Scoring pattern template pack

You want a proper decorative score on your next loaf, not another wonky attempt at a leaf that comes out looking more like a smudge.

Scoring is two different skills wearing one name. The first is function, the single slash that gives a loaf its ear. The second is decoration, patterns that are just for looking good. Mixing them up is where most of the frustration comes from, and this pack separates the two, then gives you seven stencils to trace straight onto the loaf.

What you'll gain

• Trace a clean, confident decorative pattern onto your dough instead of freehanding it and hoping
• Know exactly why one committed slash makes a proper ear, and why going back over the same line ruins it
• Choose the right blade angle for the ear you actually want, from a shy lip to a full shattering ear
• Stop decorative patterns vanishing in the oven by cutting to the right depth and keeping lines the right distance apart
• Fix the three most common scoring failures, no ear at all, blowouts at the seam, and disappearing decoration, with a quick troubleshooting reference
• Pick from seven ready-to-trace stencils sized to fit a standard 22cm round or 25cm oval banneton

What's inside

This pack is two separate deliverable types, eight PDF files in total.

The guide

9 pages, A4. Scoring for function, the single-slash technique that makes an ear, blade angle, depth and timing, and preparing the dough surface. Then scoring for decoration, transferring a stencil pattern onto dough and the right cutting order. A troubleshooting section covers the three most common failures. Cover and contents pages included.

Seven individual stencils

Each its own separate PDF file, print-and-trace line art sized for a standard 22cm round or 25cm oval banneton: wheat sheaf, single leaf, fern, chevron set, sunburst, geometric lattice, and seasonal star. Each sheet carries its own print instructions.

What this pack doesn't cover

This pack teaches scoring technique and gives you seven print-and-trace stencils, that's the headline feature. It doesn't cover shaping a loaf from scratch or fermentation timing, and scoring can't fix a proofing problem, an under-proofed or over-proofed dough won't produce a clean ear or a crisp decorative pattern no matter how good the stencil is. Get your proof right first, then use these stencils.

Keep going

This pack doesn't have a bundle partner in the current DoughRise catalogue. Every page links back to the free Fermentation Calculator, the same link this pack's own funnel page uses, since scoring timing depends entirely on whether your dough is actually ready to score.