Baguette Scoring

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rtooh on 11 Jul 2025 at 09:23
Crumb not bad. Shape not so good. Scoring horrible!

I can’t seem to get the scoring right.  The dough cuts, but it also “tears” as well.  

73% hydration in the photo with a poolish. I let the baguettes sit in refer until 17*C in attempt to make scoring easier, but it didn’t work. 

Using a true lame with a bowed blade to score… but something isn’t right. 

Do baguettes require a lower hydration to be scored properly?  Any suggestions?

The crumb looks great.  The scores should be overlapped more, and angled less from one side to the other in other words, keep them close to the central axis.

To see why I talk about overlap, imagine that the scores didn't overlap at all.  Then the loaf would expand most in the middle of the scores and much less between the ends of two scores.  Your loaf would look like a bean pod, swollen where there's a bean and thin between the beans.  Overlapping the scores provides a graded transition area that can expand more like the middle of each score.

If you want more of an ear at the edges of the scores, try angling the blade more towards the horizontal and also score deeper.  If that doesn't do it, try proofing for a shorter time.  That will probably lead to more vigorous expansion in the oven, and that should cause more tearing at the scores.

TomP

Thanks Tom!  Really appreciate your quick responses!  

Do you have thoughts about 73% hydration?  And the fact that, while the dough is slicing, it’s also tearing at the surface. Any thoughts on those two things?

Is it tearing because of the blade sticking?  That's my usual problem. If it's that, let the surface dry out for 10 or 15 minutes before scoring.  This will also probably give more of an ear.  Also, make sure the blade is really sharp, even if you have to keep using new blades. And use fast, definite strokes of the blade.

I'm not an expert baguette expert but I often read of lower hydrations, like 65%.  But the right hydration depends so much on the flour and what other properties you want to achieve that it's hard to be definite.

BTW, there have been many excellent posts on baguettes here on TFL, and I think there was a "Community Bake" on them.  Yes, here it is - you can use the TFL search box but I found it more easily with an internet search:

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/64622/community-bake-baguettes-alfanso

Use the TFL search box to find other threads.  There's a wealth of experience here if you can find it!

Without knowing more of the particulars of your process I will venture a guess. They look like they were slightly over proofed or the bulk fermentation was too long. It could be related to the polish fermentation as well. It also looks like there wasn’t enough tension built during the shaping to create an ear that would bloom with the oven spring. The steaming process in your oven may have also been inadequate. Baguettes require more precision because mistakes compound going forward and it’s not necessarily one thing but a combination of misses. All to say that making a good baguette is a challenge that it doesn’t come easy without a lot of practice. 
Don

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mwilson on 12 Jul 2025 at 04:33

Decent sticks with an airy crumb, they look tasty.

Can you detail your recipe and process (times and temps, mixing method etc...). It always helps if we know the full picture.

As Tom mentioned 65% hydration is standard in France with French flour, so bear that in mind. Trends always push for ever higher hydrations for all bread types but baguettes are not inherently made with sloppy doughs.

A poolish pre-ferment provides extensibility that is welcome for elongating this dough.

The dragging is likely a combination of scoring ability but also the dough characteristics. If they are too soft and lack strength then dragging of the scores is likely. Chilling them and allowing the skin to dry out a little is a good tip.

If these are yeast leavened baguettes then increasing bulk time may help. The oomph of developing gasses and good gluten dev. combine to give strength and resistance and allows for clean scores.

First step would be to reduce the hydration by 5%.

Thanks all for your comments!


My f/u:

  1.  Investigate the baguette link above
  2. Reduce hydration to 70% for next batch
  3. Let baguettes dry for 10 min before scoring
  4. Find something to use to practice scoring. Maybe make a 70% “flour/water only” dough to practice scoring.
  5. Do a better job noting batch particulars so I can relay them to ya’ll, the experts!

Well, my latest attempt at a baguette is now in the record books - not a complete failure but not great either. 

70% hydration with poolish, 2g instant yeast, and 10g salt.  Baked at 475F. 

Poolish stood at room temp (72F) for 13 hours.  

Dough kneaded on Kitchen Aid mixer for 6 min on spd 2 and 4 min on spd 3.  Never felt I got a good window pane but was afraid to mix further. Should I have???


Bulk fermentation was 3 hours with folds every 20 min for first hour.  

Im at an airBnB so the oven is new to me. 

The crumb is definitely less airy than previous attempts.  I did not ferment in the fridge overnight like I normally do. Is that why the crumb is more dense?


I think the the proof was good - finger indentation filled slowly (but not completely?). 

Scoring was maybe a little better, but not dramatically even with 70% hydration and last 10 min of final proof uncovered.  I think I need to be up-close to someone who knows what the heck they’re doing!

When attempting to form the baguette, the dough dragged a bit on the dusted counter instead of rolled.  No idea why!?


Disappointed but not deterred!

Those are still pretty decent sticks of bread.  And with an unfamiliar oven, too. Three things I notice:

  1. Since the scores didn't open very much, I think that you could have used a shorter proof.  That probably would have provided more lifting power to force open the scores.
  2. Your scores look too shallow, which probably contributed to them not opening very much.
  3. Your scores still need to be more overlapped, and also to be at less of an angle to the long axis of the loaf.  I found an image that illustrates this:

    https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GkX4SU8rVvg/maxresdefault.jpg

    Tom P

It helps diagnose the problem. All the advice you have been given should help. However reading between the lines and guessing that a vacation rental would not have a baking stone. I am wondering if you baked these on a stone or steel because it has a pretty big impact on the final product versus a sheet pan. 
If you want to read the longest baguette thread in history go here

Don
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/64622/community-bake-baguettes-alfanso?page=0