Dividing

Dividing is the cut after Bulk fermentation: the mass becomes pieces with a target weight, then Pre-shaping, Bench rest, and Shaping. Calvel treats dividing as one of the linked bakery operations, not as an afterthought ¹. Baker's percent told you how much dough you mixed; the scale now tells you whether each loaf is the same object.

King Arthur Baking's artisan-loaf teaching: preshape according to how the dough feels — a firmer round for a wet, relaxed piece, a gentler gathering for a stiff one — then rest 15 to 20 minutes before the final shape so the skin can relax without tearing Gluten ². Tearing in the shape continues into the baked loaf.

What to notice #

Weigh. Eyeballed halves bake as two different breads. A wet dough (Hydration) sticks and smears; flour or wet hands are tools, not a second formula. Degassing happens here whether you mean it or not: press out gas only as much as the style needs. Under-divided chaos (one huge loaf, one nub) is a scaling failure. Over-handling at the cut is a development failure: tight, torn pieces that will not round.

If the dough will not hold a piece at all, bulk went too far; dividing will not invent strength. If it is still a dense mass, bulk is not done — wait, then cut.