Chef Evangalene’s free sourdough scoring lesson
How to Score Sourdough Bread Correctly
Practice the cut. Read the loaf. Understand the result.
Quick answer: Score sourdough with one confident expansion cut, slightly angled across the upper surface. Proofing, dough strength, steam, and oven spring decide how that opening develops.
Use the studio below to practice the motion before you put a blade into real dough, then read the baked loaf without blaming every problem on the score.
Free Interactive 2D Sourdough Scoring Guide
Hold the lame. Score the loaf. Get rated.
How the game scores you
One confident score is the beginner target.
I want enough length to create a controlled opening without asking the loaf to split everywhere.
I teach a slight diagonal because it gives beginners a better chance of forming an ear.
I would rather see one smooth stroke than a wobbly, hesitant, back-and-forth cut.
I read multiple strokes as decorative, crossed, flower-like, or overworked before I judge the result.
Draw your first score.
Press on the loaf and drag. Release to finish each stroke. Tap “Judge My Score” when you are done.
Visual checkpoint · one clean expansion path
You finished the practice cut
Now read what happened after the loaf hit the oven.
I learn from a score only when I connect the cut to the baked result. Choose the outcome closest to yours, or move with me into the mechanics behind the opening.
How to tell if you scored a loaf wrong
What happened when you baked the loaf?
Ear formation clue
No ear does not automatically mean the score was wrong.
I look at blade angle first, then proofing, dough strength, steam, shaping tension, and oven spring—all of them contribute.
Visual checkpoint · compare the evidence
Your result is a clue
The blade is only one part of the answer.
Before I change every variable at once, I want you to understand the relationship between scoring, dough strength, steam, and proofing. That keeps the next loaf from becoming another guess.
Why Scoring Bread correctly Matters
Scoring controls expansion when baking. It does not create fermentation.
I choose the opening
A deliberate expansion score gives pressure a controlled path.
I shape the ear
A slightly angled blade can create a flap that lifts during oven spring.
I protect the opening
Steam helps the surface remain flexible while the loaf expands.
I check the energy
Proper fermentation gives the loaf enough structure and gas to open.
Hands, dough, pressure, timing
The part a screen cannot teach
Confidence comes from feeling the dough.
This studio can train your eye and your motion. In a hands-on class, I can show you the blade angle, surface tension, proofing cues, and pressure in real time.
Whats the difference between Proofing and Scoring
The same score behaves differently on different dough.
Underproofed dough
Too much pressure
The loaf may burst aggressively, tear beside the score, or create a dramatic but uneven opening.
Fully proofed dough
Controlled opening
The loaf has enough gas and strength to expand through the planned score without collapsing.
Overproofed dough
Too little spring
The score may stay flat or barely open because the dough no longer has enough strength or expansion left.
Dry surface
Dragging and tearing
A dried skin can fight the blade, distort decorative cuts, and hide the real proofing condition underneath.
Under · ready · over
Read the dough before the blade
The same cut cannot rescue every proofing state.
If the loaf is underproofed, overproofed, weak, or dry, changing the scoring pattern alone will not solve the real problem. I want you to learn the fermentation cues, then use the score to direct healthy expansion.
Frequently Asked Questions about scoring sourdough bread
Sourdough scoring answers.
Does scoring sourdough actually matter?
How deep should I score sourdough?
Why did my loaf burst on the side?
Why did my score disappear?
Should beginners do decorative scoring?
Can the scoring game detect every possible pattern?
Ask Chef Evangalene
Still unsure why your score behaved that way?
My final word