WW Loaves / Sales Pitch
I recently added a thread on the Introductions forum (Hello From Connecticut). I mentioned that a particular website (sfbi.com) offered a solution to the slashing tool problem. I put my money where my mouth was and bought their replaceable blade lame. Sad to say, that money was wasted. More below.
Sales Pitch:
Soon after my posting, holds99 (Howard) mentioned that Eric Hanner had pointed TFL bakers in the direction of the PureKomachi Tomato Knife as being similar to an old serrated knife he has been using to score loaves. Thanks go to Howard and of course to Eric. This knife is a wonderful tool for scoring loaves.
The sfbi.com offering, well, not so much. They provide a very small handle and some basic double-edged razor blades and offer that you thread the tip of the handle into the openings in the blade to secure it! OMG, a starring role in my very own bloody-hands slasher movie! Fortunately this so-called tool didn't set me back too much.
My first opportunity to use my new PureKomachi was yesterday. I just jumped a grade or 2 as a bread scorer. It was easy as pie (maybe not the best simile) and stress-free. I even relaxed as I made the cuts.
Pix:
Whole Wheat Boules
WW 1
WW2
WW High Angle
The only time I felt the knife dragging was when I slashed across an already slashed portion of the dough. It was much easier to get a deeper slash than I ever experienced with my KA lame.
About the loaves:
They're my typical weekly WW bread. It uses a preferment with all the WW flour for the recipe, and as noted elsewhere (down toward the bottom of PaddyL's recent post about Whole Wheat vs. Sourdough) uses buttermilk, which, as an acidic medium (thanks, subfuscpersona) does good things for making the WW nutrients more usable.
I baked these loaves at a slightly lower temperature than usual (440 to start, then 410) and it did good things for the crust. The spackling on the crust is bran from sifting coarse red whole wheat to get some high extraction flour.
PureKomachi, for all your scoring needs!
Soundman (David)