Every now and again I end up down a rabbit hole. Mark and I were talking about the relative prices of the knives in our kitchen blocks, remarking on various production and custom pieces in our sets. I have one random knife in my block, which I use for a specific purpose, but it is not the single purpose tool meant specifically for the task.
I bake a lot of bread from scratch. The last step, before the loaf goes in the oven is “scoring” the outside to provide an outlet for the steam created when baking. I use a 20 year old plastic handled serrated knife that came in a Usinger’s Sausage gift basket from my lat Great Aunt. The Usinger logo has long worn from the handle, but the knife remains a sentimental tool in my kitchen.
There is however a tool which is specifically designed for this task, the Lame. (Pronounced “LAHM”).
From Wikipedia:
A lame (, from French lame, inherited from Latin lāmina, meaning saw) is a double-sided blade that is used to slash the tops of bread loaves in baking. A lame is used to score (also called slashing or docking) bread just before the bread is placed in the oven. Often the blade’s cutting edge will be slightly concave-shaped, which allows users to cut flaps (called shag) considerably thinner than would be possible with a traditional straight razor.
A slash on the loaf’s surface allows the dough to properly expand in the oven without tearing the skin or crust and also allows moisture to escape from the loaf. It also releases some of the gas, mainly carbon dioxide, that is trapped inside the dough. Proper scoring also allows the baker to control exactly where the loaf will open or bloom. This significantly improves the appearance of baked breads. Scoring, finally, creates varieties in forms and appearance. It brings out the bread baker’s artistic talent, allowing a unique signature.
File it under “Today I Learned” (TIL)
Read the full article here
