Bakers (usually) take small pieces of dough off much bigger dough that they already prepared before starting shaping it in a way they want like spreading or scoring it. I found a picture that might help. In Persian, we call it چانه گرفتن. What's it called in english?
2 Answers
Assuming the dough has already risen (and is past the final proof):
I would call this the divide and pre-shape step.
It is the step before final shaping. In this step you divide the dough into smaller balls. (image from bakerpedia.com)
tr.v. shaped, shap·ing, shapes
1. To create or fashion, as:
a. To give a particular form to (a material): shape the dough into baguettes.