An Easy Way to Roll Out the Dough Into the Desired Shape
If only pie recipes asked you to roll the pastry into the shape of an amoeba. I am well versed in this. But perfect circles or dough rectangles? This takes several repetitions. Pies, cut-out cookies, cinnamon rolls, and donuts require dough that is rolled into a specific shape. If you decide to take a “fix it later” approach (roll out shaky, use a knife to cut out the shape later), you end up with a bunch of unnecessary waste. So shape it before you roll .
It doesn’t look like it will change anything, but it does. For years I got mad every time I rolled out a double crust in Pac-Man shape. It wasn’t until I went to pastry school that I learned that the dough is always rolled out in the same shape it was originally in. (I just saved you a tutorial pack, please.) If you start with a circle, you’ll end up with a flat circle. If you start with a jagged lump, you will end up with a flat jagged lump. The reason I kept getting half moons when making the double crust recipe is because in many recipes the wording recommends chilling the dough in that shape. The instructions tell us to roll the dough into a ball and “divide the dough”, “divide the dough”, or “cut the dough in half”. Seems simple – cut the ball of dough in half. Many people wrap, refrigerate, and then try to roll out this shape as it is. A bad start to making a round pie crust. However, it’s a great way to get in shape with Pac-Man.
To get the geometric shape you want, try to create a uniform mixture of the desired shape before you start rolling. For the pie dough, separate the crumbly mixture before compacting it. Work with the dough as if it were individual portions of the crust, then wrap them in individual disks before they cool. For laminated or yeast dough, shape it before setting it aside to cool or after the first proof just before rolling out. For any rectangular shapes that are refrigerated, use wrapping to encourage sharp corners. When baking cut-out cookies, shape the dough by kneading it quickly with your palms so that the edges are not dry and crumbly. Then press the dough against the work surface to create the perfect shape before hitting it with a pin.
Use this shaping technique to your advantage and experiment with baking new shapes. Pies are delicious as round ones, but what a limitation! Have you tried baking a rectangular cake in a bread pan? Or a 12 person chicken pie in a 13×9 inch pot? Maybe the stamps for your Christmas cookies are triangular trees. If so, you can roll out a giant triangle to optimize dough consumption. Don’t worry when it’s time to make giant amoeba sugar cookies, you can still fall back into old habits.