Alternate Batard Shaping
Aug 9th, 2008 by SteveB
With an oval form whose length can be anywhere between that of a baguette (60-70 cm) and a boulot (20-25 cm) [ref: The Taste of Bread, p 74], the batard along with the boule areperhaps the two most commonly used shapes for free-form breads. The batard gets its ovalform through a classically two stage shaping process;first theupper half of aflattened round of dough is folded inward towards the horizontal center lineusing two or more folds, then the dough is rotated 180 and the identicalactionis performed on the otherhalf of the flattened dough round. This serves to build up dough bulk at the center of the loaf, and thus producean attractive expansion of the dough during the oven spring stage of baking.
Another, in my opinion much easier wayof achieving the same result is by using what I have come to think of as the “inverse-croissant” batard shaping method. When a croissant is shaped, a triangular piece of dough is rolled up, starting from the base of the triangle and rolling toward the apex. What one gets is an oval shape with anarrowing strip of doughrunning on the outside of the shape. However, if one were to start rolling at the apex and roll towards the base, the narrowing strip of dough would be on the inside of the shape and serve to increase the dough bulk at the center of the shape, exactly the effect we are lookingto achieve.
The actualbatard shaping procedure can be seen below:[qt:http://www.breadcetera.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/BatardShaping.mov 500 375]The dough round is first flattened and then two edges are folded inward to form a triangle. The triangle is then rolled up with the objective being to maintain tension on the outside surface of the dough. After a second fermentation, scoring and baking, a beautiful batard can berealized.
Steve, this is perfect! I loved the method and the video. Thank you for the lesson in batard shaping. I guess I will shape my pan loaves the same way now. Very creative, thanks!
Liudmila, I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks for the reminder that this method also works quite well for shaping pan breads.
I like this method a lot, and shall have to try it. The dough with which you are working looks to be pretty firm, however. Can you make recommendations for shaping higher hydration breads — maybe 70% and above?
Adam, because of the greater stickiness typical of high hydration doughs, they usually aren’t shaped in the conventional sense. Rather, they are either just divided, as in Calvel’s Pain Rustique, divided and folded, as in the case of ciabatta, or divided and stretched, as in Reinhart’s Pain l’Ancienne.
I happened to read this post yesterday just before shaping some dough. Gave it a try and loved it – easy and produced a beautiful loaf. Thanks!
noa, I’m glad you found the technique useful. I’ll be describing some other shaping techniques in future posts so keep an eye out for them.
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I am quite late to read this, long time after you posted, but I guess it’s never too late, especially since I’ll be shaping a batard this weekend!
Thank you! Great video!
SallyBR, I hope the batard shaping goes well for you. I find this alternate shaping method to be one of the easiest ways to form a batard.
Late to the party, but I tried your technique tonight and it’s brilliant, Steve. Thank you!
Steve,
Thank you for the very informative video. I tried your technique today for the first time and it worked beautifully. It’s so elegant in its simplicity I can’t imagine shaping a batard any other way.
Phil
With regards to Adam Z’s question (post #3), I used the technique on a slightly less hydrated dough (66.6%) and it worked beautifully. I think this degree of hydration for rustic loaves gives a decent compromise between the workability/shapability of low hydration doughs and the advantages/properties of high hydration doughs.
Phil
I have struggled a bit with batard shaping and your technique is fantastic. I tried it with your pain au levain recipe and I got two beautiful and delicious loafs. Thank you so much for sharing a great recipe and a simple and beautiful technique.
Hi Anna,
I’m glad you’re finding the alternate batard shaping technique useful.
[…] how to properly make a batard, go for it. If you’re a novice like me, take a look at this video. Your final loaf should be 6-12 inches […]
Fantastic and yet so simple!
Wow! Next time I’ll try this method… and I’ll definitely bookmark your page. Good stuff!
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