I've recently started making 4 loaves at a time - two batards at 680 g, and two boules at 900 g. I want to be able to weigh these out accurately without impacting the dough negatively.
Right now I am "reverse weighing" them: setting the bowl with the dough on the scale, taring the scale, and then pulling hunks dough out and cutting it with a paring knife until the scale gets to the negative weight (i.e. -900 g). The process then repeats for the next loaf.
Since I am working with high hydration sourdough dough, this can get pretty messy, and I feel like I am breaking up all the gluten it took so long to create if it takes me say 3 "blobs" of dough to make a portion. I also would like to develop a system that can scale over time. So I can do it with 8 or 12 loaves just as easily.
I'm curious, for those who make more than 2 loaves - How do you weigh out you dough before shaping and what equipment do you use?
Hi, johnm0123!
My big break came in understanding the importance of dusting flour on the dough surface. Not a lot, just enough to keeping my already-developed dough from sticking to everything.
Murph
I regularly bench and scale four, six or eight (or more) loaves of a given bread at once, as I bake for customers. Here's what I do:
I don't worry too much about 5 grams either way, and the dough never seems to suffer from bits hacked off or bits added on. Don't fret too much about handling your risen dough. It is sometimes stronger if you manipulate it a bit after the bulk ferment, and it might even rise better in the final proof. My loaves are generally light and airy without huge irregular holes, so my method seems to work!
There is no shame in dividing your dough in uneven pieces, then cutting bits from one pile to another to adjust. It is best if you can minimize the division activity but even the best bakers still adjust by adding or subtracting small pieces.
Right now I am dividing 5184 grams of dough into 16 - 320 gram portions for baguettes. I start by dumping my fermented dough onto a lightly-floured surface, letting it spread out a bit, then use my bench knife to separate out about 1/3rd of the content - simply making a downward slice into the dough and pulling it away from the rest of the dough about an inch or two. I continue down the length of the dough until I have separated out a workable line of dough.
Next I lightly flour my bench scale, eyeball what I think will be about 320 grams, slice off a piece of the dough and put it on the scale. I will cut off a bit of the dough on the scale if it too heavy or cut off a piece from my working strip and add it to the scale if it is too light.
320 grams is a far cry from 900 grams so I am sure your 900 g. division would swamp my scale. If I were working with something in your size range I'd tare a lightly-floured 12 inch plate and work from there.
I used to use a lot of bench flour when I first started this process but I am now using less and less. But then I am also working with 65 - 75% hydration.
Watch this guy's bench work and it might help: http://www.breadwerx.com/
I have learned a lot about handling, shaping and proofing from Trevor.
Thank for the advice all,
It definitely helps to hear other's processes.
Does anyone have a recommendation on a scale that can hold a fair amount of dough? Or one that you can put a large pan or plate on and still be able to read? Mine is pretty small, and works fine with a large bowl on top, but I am all ears for something that I could just plop dough on and weigh it!
-John
I divide 20-30kg of dough per bench at a time, usually 40-65kg total dough per day 4 times a week or so. I stretch+fold a little to keep the dough from sticking to the bin, then dump it on the counter, lightly flour, and then work quickly to cut and weigh with a bench knife. I use the KD8000 which has a pretty small surface (6 or 7 inches, square shape), but I am able to weigh out 1100g no problem (my #1 employee cannot do this, however, and does what Jim does). My dough is about 82% hydration and it doesn't suffer from piecemeal dividing.
Michael,
The KD8000 is just what I am looking for! I was browsing for a scale like that and couldn't find one at that price. Thanks for sharing.
-John
Hi Johnm,
The more dough that you divide the better you get at portioning, I usually get the first piece correctly weighed and then have a good feel of it in my hand I then proceed to grab the next lump in the hand and cut away and can get very close to the desired amount usually only requiring a one or two minor pinch adjustments, I prefer to use either a scotch scraper or a plastic scraper to cut the pieces from the mass, usually cutting away a sausage like strip and then cutting that strip into portions.
When I did my apprenticeship the first job that the bakers would do would be all the hand moulded doughs and you would be required to move pretty quickly when there were five or six bakers waiting to hand up the dough pieces. The men would gradually drift off for other duties as the doughs where ready to be loaded into ovens this was when the new boy would be given the chance on the scales . Prior to that the experienced bloke would have the balance scales fairly singing and dough pieces flying off to waiting hands. Another skill was to be able to divide the dough piece into two with your bare hands and be able to get the two pieces exactly even, a great skill even today if you have lots of small dinner rolls required at 50g weigh up at 100 and split..
I don't think you need to worry about the gluten strands being impaired by being cut, even if you have a dough piece with numerous additions to get the weight correct a quick couple of turns in a handing up will incorporate the piece into a single mass with gluten being stretched to for the basic pre shape prior to a short recovery rest and the final moulding.
kind regards Derek
Not much more to add to the above great advice. I either lightly flour or mist oil a flat plastic lid to use on the scale. I tend to tweak recipes, so I weigh the dough as it goes into a tub for bulk ferment. That lets me plan shapes & bannetons while I wait, and sometimes the original plan changes. My usual containers have their empty weights marked with paint pen, in case I forget to tare.