What should you do when the dough leaves the bowl?
After the dough is divided, pre-shaped, shaped, and left to rest or final proof it can take on many different shapes and spread over a larger area. Obviously, we don’t have an infinite amount of differently sized lids that we can use. It is after bulk fermentation that I usually switch to plastic wrap.
A regular tea towel can be used to cover the dough. There are a couple of things you should do depending on how sticky or how dry the dough is. If the dough is wet and sticky, then you should dust it with flour to prevent the cloth from sticking to it. If it is a low hydration dough, then you may need to dampen the towel to prevent it from sucking even more moisture out of the dough.
The biggest disadvantage of the towel is that it is not see-through. Which is more of a problem for me than it should be for you.
If you are only making one loaf or some smaller rolls, then more often than not the dough can be covered with the same bowl that it was resting in during bulk fermentation. Turn it upside down to make a dome that will prevent it from drying out.
Are there cases when the dough doesn’t need to be covered at all?
Even though a higher hydration dough may not dry out a lot it is still worth covering it. The first test in the video proved that dough does not dry out as much as one may think, but keep in mind that the fermentation times were quite short. The longer it sits uncovered the more it will dry out.
There are however times when it is not necessary to cover the dough during final proofing. One example is a focaccia which may be covered in oil. The oil prevents it from drying.
Another example is tiger bread which has a coating applied to it before final proofing. It is intentionally left uncovered to make it dry slightly.
