That bakery in Asheville finally showed me why my baguettes were flat

I stopped into a little French place called Bouchon on a road trip last spring and watched their baker work for 20 minutes. Turns out I was slashing my dough way too shallow, only about an eighth of an inch deep, when they go a full half inch on theirs. Has anyone else had a random shop visit totally change their technique like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

fiona_murphy12d ago

HALF inch slashes changed everything for me too. That shallow scoring just lets the steam escape wrong.

oscarc5312d ago

Yeah, I actually tried that after watching a video from a baker in the UK. @fiona_murphy has a good point about the steam. I think people overlook how much the type of knife matters too. A really sharp lame makes those shallow cuts clean, but a dull blade can drag and mess up the whole scoring pattern. The other thing is timing. If you score too early or too late after proofing, the dough acts completely different. So many things line up just right for a good ear.