Rich Hollenbeck wrote:
> I'm new to this newsgroup so I don't know if this has recently been covered.
> I just replied to an OLD post from the month of May and I don't know if it
> will be read so I'm posting a new message. I'm following a recipe I found
> here on making English muffins. The formula calls for only a single rise
> then portioning it into eight and flattening them over corn meal and baking
> on the stove top in a heavy skillet. For this I portioned them BEFORE
> letting them rise.
>
> My question to the group is, is that so very wrong? Should I have waited
> for it to rise then punch the whole mass down before dividing? Why? What
> are some factors that go into the decision NOT to portion early?
>
> Thanks
>
> Rich

The following is just my opinion.

The first rise may produce a dough with relatively large bubbles in it.

Punching it down removes these voids and the second rise is often
slower with smaller bubbles forming.

Dividing after the first rapid rise is simply easier to do with one
mass of dough.
You also get a higher internal temperature with a larger mass of dough.
That heat may be required to provide the required rise.

In your example it probably does not matter.

If they came out OK I would not worry about it. Perhaps try it the
other way and see if you get a different result.