Scoring matters
funny thing is they are made with same recipe.
I know there are a lot of reason to make this happen but this time I want get advice for scoring dough.
time table of each bread is this
Left one Right one
Mixing speed1 3mins speed1 3mins
(kitchenaid) speed8 4mins speed8 4mins
Bulfermentation 2 hours 1 hours 30mins
Folding once once
Pre shaping
Resting 30 mins 30mins
Shaping
Final Fermentation 30 mins 40 mins
Bake 230'c 30mins 230'c 30mins
Many times when I score my bread with lame, dough stick on lame.
then surface of the dough squishy each other along the cut. it looks really bad and once I put this dough in the oven
It can't make ear. And edge of cut surface stick to the dough.
Do you have any advise for this? I just guess it's because of length of final fermentation....
Thank you,
Scoring certainly is a factor but as you mentioned in your post, there are many things that can create the result on the right.
My instincts point me to two issues from which I suffer - not enough steam and over proofing. While your timetable shows that you adhered to the timing closely, the temperature of the environment and the activity of your starter on any given day can mess with your best intentions.
Did you use a steam pan or did you bake in a container, like a dutch oven? When it comes to steam, placement of the loaf in the oven can cause this effect. If we could actually see the steam rolling around the oven we would see areas where the steam was solid and others where there was little.
Scoring will cause this too if the score mark seals too soon, but I'd expect to see a blowout somewhere else.
Jim
Thank Jim
I'm using 30L convection oven and I'm spraying water by myself with trigger sprayer
main problem is sticky dough.
when I have quite nice dough, there is no big problem with scoring,
but sometimes I really don't know the reason which make me crazy is my sticky dough which stick to my lame
whenever I try to cut surface. so I can't really cut, it's more like....rip it apart.
do you have any idea of this?
As others have mentioned scoring is an art form and does take practice.
A sharp blade will cut through dough, dry or wet, without much effort. Use a sharp blade and change it often. It DOES make a difference. From my experience dragging (or sticking) is usually due to using too much of the blade during the score. Really you only need the trailing half, or even quarter, to make a good cut but in my early learning stages I had a tendency to use as much of the blade as possible. In this way the leading edge invariably got stuck in the dough which ruined any effort at getting a good cut.
Scoring takes milliseconds, not seconds, so commit and move quickly, gracefully and deliberately. An analogy is handling dough with your hands. If you touch the dough in quick deliberate movements it generally doesn't stick to your hands. If you handle it slowly and lavishly the dough adheres like glue. I think the same can be said for scoring.
Cold dough is very easy to score. This is why I like to take most of my breads out of the chiller (retardation) and straight onto the peel. Dough with low hydration is easy to score. Typically the skin tension is tighter and there is less of a chance of drag. High hydration dough at room temperature will require some talent and discipline.
There are lots of great videos on youtube demonstrating scoring techniques. Like riding a bike, once you get it down it becomes amazingly easy from that point forward.
Thanks for the advise.
keep practicing!
A couple of things to try:
1. Create a tighter skin when forming the loaf;
2. Use a serrated knife.
Scoring is an art that comes from practice lots and lots of it, just a slight change of angle that the blade is wielded can give quite different results, the depth of the incision the speed of the cut all contribute to the end result. The dough pieces also contribute whether they are from slacker or tighter doughs the degree of proof that has taken place. As already mentioned the oven environment with steam will have an influence.
I have seen people that are very timid, almost frightened in their approach and others that really do slash the dough pieces that even jack the ripper would have been proud of. I always think that if you want to see the different effects then do three or four cuts across a batard changing the angle with each following cut and see the results when they come out also on another loaf try the different depths of the cuts. I think we all stand in awe and admiration of well executed cuts as per Alfonso with his Baguettes.
kind regards Derek
Thanks Derek,
Yes, I used to cut like batard but it was super hard for me. So I'm trying to cut from end to the end for experiment. I think it's easier to understand my dough. since there is less factor to check.
Have you ever experienced that dough stick on you lame when you try to cut it?
Do you thinks is it because of lack of...tightness? or over proof?
Sung
I have on occasions found that dough will want to stick to the lame and I think that's when a swift stroke does help rather than a tentative drag, plus you can always dunk the lame in water which will help lubricate the blade.
To gain more practice time try using your lame on your dough at the end of your mixing and at the end of your bulk fermentation, its not going to do any harm and will enable you to become more familiar with the stroke and different blade angles that you can attain.
that's a good tip! I'll try it on my next batch.