This Is What Actually Happens If You Forget To Score Your Sourdough Bread

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Flour, water, salt, and starter: The ingredients required to bake a loaf of sourdough couldn't be simpler. But if you've ever baked a loaf of it yourself, you'll know that the process is a bit more complicated — and full of trial and error. With so many intricate steps necessary to craft the perfect loaf, it's easy to forget one step before popping it into the oven: Scoring your bread dough. Skipping the score might result in a smaller or more uneven loaf with a bit less oven spring, but your bread will still be perfectly edible. However, if you're a baker who is invested in aesthetics and perfection, scoring sourdough bread should be among your top priorities. 

Scoring bread helps the dough expand in a controlled way when it's in the oven. Whether you carve an intricate design or a simple singular slash, that cut breaks the net of gluten in the loaf, which allows it to expand to its fullest potential and gives it a clear place for the steam to release. If you forget to score your dough, it is forced to break through the bread's thick gluten net on its own terms. This means that the loaf will burst open in random spots known as blowouts, instead of in a neat, guided line. 

Scoring your bread dough isn't totally essential, so forgetting this step isn't anything to stress about. At the end of the day, it will really only affect the shape, size, and overall look of your bread. If you've done everything else right, the taste and texture shouldn't be impacted. Even without scoring, if you have a sourdough starter with good yeast production, the crumb still has the potential to be absolutely gorgeous, and virtually the same as a scored loaf's crumb.

However, if you're planning to bake and give away a fresh-baked loaf to a loved one, you'll want to take extra care to score your bread so it looks just as beautiful as it tastes. If you're new to sourdough-baking and aren't ready to create a fancy design, you can make a simple cross, or four straight cuts that create a square. This is a simple, elegant scoring pattern that looks great and ensures your bread will rise properly. And if you haven't already, you should invest in a scoring tool known as a lame – this Fenikara professional bread lame is under $7 from Amazon.

If you forgot to score a loaf you're planning to give away, there is a potential solution — but only if you notice within its first five minutes in the oven. Some sourdough bakers intentionally make a "five-minute score," which is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of scoring your dough before it goes into the oven, you'll score it while it's in the oven, five minutes into baking. While it's ideal for folks who forgot to score, the technique can even result in a better rise and a more prominent ear, making it a total win-win.