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Topic · Baking

Scoring

A bâtard with one long score and an ear — the shape used in the teaching country loaf.

Printed from https://gourmetgastronomer.com/baking/sourdough/scoring/

Cutting the surface of a proofed loaf so that oven spring opens along an intended line rather than at a random burst.

Appears in Learn sourdough · Previous: Final proof · Next: Baking the loaf

Scoring is a controlled wound. Steam and heat inflate the loaf; the cut is where the baker wants that expansion to go.

The angle, depth, and timing of the cut depend on how the Final proof went and on how much surface tension Shaping left behind. A loaf that is not ready to bake will not suddenly become ready because it was cut well.

Then the loaf meets heat: baking.

Related topics

Appears in pathways

Sources & further exploration

Further exploration

  • Raymond Calvel. The Taste of Bread. Aspen Publishers. 2001. ISBN 978-0-8342-1646-4

Updated 2026-08-25. gg:topic:scoring · CC BY 4.0

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Gourmet Gastronomer. "Scoring." Updated 2026-08-25. https://gourmetgastronomer.com/baking/sourdough/scoring/ gg:topic:scoring.

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Gourmet Gastronomer. "Scoring." Gourmet Gastronomer. Updated August 25, 2026. https://gourmetgastronomer.com/baking/sourdough/scoring/.

APA

Gourmet Gastronomer. (2026, August 25). Scoring. https://gourmetgastronomer.com/baking/sourdough/scoring/