As a long-time bread baker, I love reading about and trying new methods. However, after reading this post several times and thinking about it, I simply could not understand a really good reason for this procedure. (To facilitate the final shaping of "unruly forms"??) As others stated, the directions are not clear and the photos don't help much. Why not show the "final" shaping so that the preshaping benefits (if they exist) become clear? In short, the writer of this post obviously likes adding this step, but has explained it poorly. I just can't see extending the time, effort and handling used for baking bread for such vague reasons.

• Reply