How to Score Sourdough Bread Properly (And What Your Cuts Are Actually Doing)

There is a moment just before you load your dough into the oven where everything feels a bit tense. The bulk is done, the proof has gone well, and now you are standing there with a lame in your hand about to slash into something you have spent the better part of a day nurturing. It is easy to overthink it. A lot of bakers do.

But scoring is not just cosmetic. The cuts you make in those few seconds before the oven door closes are genuinely structural. They control where the dough expands, how the crust sets, and whether you get that dramatic, caramelised ear that makes a sourdough look like it belongs in a bakery window. Here is what is actually going on, and how to do it properly.

Why Scoring Matters at All

When your dough hits a hot oven, the yeast has one final burst of activity before the heat kills it off. This is called oven spring. If the crust sets before that gas has somewhere to go, the loaf bursts unpredictably at its weakest seam, usually the side or the base, and you end up with something that looks like it had a rough morning.

A deliberate score gives the dough a controlled release point. You are essentially engineering the expansion rather than leaving it to chance. That one long slash on a batard, or the crosshatch on a boule, is a pressure valve. Done well, it also creates the ear: that raised, blistered ridge that peels back as the loaf opens up.

The Angle Is Everything

Most beginners score straight down, perpendicular to the surface. It makes sense intuitively, but it works against you. A vertical cut tends to just open flat rather than lift. What you want is to hold your lame at roughly 30 to 45 degrees to the surface of the dough, almost like you are trying to slice just under the skin rather than through it.

That shallow, angled cut is what creates the flap that lifts into an ear. Think of it less like cutting and more like peeling back a layer. One confident, fluid motion the length of the dough, not a series of short nervous strokes.

Choosing the Right Pattern

For a batard (the oval shape), a single off-centre slash running most of the length of the loaf is the classic approach. Offset it slightly from the centreline toward you, angle the lame, and commit to the cut. For a round boule, a cross or a square pattern works well because the dough needs to expand in multiple directions evenly.

Decorative scoring (leaves, wheat stalks, all that) is genuinely enjoyable once you have the basics locked in, but none of it matters if the structural cut is not there. Always do the functional score first, then add anything decorative around it if you fancy.

Your Tools Actually Matter Here

A sharp lame makes a real difference. A dull blade drags the surface and deflates the dough instead of cutting cleanly. Curved lames give you more control on the angled cuts. If you are using a razor blade on a stick, make sure it is fresh. They go blunt faster than you expect, especially on high-hydration doughs.

Practice Is the Only Way Through

Scoring is one of those skills that genuinely improves with repetition. Keep it simple for a few bakes, nail the single slash, and then build from there. If something goes wrong, treat it like debugging: check the inputs. Was the dough too warm? Was the blade sharp enough? Did you hesitate mid-cut? Usually one of those three is the culprit.

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For everyone else still chasing that perfect ear on a Saturday morning loaf, keep going. It clicks faster than you think. Browse more guides and pick up the tools to help you get there over at doughrise.store.

Happy baking! Find everything you need at doughrise.store

Photo by DDP on Unsplash