Apparently, I have a fear of scoring, although it’s not what you think. In this particular case, I cringe when I have to put razor blade to rising dough, fearful that I will deflate the perfect loaf.
I used to own a curved-blade lame. After several household moves, it seems to have disappeared. To be honest, I could never get the hang of using it, preferring, instead, to use my serrated bread knife. Recently, I watched a video where the baker used a straight-blade lame to create beautiful designs, so I wondered if that might make the difference. I ordered a new lame, one which allowed me the choice of a curved or straight blade.
As a problem-solver by nature, I also studied the effects of surface tension on the rising dough. I wet the dough, which sort of worked. Then, I floured the dough, which worked better. In all, I practiced on four different loaves of bread, experimenting with depth of cuts and design. No ears this time, so I need to work on angles.
Round 1:
This loaf helpfully formed its own pedestal/stand
Round 2:
Round 3:
This loaf attempted to create a pedestal from the top. Not helpful.
Round 4:
Tried to score more deeply. Flat. No ears. Sigh.
This was a good challenge that helped to reduce my fears of slashing and scoring. I still have more practicing to do, however. Elizabeth, of Blog from OUR kitchen, was the inspiring baker behind this month’s challenge. Stop by all of the Babes’ blogs to see their beautiful scoring designs.
- Blog from OUR Kitchen – Elizabeth (Kitchen of the Month)
- A Messy Kitchen – Kelly
- Karen’s Kitchen Stories – Karen
- My Diverse Kitchen – Aparna
- Bread Experience – Cathy
- Thyme for Cooking - Katie
- My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
- Feeding My Enthusiasms - Elle
5 comments:
You're a trooper Judy. I'm so sorry to laugh at those pedestals!
That's the lame I got too! I thought it would be fantastic, both curved and flat options, but I was very disappointed in it. Especially that big nut that kept mashing into my edges. Your round 4 is perfection, I don't figure you really want ears too much with decorative scoring after all. Good on you for all those tries! We only had a couple cool days so I stopped at one!
But but but, it wasn't about ears! And the final loaf with its two happy smiles looks beautiful.
I know it's wrong to laugh out loud so merrily. I really do. But I love the pedestal!! And I also love the one that you claim is trying to create a pedestal from the top; I think it looks like it is sticking its tongue out....
And. You think you need more practice? At least your scoring improved as you went along.
I love the pedestals - okay, mot as pretty as the slashed loaf, but more interesting ;-)
Thank you for sharing all of your scoring attempts. It's always interesting to see how the scoring affects the baked loaf. Bread does seem to have a mind of its own. And thanks for posting the video that started us down this scoring adventure.
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