Does my pan loaves need scoring?
I grind my flour fresh and use about 15% to 20% KASL. 67% hydration. Nothing fancy. My loaves get great oven spring and the bread turns out great, but the spring is always very uneven. One side always seem to "break" near the pan and springs and the other side doesn't, which creates a lopsided loaf. It doesn't seem to affect the bread at all, but it bugs me. I always thought it was some uneven heating in my gas oven, but after trying numerous things I realized yesterday that since I'm getting such great spring, I might need to score to bring the top up evenly.
My latest procedure is to put a pizza stone just under the rack where the bread is going and start the oven at 500F when I start my final rise. After the oven preheats, I turn the oven down to 475F. When the dough is ready I pop it in and immediately turn the oven to 350F. This gets great spring and a perfectly browned crust.
Do you think my dough needs scoring or could it be something else? If it does need scoring, where/how should I score?
Oh, by the way - the same exact thing happens whether I make big or small loaves. 8.5" x 4.5" and 10" x 5" are the loaf pan sizes. Chicago Metallic commercial II uncoated.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.