That's a great question, Fran! Nice tight shaping (and pre-shaping) can help your dough rise taller rather than spreading. Steps 5 and 6 in this guide have really helpful instructions on how to do this effectively: Bake. (While the guide as a whole is for sourdough bread, these two techniques work well with breads that call for commercial yeast as well. You might also want to consider baking your bread in a Dutch oven, which helps your bread rise higher by trapping steam close to your loaf. Learn more about this practice here: Bread baking in a Dutch oven. Happy baking! 

• Reply