Final answer:
Shaping bread dough involves forming a skin to retain fermentation gases created by yeast during alcoholic fermentation. The carbon dioxide gas produced causes the dough to rise, and shaping helps in trapping these gases, contributing to the bread's texture.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process involved in shaping dough for bread-making is primarily forming a skin to retain fermentation gases. This is essential because, during bread-making, yeast uses alcoholic fermentation to convert sugars into energy, producing carbon dioxide gas as a by-product. This gas causes the dough to rise as it forms bubbles, and when the dough is shaped, a skin forms around it which helps to trap the carbon dioxide bubbles within, contributing to the bread's final volume and texture.
It's important to note that the stretching of gluten to form a skin falls within the shaping and forming stage. Continued fermentation may occur during the final proofing of the bread, after shaping has taken place. The actual release of CO2 is part of the fermentation process, but doesn't pertain to the shaping of the dough.