How do I shape and score a loaf of bread?

Shaping and scoring are the two steps that decide what a loaf looks like coming out of the oven. Both are about controlling where the dough goes when the oven forces it upwards.

Step by step

1. Pre-shape first and rest it.Fold the dough loosely into a round, leave it 20 to 30 minutes covered. It relaxes the gluten so the final shaping is not fighting a springy dough.
2. Shape on a lightly floured surface.Too much flour and the dough slides instead of gripping, so you cannot build tension. Some grip on the worktop is essential.
3. Fold it in on itself.For a round, fold the edges into the centre several times, then turn it over. For a batard, flatten gently, fold the top third down, the bottom third up, then roll it towards you sealing as you go.
4. Build tension by dragging.Cup your hands round the loaf and drag it towards you across the worktop a few times. The friction pulls the surface tight. You should see the skin become smooth and slightly shiny.
5. Check the seam.The seam goes underneath in a tin or on a tray, and upwards in a banneton, so it ends up underneath when tipped out.
6. Prove it seam-appropriately and chill it if scoring is hard.Thirty minutes in the fridge before scoring firms the surface and makes a clean cut far easier.
7. Score with a blade, not a knife.A razor blade, a lame or a very sharp craft knife. A kitchen knife drags and tears the surface however sharp it feels.
8. Cut about 1cm deep, at a shallow angle.Almost parallel to the surface for an ear, or straight down for a simple split. One decisive movement — hesitation gives a ragged cut.
9. Score once for a controlled shape, several times for an even rise.A single long cut gives a dramatic opening. Several shallow cuts, or a cross, spread the expansion evenly and are more forgiving.
10. Get it into the oven immediately.The score starts closing as soon as it is made. Score at the oven door, not at the worktop.

Tips

• A confident single cut beats several careful ones. Hesitation tears the skin.
• Thirty minutes in the fridge before scoring makes a huge difference to how cleanly it cuts.
• If you score too shallow, the loaf will burst somewhere else instead — usually at the side.

Common mistakes

• Using too much flour when shaping — Flour between the dough and the worktop removes the friction you need to drag a taut skin onto the loaf. Without that tension the loaf spreads sideways in the oven instead of rising.
• Scoring too shallowly — A surface scratch closes over immediately and the expanding loaf then bursts wherever it finds a weak point, usually along the side. A 1cm cut gives it a route it will actually use.

If it doesn't work

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