Why can't I roll round dough balls? (Go right past this post Steve)

C

cynupstateny

Well-known member
Mine always come out lopsided. Not bad if you're baking something off but if it's something raw it looks strange. Tried with finger tips and palms both. How do you keep them round?

 
Do you have dishers?

My hand formed balls tend to have 2 slightly pointed ends unless I start with a disher.

 
Cyn, have you tried using powder-free medical rubber gloves? I use these

for making burgers, round Japanese ground chicken meatballs, and marinades. I'm not quite sure what you're trying to make, but if you lightly coat your gloves/surface with flour (if need be), I'm sure you'll get a nice nonstick workable advantage. I find that raw hands = extra heat and a sticky surface.

Here's a photo with my gloves on making New York style water bagels about two months ago. I weighed them into 4 oz. portions and the rounding wasn't necessary in the recipe (ropes were formed later), but I could have formed them into nice rounded balls using my gloves.

Good luck!

https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/Finer_Kitchens/Sandy_in_Philly/NYC%20Water%20Bagels/IMG_1179.jpg

 
What kind of dough balls? Bread? Cookie? This video might help you handle them more confidently.

I know, I know, you were expecting something rude but that woulda been too easy.

 
I had to google disher. Never heard the term. Made both cookie dough and meatballs this week and

both ended up slightly pointed. Watched the video. Do I really have to roll each one around like that? It will take 2 hours to form each batch. Doing truffles next week and, I know they're not supposed to look perfect, but I'd like them to look better than they usually do.

 
Truffles are all about temperature: cold (butter+chocolate) dealing with hot (hands)

1. Scoop or pipe out blobs. Chill. This gives you a head-start on the shape and if they are all the same size to start out with, minor discrepancies won't be as noticeable. If you scoop, press the truffle into the scoop firmly and scrap against the side of the bowl to get the same amount each time. This starts out with a flat bottom, but when you re-roll, each ball will end up the same size.

1a. The larger the truffle is, the more obvious the non-roundness issue will be. On that note I like 1/2" balls....possibly because the best truffle I ever had was at a fabulous french meal in a tiny cafe in New Jersey. The female chef sent them over at the end of the meal...for free. Two tiny 1/2" truffles rolled in cocoa. Perfectly circular? No. Perfectly wonderful? Yes.

2 Cool down your kitchen. I know...it's cold outside, but you don't want furnace heat adding to the hand heat you already have to deal with.

3. Work with a dozen at a time (leave the others in the frig) and re-roll lightly with your hands. Service gloves will put a bit of insulation between the truffle and your body heat.

4. Cocoa will cover a multitude of sins. So will coating or tempered chocolate. So will paper candy cups.

5. Add some kind of squiggle (possibly in white or milk chocolate) or ground nuts to differentiate various fillings AND distract the eye from perfect orbs.

 
Cyn, I think the problem might be too much pressure. Roll them very lightly so they can turn

in all directions. Otherwise you get more of a top shape.

 
I nearly died when I clicked on your link!

What a classic.

But seriously I have found that fast and light touch get the perfect round balls when I'm shaping dough.

 
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