding hair or yarn and squeeze the ends together when complete.
Pretzels
- Roll each piece of dough into a long, thin rope (about 28" to 30" long), and twist each rope into a pretzel. Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color.
Loaves
Cut off a 1-pound piece of dough using kitchen shears* and form it into a ball. Place the ball on a sheet of parchment paper. or rest it on a generous layer of corn meal on top of a pizza peel.