Basic bread recipe continued: shaping and baking
There are many methods of shaping dough. Different bakers will use different techniques to get the same shaped loaves; the common factor is the use of surface tension to help the loaf keep its shape during the final rise. Don't over flour the worktop when shaping: the stickiness of the dough helps to keep it in place as the outer surface is stretched. There are plenty of videos on YouTube which provide good illustrations of how specific loaves are shaped.
Tin loaf/sandwich loaf
There are many different shapes and sizes of loaf tin, so you may have to experiment with the quantities to fit your tin. The type of tin I use is 18 x 11.5 cm internally at the top, 8.5 cm deep, and about 15.5 x 9 cm (it's not easy to measure the inside of a loaf tin accurately) at the base. The capacity (easily measured by weighing a tin full of water) is 1.5 litres.
After the initial rise/fermentation, remove the dough from the bowl (saving the oiled clingfilm) and remove the appropriate "old dough" portion if you are using that method. Place the dough on a very lightly floured surface and roll and pull it into a long flattened sausage shape that is a little less than three times the length of your loaf tin.
Fold the left third over the middle third, then the right third over both, like folding a letter to go in an envelope.
Press or pat the dough down quite firmly, flattening it so that it spreads out in the front-back direction, not getting any wider - it should make a rectangle that is about as wide as the long side of your tin.
Now roll the rectangle of dough from front to back until you have a cylinder.
Pinch the seam firmly closed all the way along the length,
... and place the cylinder seam side down in your oiled tin. Cover once more with the oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to prove for an hour or two, until it protrudes about 1cm/½ inch over the top in a slight dome shape.
You will need to preheat the oven during this time, so read on before you leave the loaf to prove ...
Baking
Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/gas mark 8, around fifteen minutes before the loaf is ready to go in (experience will help you judge this). Put the loaf onto the top shelf and time for fifteen minutes. Reduce the temperature to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6, rotate the loaf 180° and bake for another fifteen minutes. Reduce the temperature again to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4, remove the loaf from the tin and lay it on its side on the oven shelf for a final fifteen minutes. When it is baked, the crust should be golden brown all over, feel firm to the touch, and the loaf should sound hollow when you tap on the bottom with your knuckles. Leave it on a cooling rack until completely cold before slicing.
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