I've been baking bread a while now. I've been approaching it from a more scientific perspective for about two years, and I'm always fascinated by what slashing the dough prior to baking does to a loaf. Do you slash it before it rises? After it rises? Not at all? Which direction, what angle, the questions are myriad, and the various approaches all create a different look and, in some cases, dramatically different results!
For all this time, I've used kitchen knives to do my slashing, with varied results. I've never ended up with inedible bread as a result, but I've been seeking something that will allow me more precise control over the bread dough, and a paring knife is at a weird angle and doesn't do what I want it to do.
So, there's this schnazzy tool called a "lame" (you can see a picture by clicking here) which is supposed to be the tool of choice in French bakeries. I've had good French bread (we lived in New Orleans for five years, where bread is a point of pride for bakers...) but the more I considered this gadget, the more I was seeing people complain about it, and the same refrain kept repeating. People were using a single-bladed razor blade instead.
We had to go to the store anyway, so I decided to get some razor blades. After a fruitless search near the razors, I sidled into the hardware section where I came across this little gem. For the huge investment of $1.98, I got this "mini glass scraper" with a washable plastic holder and five razor blades. I was probably more excited than anybody expected me to be, but it's such a delight to find the tool you've been seeking at a bargain! I'm not ashamed of my passion for baking! Our weekly Sewing Circle was last night, and I was rushing around getting ready, with a huge pot of potato soup simmering, and bread dough rising in the bowl, when I remembered my new toy! I didn't even have time to research methods of application, I just slashed and baked. This particular batch of dough combines whole wheat, regular bread flour, and milled flax seed.
I tried two patterns, the first being a series of three vertical cuts along the length of the bread, one on the top and one along each long side. This loaf is very small, probably about 3/4 pound of dough. (The scraper you see in the "before baking" picture is fairly small, taking a regular sized razor blade, for reference.) I slashed the loaves right before baking, very shallow cuts, about 1/8", and perpendicular to the surface of the dough, just to see what would happen, and it created a very pretty look.
The second loaf was slightly larger, and longer, so I ran several diagonal slashes down the length of the loaf, again just before baking, also very shallow. I am very much still in the experimental stage (I expect I will be in this stage for the rest of my life, it's just so fun to play with bread dough!), so I didn't want to overcomplicate the process. I like the way this came out, although I would probably recommend deeper slashes for this look, and possible slashing before rising.
I also brushed the loaves with salt water a couple of times during the baking process. (Sewing Circle Night is perhaps not the best time for lengthy bread experimentation! Too much going on!) The came out nice, with a chewy crust and a nice crumb, and the razor blade is definitely more precise than even the smallest of our kitchen knives. I am a convert!
I would share pictures of the inside of the bread, but it was, ~le sigh~, inhaled by the participants in our A&S evening, and not even crumbs remain. However, that is the truest compliment I could ever ask for, so I will call this experiment a success! I can't wait to try new refinements in using this new kitchen tool!
Happy Baking!
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