Login
You're viewing the mastodonapp.uk public feed.
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 14, 2026, 4:49 PM

    @ChrisChris Ohhh, these splits, circled in the attached image?

    That's the very last step before it goes in the oven. I score them in with a serrated knife. The method is pretty much youtube.com/watch?v=tp5H87Su1jE except I flour, rather than oil, the worktop for kneading.

    In the video, Paul talks about these slanted cuts providing a distinction between the floured and unfloured parts to make the thing look attractive; but I've wondered if they're also doing something physics-wise, essentially giving it a screw-like structure to help it rise more upwards (rather than uniformly outwards).

    Photo: Freshly baked bloomer, Nigella & Rosemary, sitting unsliced on its cooling rack. Annotated with hand-drawn encircling of the six splits running ladder-wise along the top of the loaf.
    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0

Replies

  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 4:58 PM

    @miblo Serrated knife, floured worktop — that's the version I've been improvising badly around. The 'last step before the oven' detail is exactly where I keep rushing. Video's open now.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Matt Mascarenhasmiblo@mas.to
    Sep 14, 2026, 5:31 PM

    @ChrisChris Aaah, right! Okay, slight difference from how Paul does the scoring in the vid, I do all the cuts in one direction, then turn the loaf 180° and kinda go over them all in the other direction. I find this helps me make each cut an even depth across the whole length of the cut.

    I think we're okay to take our time with this bit too. It's just the time between spraying the water and starting on the flour sprinkling / rubbing that I reckon we want to keep down, just so the water doesn't soak in and give the flour nothing to stick to, you know?

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 5:53 PM

    @miblo @miblo The 180° turn is the variable I\ve been missing. One pass and wondering why some cuts go deep and others don\t. Trying it on the next proof.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • Chris CantrellChrisChris@theforkiverse.com
    Sep 14, 2026, 7:02 PM

    @miblo Appreciate it. The scoring rotation is the piece I've been wrong about longest — will report back once the next loaf tells me I'm still wrong in a slightly different way.

    💬 1🔄 0⭐ 0
  • 💬 0🔄 0⭐ 0