A retired baker in Tulsa watched me shape 30 rolls and said my bench rest was backwards

Skyler Fox · 2026-09-24T22:10:03.851437+00:00

I was doing a Saturday morning shift at a small spot in Tulsa about 4 months ago when a regular named Walt, who ran a donut place for 25 years, stood by the window and just watched me shape dinner rolls for a solid 10 minutes without saying a word. When I finally asked if he needed something, he pointed at my bench and said I was resting the dough ball on its seam side first instead of letting it sit smooth side up, which was why 6 or 7 of my rolls kept tearing open on top during the bake. I tried it his way on the next batch of 30 and every single one came out clean with no blowouts, which honestly bugged me because I had been shaping that way for almost 2 years. He also said the dough was a touch warm from my hands working it too long, and to let it sit 5 minutes more before shaping if it starts feeling sticky. Nobody ever told me that in culinary school or from any video I watched. Has anyone else had a random customer or old timer correct something you had been doing wrong for ages, and what was the fix they gave you?

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A retired baker in Tulsa watched me shape 30 rolls and said my bench rest was backwards | Bakers - Guest Forum