April 6, 2012 - 2:54pm
Docking instead of slashing loaves
I found the book "The Village Baker - Classic regional breads from Europe and America" By Joe Ortiz at the library and read about docking loaves instead of slashing. He says if you want a smooth surface you can simply poke holes in the loaf (about 8 with an ice pick 1/2'' deep). I recently bought a brotform and would like to try it to get a nice round loaf with the spiral pattern. I also bake boules with Italian flat leaf parsley on the outside and it sometimes "blows out" on the top, so docking seems like a good solution. I'm an amateur baker and have never tried this and am looking for some tips.
What are your experiences? Can slashing be replaced by docking on any occasion?
Thanks