February 18, 2013 - 3:01am
Scoring, and slowing the spread.
Greetings!
Most of my breads (all sourdough), are about 71% hydration, and for the most part, generally turn out quite well.... by amateur standards. Alas, I am having a problem with scoring, something which hitherto was always fine! I make a cut, and it expands like the Red Sea; this obviously results in an instantly larger suface area, rather than the desired gradual expansion.
The only thing I can think of, is that my shaping is now tighter, and it's putting more pressure on the scores. Do I need do adjust my techique, or look into alternative tools? I used to use a straight razor, and moved on to a serrated knife, which were both fine. Can a decent Lame make that much difference?