Hi all, can anyone give me some pointers for scoring my breads??? It drags, it sticks, etc.... Im using brand new single edge razor blades. My dough is quite moist and perhaps 80 - 90% risen. Im thinking maybe I should try a fine cerated blade?
Any suggestions would be great, thanks !
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Hi amber,
I know you have researched the topic but have a look here.
http://www.weekendbakery.com/posts/bread-scoring-with-confidence/
And note, in one of the videos the guy says it took him a year to be confident of his technique.
It won't happen overnight, but it will happen.
Farinam
Thanks Farinam, it seems to be that practice makes perfect :)
I too have not mastered any pretty slashing techniques. However, recently I did an easy square on the top of a dough with a lame. Looked much more professional than my usual cross slash. That said, I will be watching that video.
I find using a pair of scissors, cutting two or three 3-4 inch slits, an easy alternative to trying to slash with a blade - and that's even with a very high hydration dough that I can 'only' pour into my dutch oven.
Yeah, Ive seen people using sharp sxissors and it looks great, you xant get long xuts though (sorry my keyboards a bit weird) And, Ive also notixed that the pros often have a slightly drier surfaxe and good tension, somehow my dough gets good volume but laxks that tension. My xuts are getting better but not so smooth yet. getting there :)
scissors and straight blade cuts, I really like the scissor thing, so much fun :)
Hello amber,
While doing some browsing on other topics, I came across this blog that you might find useful.
http://www.azeliaskitchen.net/slashing-or-scoring-your-dough/
Good luck with your projects.
Farinam
Checking it out! :)
I too experienced difficulty in the beginning; I now use a bread knife and it works perfectly.
yeah, I used a very finely cerated knife yesterday it worked really well, and the dough was very sticky, I was happily surprised :)
Another thought that may help is hydration. If your recipe produces a wetter dough, say 70% or higher, you may consider trying a dryer mix, say 67%. The lower hydration dough should be easier to score. Once you can get results you like on a dryer dough you can try the wetter formula again.
Its true, its true, but I like wet dough! There are ways but it takes practice and also proofing overnight and creating a drier crust with some flour from the banneton helps too
To slice your dough properly, you need to understand the reason. It is to allow greater bloom in the oven an to allow the crust to lift and caramelise for flavour.
the use of a lame will bend your razor and help your cuts to go the right way, also be careful with the toppings on your loaves, as the bloom time is relatively short and heavy topping can effect the cuts expansion.
If using a razor blade in your lame you may wish to slightly oil it first.
Also try and ensure that you angle your blade so that the front edge of the blade does not catch and stick in the dough, the main cutting being done by the last 2/3rds of the blade
Good luck
It's just practice really. Wetter doughs will always be slightly trickier, as will overproved doughs. Have you tried slashing your loaves when they're slightly underproved? It should make it easier, and can give you better oven spring.
Also, to confirm the point abover, you shouldn't be using the entire length of the blade. Look at it from a thrift point of view, when you place your razor in your lame, you should get four turns of the blade before you disgard it. I mean as each corner edge of the blade becomes blunt, you can turn it four times in all so you're working with a fresh, sharp corner, before the whole thing is blunt.
This will give you an idea of not only how much of the blade you should be using, but also an idea of how deep you should be trying to go, as if you're at an angle and going in more than half way down the length of the blade, you're running over into another blade 'quarter' and going too deep...
I really hope that makes at least a little sense....
Im getting better all the time but I have to say, Im a lover of wetter doughs, old school rustic types and the price you pay is difficulty slashing- or at least limited slashing. Thanks for all the tips and help. My advice for wet doughs is wet the blade and go gently so as not to deflate and yes underproofed is always better. In the case of having chunky bits in your dough use a very sharp finely cerated blade, after all its all in the eating and finding what works. Also well floured bannetons and refrigerated overnight proofing helps a bit by forming a bit of a skin on the surface. And then some, like Ken Forkish (Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast), prefer not to slash at all because they like the organic looking tears.... :)
It all gets eaten, so we must be doing something right ! Yes ?
Absolutely Geoff! My family are bread feinds and people are asking to buy it :D Ultimately flavour and texture are everything.... and straight sourdough is so much better for you than commercial yeasted.
A little late to the party but here's my $.02...I recently forked over $30 for a walnut lame on Amazon and decided after a couple of uses that it was money well spent. I too was having trouble slashing. I have some very sharp knives and also made a lame with a razor blade and chopstick but the nicely balanced weight of the walnut lame really upped the ante and now my slashes are now consistent.
My man may complain about how much I spend on my baking tools.....but I just remind him to take a walk through the garage and see how many single purpose tools he has there!!! LOL
ahahaa, too funny :) Its true, so far Ive found for my wet doughs a razor works well if they have some kind of crust developed, from flour, but otherwise I use a brand new very finely serrated knife not used for anything else. I'll get a real lame at some point, but its true that baking tools are not cheap! Thanks for sharing :)