How to Score Sourdough Bread: A Maker's Guide
Scoring is the cut you make in your dough just before it goes in the oven. Done right, it controls where the loaf expands so you get a clean "ear," good oven spring, and the look you want instead of a random burst along the side.
We've spent years designing the tools bakers use to do this, so the rest of this guide is the stuff we've learned from making lames and talking to thousands of bakers, not just the basics.
The short version: use a sharp blade on a lame, hold it at about 30 to 45 degrees for an ear or 90 degrees for decorative cuts, score cold well-proofed dough at the last second, and commit to one confident stroke.
Why do you score sourdough at all?
As your loaf hits the heat, the dough wants to expand fast. If you don't give it a deliberate place to open, it'll tear wherever it's weakest, usually a blowout along the bottom or side. A score is you deciding where that energy goes. A good cut gives you that raised, crisp flap bakers call the ear, better volume, and a finished look that you created.
The two jobs a score does: expansion and decoration
Almost every score is doing one of two jobs, and knowing which you're after changes how you cut.
- Expansion scoring is functional. It's the deep cut that gives the loaf a controlled place to bloom, the source of your ear and oven spring.
- Decorative scoring is the art. Shallow surface cuts, leaves, wheat, geometric patterns, that stay crisp instead of blowing open.
Most beautiful loaves combine them, and the order matters: do your decorative cuts first, then the expansion slash. Decorative, fine scoring is our specialty.
What do you need to score sourdough?
You need a sharp blade held in something you can control. That's a lame (pronounced "lahm," rhymes with "mom," from the French for blade). You can technically use a bare razor or a paring knife, but a bare blade is hard to hold safely and a knife is too thick to cut cleanly without dragging.
- A handled lame like the Goose makes it easy to slash in a deep pan, or flip it over and hold it like a pencil for fine detailed work.
- A round lame like the UFO gets you close to the blade for control, and the blade tucks inside for safety when you're done.
- A small curved lame like the Arc is great if you like the deep curved cut of a traditional grignette.
- A tiny straight lame like the Poco suits bakers who want the simplest possible blade holder.
Whatever lame you choose, keep the blade fresh. A dull blade is the single most common reason a score drags and deflates the loaf.
Not sure which lame is right for you? See our bread lame buying guide.
Curved blade or straight blade?
This trips up a lot of bakers, so it's worth being clear:
- A curved blade bends the razor slightly, which lifts a flap of dough as it cuts. That makes it the easy choice for a big, dramatic ear, but it isn't the right tool for fine detail.
- A straight blade gives you cleaner lines and far more control for small, intricate, decorative cuts, and it still gives you a beautiful ear. It's the versatile workhorse.
Most of our lames are straight, the all-around starting point. Our one curved lame is the Arc, for bakers who love that deep, curved grignette-style ear.
How often do you change the blade?
A fresh blade is cheap insurance against a ruined score, but you don't need a new one every bake. Some bakers get hundreds of loaves from a single blade, rotating to a fresh corner as one dulls. Seeds and toppings dull an edge faster, and fine detail work wants a sharper blade, so you'll swap more often for both.
Not all razors are equal. We sell and recommend Astra blades: sharp, durable, and they skip the paper packaging a lot of brands tuck in.
Customizing your blade for fine detail
A trick a lot of detail bakers swear by: take a fresh safety-razor blade and snip a small section out of one end to leave a smaller, pointed tip. That finer point gives you far more control for tight, intricate cuts. The blades are thin enough that regular scissors cut them cleanly, so it's an easy mod to try. Just mind your fingers; it's still a razor blade.
What angle should you hold the lame?
This is the part that changes everything, and it's where most new bakers go wrong.
For an ear, hold the blade at a shallow angle, roughly 30 to 45 degrees to the surface. You're cutting a flap, not a trench. That flap lifts and crisps as the loaf springs, and that's your ear.
For decorative scoring, hold the blade straight up at about 90 degrees and cut shallow. Vertical cuts open evenly and keep their shape.
How deep should you score sourdough?
For a main expansion score, about a quarter inch deep (roughly half a centimeter). Deep enough to give the dough a real seam to open along, not so deep that you cut into the structure and let it collapse.
For decorative cuts, go shallow, more like an eighth of an inch. You're drawing on the surface, not opening the loaf.
When should you score, and does temperature matter?
Score at the very last second, right before the dough goes into the oven. And score it cold. Cold dough straight from the fridge is firmer, so the blade glides instead of dragging. If your dough has warmed up and gone slack, it'll grab the blade and tear.
Most bakers cold-proof: let the shaped loaf rest in the fridge overnight, then score it straight from the cold. If you proof at room temperature, pop the loaf in the freezer for 20 to 30 minutes before scoring to firm the surface.
How proofing and hydration change everything
You can do everything right with the blade and still get a bad score if the dough isn't ready. Two things matter most:
- Proof level. Under-proofed dough springs hard and can blow over your decorative cuts. Over-proofed dough is slack, tears, and won't hold an ear. A properly proofed loaf is what lets a clean score show up after baking.
- Hydration. Higher-hydration (wetter) doughs are stickier and more delicate to score, so a fresh blade and cold dough matter even more. Stiffer, lower-hydration doughs are more forgiving.
How to score sourdough, step by step
- Take the dough out cold and turn it out of the banneton onto your parchment or baking surface.
- Dust the top with a light layer of flour (rice flour is popular) if you want high-contrast cuts.
- Plan your design before you touch the dough. Hesitation ruins a score. For intricate patterns, mark guidelines or pre-trace into the flour with a toothpick.
- Do your decorative cuts first, while surface tension is high. Blade upright at about 90 degrees, shallow.
- Then make your expansion slash. Blade at a shallow 45 degrees near one edge, one smooth confident stroke. Don't saw.
- Get it into the hot oven immediately, with steam if you bake covered or with a tray of water.
The 5-to-7-minute rescore (a trick worth trying)
Here's one the pros use. About 5 to 7 minutes into the bake, when the surface has just started to set, pull the loaf out and recut right along your expansion slash. The semi-firm surface holds the cut open, so the loaf blooms wider than it would have. Experiment and have fun, none of this is high stakes.
Scoring patterns and designs
This is where a loaf becomes yours. Below are patterns from easiest to hardest. For most, an expansion score does the structural work and the decorative cuts stay shallow.
Beginner
- Single slash / the ear. One long, shallow slash at about 45 degrees. The most forgiving cut. Master it before anything else.
- Cross / square. Two or more straight cuts crossing each other for a rustic look.
Intermediate
- Wheat stalk. One central line with short angled branches. Score the main line first, then the branches.
- Chevron. On an oval batard, a row of angled cuts down the length.
Advanced
- Leaf and vine. Shallow curved cuts forming leaves off a central stem.
- Spiral. A continuous shallow curve wrapping a round boule.
- Round / boule designs. Mandala-style radial patterns. The home of the round lame: the UFO was designed to get your hand close and let you pivot for circular work.
Boule vs batard: shape changes the design
A round boule gives you a canvas for radial and circular patterns (spirals, mandalas, wreaths). A long batard suits patterns that run with its length (wheat, chevrons, a single dramatic slash). Pick the pattern to fit the shape and it'll always look more intentional.
The same logic scales down to baguettes and other long loaves: a row of evenly spaced diagonal slashes down the length is the classic look, and it gives each cut room to open into its own ear. Match the cut to the canvas and the loaf always reads as deliberate.
Scoring for a Dutch oven
If you bake covered in a Dutch oven or combo cooker, you're often scoring a loaf sitting down inside a hot, deep pan. A handled lame with reach, like the Goose, makes that slash easy without burning your knuckles. Score, lid on, and let the trapped steam do its work.
Troubleshooting: why isn't my scoring working?
The blade drags and pulls the dough. Dull blade, or dough too warm or wet. Fresh blade, score straight from the fridge.
My loaf deflates when I cut it. Usually over-proofed dough or too deep a cut. Proof a little less, keep the main score around a quarter inch.
I'm not getting an ear. Angle too steep. Lay the blade flatter, around 45 degrees, to lift a flap.
My decorative cuts disappear after baking. Too shallow, or under-proofed dough sprang over them. Cut a touch deeper and proof properly.
My intricate pattern looks messy. Usually a dull blade or warm dough. Cold dough, fresh straight blade, map the design first.
Do you really need a lame, or can you use a knife?
You can start with a knife, but you'll quickly outgrow it. A razor blade is far thinner than any kitchen knife, so it parts the dough instead of crushing it, and a lame gives you the control and safety to make that one confident stroke. It's the one tool in your kit that will most visibly change your results.
Quick answers
What is bread lame scoring? Bread lame scoring is cutting a controlled slash or pattern into a shaped loaf just before baking, using a bread lame, a handle that holds a razor blade. The cut guides where the loaf expands so it opens with a clean ear instead of bursting, and it is where decorative designs come from.
How do you pronounce "lame"? "Lahm," rhymes with "mom," from the French for blade.
Should you decorate or slash first? Decorative cuts first, while surface tension is high, then the deep expansion slash last.
How deep should you score sourdough? About a quarter inch for the main expansion cut, an eighth inch for decorative cuts.
What angle do you hold a bread lame? Around 30 to 45 degrees for an ear, 90 degrees for shallow decorative cuts.
Why score cold dough? Cold dough is firmer, so the blade glides instead of dragging.
Can you reuse a razor blade? Yes. Many bakers get hundreds of loaves from one blade by rotating to a fresh corner; change it sooner for seeded loaves or fine detail.
Curved or straight blade for beginners? Straight. It's the most versatile. The curved Arc is for bakers focused on a deep, curved ear.
Once you've got the basics down, scoring stops being the scary last step and becomes the fun part, the place where a loaf becomes yours. Grab a fresh blade, keep your dough cold, and commit to the cut.
Ready to choose one? Shop all Wire Monkey lames.
Loaf photos generously shared by the bakers who made them: Jennifer Phillip (@she.bakes.bread), Meghan, Abigail Yueh, Kirsty, and Vicky Bou (@vibouspiceoflife), with photography by Charlie Wiskin. Thank you for letting us show off your loaves.