January 4, 2018 - 8:12am
Sharp knife vs scoring lame?
First off I wanna thank everyone on the site for their input and knowledge. I've been lurking quite a while, taking notes and applying it to my bread/pizza making. To the point, I've not manage to score correctly enough to get an ear on my sourdough loaves. I've tried with a unity razor blade, sharp knife, cerrated knife etc, cutting at what I think is a 30 deg angle but to no avail. Do I really need to shell out some money on a scoring lame? I own a seriously sharp spyderco and sebenza 21 that have no problem scoring the dough, it's seems like I'm not hitting the right angle or locations?
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you have all of the tools necessary to get a good score. With the exception being the needed skillset to do so. This, for all but the gifted, doesn't come overnight.
I've a rep. for some pretty decent scoring. Here is my tool. A double edged shaving razor blade on an old unused thin metal file with masking tape on the handle side. Works for me. But the scoring part took a lot of diligent work. If you stick with it, you'll get there. As I've mentioned many times before on TFL, if I can do it, anyone can. Just takes time, effort and developed skills.
This winter there are a lot of people to feed so I plan on making multiple loaves weekly. The above picture is the second loaf I've made using a digital scale . Another day another loaf I already can't wait to make another one!
Peel made in 20 minutes from scrap plywood. Plus Chopstick and double edge razor as lame (chopstick is great since it really grips the blade and prevents slippage)
with a quick deep single stroke. I've been trying for 3 years about every other week or so and finally got a really really good ear. Finally. It's takes time. Good luck.
hester
I use disposable surgical scalpels from Amazon, about $1 each in a 10 pack. I don't know how long they last because I am still using my first, after about a dozen loaves.
It took me a long time to get ears, and I think the important factors for me, besides the cutting itself, were proper shaping and a hot enough starting temperature. You got good spring, so your shaping was probably good. Maybe try a higher starting temperature during the covered part of the bake?