January 19, 2013 - 5:40pm
Improper Scoring
So, I always seem to have this problem - Improper scoring of my breads, and I'm wondering if y'all would be so nice to assist me :-)
My girlfriend bought me a lame for Christmas, the one by Breadtopia. It's got a "Baguette" plastic handle, and a small offset metal part. You bend a razorblade onto the metal to score the loaves. (Simple enough, Right?)
I know you should score at a 45 degree angle, make about a 1/2'' incision, and usually you score just before you load the bread into the oven. (And I've been doing this too!)
However, I usually get this...
When I want this....
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/handbook/scoring
Any extra suggestions? Or should I just bake a ton of simple bread (say plain white-bread) and tinker with the technique?
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Sure looks like your getting stuck while scoring. When scoring a boule with a cross cut you actually want to score perpendicular and with no angle. You score with an angle when you want "ears" like baguettes. Focus that you are score with the tip of the blade and not accidentally dragging the bottom of the blade which will snag. Also fast and swift makes the cleanest looking cut. Regardless it does take practice.
Josh
See David's post under blogs for all your answers. It's there now a day ago.
I have started baking my own bread and your tips are very helpful. Today I think I must have panicked when I forgot to score the dough before putting it in the oven and slashed my bread in the oven instead of score:( It has deep cuts when it was baked. Should I just have left the dough unscored and let it spring on its own? Tomorrow I try again.