Why do you want a taut surface on dough?

Question

Often advice for processing dough is to mix, knead, and then ball up the dough.

The general advice (that I've read) seems to be to push up from the bottom of a ball, making a taut smooth surface on the top, and then pinch it closed on the bottom. I think of it as "jelly fishing" the dough ball.

Why is this taut surface special? What does it do for the bread?

Answer 1

I don't think there is a super big and fascinating explanation, just a few mundane ones.

1. Rising. This is the commonly mentioned one. I'm somewhat skeptical about that one. Logically, it will only matter under some special circumstances - if you want a tall loaf, but also want to bake it free-standing, and if you have a rather soft dough - and it won't matter before the final shaping, or if you bake in a pan. Also, I have never tested it side-by-side to see the effect size.
2. Surface size. The surface dries out during rising, so you want it to be as small as possible. Any shape other than a neat sphere will have extra surface to dry out.
3. Built-in process control You want to have sufficient gluten development when you finish kneading. If you have trouble forming the ball properly, you know the dough is not at the proper stage, and should be brought to the desired state before shaping for proofing.
4. Neatness There are intangible advantages to the baker (and those around them) when working neatly. It may not make a difference to the person who eats the bread, but bakers (and those who teach them) can value neatness and this is one small way to achieve it. So while it's likely not the kind of explanation you were looking for, I think it's a valid reason out there in the real world.
5. "Stacking" (in 2.5D). A dough ball can be easily put into a bowl for rising, or if you have several smaller ones, you can place them on a tray and use space efficiently. If you were to end the kneading at some kind of irregular shape, you would have to lay it down on the largest surface.
6. Straightforwardness I had some trouble deciding on a title for this one. But this is really a natural way of final shaping arising from the interaction of bread dough physics and good kneading technique. Basically, if you want to end up with a neat sphere-ish shape, and not an irregularly shaped chunk, that's how you get a ball of dough. It's also an automatic extension of the normal kneading motion, and ends in a place where it feels "final" to your hands, as opposed to having to interrupt the motion in the middle. Sure, you could do it more "roughly", without being precise and ending up with strong tension, but when you're accustomed to it, there is no reason to not do it with precision.

Answer 2

Pinching the bottom of the dough ball and keeping the surface of the dough taut allows it to keep its shape during the final rise--it can expand outwards and form more of a puddle otherwise.

Answer 3

The taught surface allows it to expand upwards instead of sideways. If all the energy from the open spring is going sideways (least resistance), that's the way your bread will go.

Making it taught will even out the resistance on the surface somewhat, which allows you to control where least resistance is by slashing it where you want it to grow (assuming this is a bread we're talking about).