Baker of Seville

GOOD NEWS

Shipment came in and cleared customs without a hitch. (yes, there is a story there😉)!

ETSY is shipping same or next day.

Amazon, is Amazon. I will send them stock and they will show "IN STOCK" when they are ready and not a minute sooner. Gotta love Amazon. Seriously, I expect them be available early next week.

Regardless, I will do my best to keep my stock available.

Thanks all and Happy Baking.

Pete
Baker of Seville

Well, the new Americas Test Kitchen article created lots of buzz and ran me out of stock.

Luckily, there is new stock here.

ETSY orders will ship in a few days and Amazon should start showing stock soon.

My apologies for the inconvenience.

Pete
Baker of Seville

Thanks to Sarah Sandler and Americas Test Kitchen for another great article and recommendation for the Baker of Seville bread lame.

Published January 9, 2024

3 Essential Bread-Baking Tools | America's Test Kitchen I’ve baked hundreds of loaves of bread. These are the tools that make me feel like a pro.

https://www.americastestkitchen.com/equipment_reviews/2545-the-best-bread-lames

The newest endorsement

And from Americas Test Kitchen no less.
Does it get any better than that?

“Our all-around favorite lame is the Baker of Seville Artisan Bread Lame. It’s a cinch to configure and can be held comfortably in different ways. Best of all, it can be adjusted so that the blade is either curved or straight, making it a great option for both simple and complex scoring alike.”

The Best Lames of 2022 | America's Test Kitchen For the best-looking bread, you need the right scoring tool.

How Deep should you score your dough?

Lets look at what some of the experts have to say:

King Arthur Flour
There is no need to press hard and score excessively deep, but the cut does need to be deep enough so the surface of the dough doesn't fuse back together when baking —somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" deep. Note that if we score the dough too deeply, the final loaf will show signs of caved-in sections as the opening is too large to support the surrounding rising dough.

Bon Appetit
If you’ve built up enough gluten and there’s enough yeast activity, your bread will have oven spring—meaning it will puff up and get some height while it bakes.
If you don’t score it, it will crack. Cutting into the loaf allows you to control where it will open up.
“If you’re only going to do one or two scores, go deep,” Joy recommends—at least a quarter of an inch.

The Fresh Loaf
In summary, in order to achieve an optimal bloom in baguettes and bâtards, one must attend to 3 variables when scoring them:

1. The cuts should be almost parallel to the long axis of the loaf.

2. The blade should be held at about a 30 degree angle to the surface of the loaf.

3. The depth of the cut should be shallow - about 1/4 inch.

Breadopedia
You should score your dough between 6 to 12 millimeters deep or a quarter to half an inch deep. The cuts on long loaves should be shallower than those on round loaves so that you don’t dry out the bread.

Below is a slide that I put together to show that scoring depth exceeding 1/2 inch is easily done with this lame. The key is the angle. Use about a 45 degree angle as shown in order to achieve a deep score.

What better than Bon Appetit? 😀😀

They seem to LOVE this Lame 🥰

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/bread-lame

This Little Tool Takes the Stress Out of Scoring My Homemade Bread Let’s be real: Scoring is still scary, but it’s infinitely easier with this double-sided lame from Baker of Seville.

Baker of Seville added a button to help you learn more about them.

MY LAME DRAGS THROUGH THE DOUGH INSTEAD OF CUTTING.
THE BLADES ARE DULL

The Baker of Seville Lame gets pretty good reviews. That's probably part of why you are here reading this.

But the most common negative issue that people cite is dragging caused by dull blades. Look at the reviews on any lame.

Let me address that here

Yes, it is possible that the lame has a dull blade. It is possible that the blade got knocked around during shipping. To check sharpness, try cutting the edge of a piece of paper. This is a good indicator. Or swap blades and see if it improves.
In reality, the chance that the blade is dull is slim. Heck, even a dull blade is pretty darn sharp.

So why does my blade drag through the dough?

Let me throw out a couple of ideas to try.

- High Hydration dough is harder to score cleanly and more prone to the dreaded dragging. Try dropping your hydration percentage.
- Cold dough typically scores much more cleanly. Try Proofing in the fridge and scoring cold dough. Some even put the dough in the freezer for a while before scoring. Something to try
-Try wetting the blade with water or cooking oil
-Use quick, confident strokes when scoring

Try some or all of the above and see if things improve.
But let me be honest here.

If you still get the DRAG, the most likely culprit is your Dough. Yup, I'm gonna blame YOUR dough and not MY lame :).

Hear me out.
We have all seen pictures of some beautiful scoring examples. And it looks so effortless in the videos.

Why is our dough not scoring like those experts on YouTube?
I'm telling you. Its most likely the dough.

And, unfortunately the dough fix is harder.

So, what makes some dough more "scoreable" (is that a word?) than others?

Dough that has been
properly fermented,
properly shaped,
has a good, tight skin
and then properly proofed

Will score more cleanly.

There you have it. Do all those things right and your scoring will improve.

Things that hurt scoring?

Overproofed/Underproofed dough.(more likely overproofed) How to correct?
1) Look for your bulk to double and do your proofing in the fridge for 4+ hours and even over night. If counter proofing, get good with the finger poke test.
2) Poorly shaped dough with poor surface tension. Work on shaping. Watch videos. This is an art. Those dough that sit up tall after shaping will score better than those that flatten out.
3) Lastly, while proper scoring can help with oven spring, it is generally more about aesthetics than about taste. Good tasting bread is the most important aspect.Beautiful bread with great designs looks cool. Which we all want. But know that Scoring is absolutely an art and takes practice.

Bottom line.
You want beautiful scoring? Improve your dough. No shortcuts here.

It will make you a better baker.

DRYING STARTER - Why and How?

Life happens. Starters can meet an untimely demise.
Someone cleans out the fridge - Starter gone
Someone preheats the oven with your starter in there? Gone

Bottom line is that it is easy to save some starter just in case. Or to share. And it is so simple.

There is been a huge increase in bread baking during these trying time and especially sourdough. I have seen a lot of questions about starters lately.

For you "Visual" folks, Here is a couple of pictures on drying a starter. Cant get any easier.

Spread out some mature starter (not freshly fed) on parchment paper as thin as you can. A bench scraper works great for this.
The thinner you can get it the quicker it will dry. Make sure it is completely dry before storing. It could take several days.
Let it sit. Once completely dry, just flake it off.
If it sticks, it’s probably a bit damp. When in doubt, let it sit longer. You want it completely dry.
It is also OK to grind it into a powder. They assure me they don't feel pain. Various research suggest that it is best to keep it in a cool, dry place.
I played around with re hydrating.
Put some in a little water and stir. Once mostly dissolved, Add some flour and stir. Once it is active, treat it like a normal new starter. You can feed without discarding to build it up.
It should be ready to go in just a couple/few feeding.
One thing that I have learned as a beer brewer that uses a lot of yeast. Yeast loses viability over time. Probably not enough to make a noticeable difference with a starter. But if you are saving some as a backup you might date it and replace it every year or two. It’s so easy to do, why not.
I am happy to send out some to those in need. US only please.
If interested, send a note with your address to
[email protected]
Happy Baking
Pete

Hi all you homebound bakers. Crazy times right now for sure.

I can tell by the uptick in Lame sales that there are lots of people baking. Also, the limited flour supply is also an indication.

What better skill to master with all the free time. What better hobby?
(ok, well, I am a beer brewer also. That might be a better hobby.)

I wanted to share some information with you.

The Lame will be in and out of stock on Amazon. You will see on and off availability and longer lead times. And sadly, my stock is getting low. I have another order being manufactured now.

I can tell you that this UPTICK in sales has caught me off guard.
My apologies. I will try to improve and anticipate better.

So, there are two purchase options now for the Lame.

Amazon will be in and out of stock. It will be cheaper a little cheaper but SLOW. Hopefully the listed delivery times on Amazon are worse case and will improve.

ETSY is another option. It is quicker but more expensive (higher shipping and handling)

If you are not in a hurry, buy from Amazon. If you can't wait, ETSY is your best bet.

That shop can be reached at
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BakerOfSeville…

Happy Baking everyone and thanks for the support.
Pete

For a Lifetime of Baking by BakerOfSeville You searched for: BakerOfSeville! Discover the unique items that BakerOfSeville creates. At Etsy, we pride ourselves on our global community of sellers. Each Etsy seller helps contribute to a global marketplace of creative goods. By supporting BakerOfSeville, you’re supporting a small business, an...

Curious as to your thoughts on Straight vs Curved scoring. Do you stick to one or the other, or use Curved for some cuts and Straight for others?

I just used the Straight Blade option on this lame this morning. Wow! I much prefer it to the curved blade. Found that it scored much cleaner and easier. I assume that the curved blade is better for some scoring, but highly recommend trying out the Straight Blade option to see how you like it.

The New Lame is here. It can be configured by YOU to be either a Curved OR a Straight blade lame. Still All Stainless.

The Best Lame just got better

Hi All,

First let me say THANK YOU to all those who reached out to inquire as to the status of the lame.
You have shown me that you think this product is worth waiting for.

Surely a bit of an ego boost for me. It confirms a lot of what I was thinking when I set out on the long journey to make a better lame.

All that said, I received the shipment today. Much later than anticipated with several delays along the way.

I did some quality control checking and I was pleased with the workmanship. It was spot on, as expected (I have a lot of respect for my manufacturer and see them as my partner). This is actually an improved design (subtle) from the first order and I think you will like it.

I dropped product at UPS this afternoon and I expect it to be at Amazons warehouse tomorrow.
It should show up as "in stock" in the next day or two.

Again, thank you for your patience.

I would very much like to hear your thoughts on it (an Amazon review would be greatly appreciated).

And, if you have any issues at all, EVER with the lame, please let me know. I promise to stand behind it.

Thanks again,

Pete - Designer
Baker of Seville

Baker of Seville updated their website address.

Available only on Amazon. Click the Shop now button to purchase or click below

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079G7WC79

Bread Lame - Designed for serious Bakers. Solid Stainless, Secure Blade. Better design, better material As an aspiring home bread baker, I quickly realized that the available Bread Lames were either poorly designed, poorly constructed or made out of poor material. And the blades constantly slipped off That's when I set out to design a superior product using the following criteria. - SOLID STAINLESS...

What is a bread lame?

A lame (pronounced Lahm) simply means blade in French.
Bread bakers use Lame's to cut or score the top of Artisan bread just prior to baking.

This cut helps the bread to rise in the oven (called oven spring) and create those beautiful loaves that you see in high end bakeries.

There are a lot of lames on the market. Most of them involve skewering a razor blade on a metal stick.

The problem is that the blade is not securely fastened and constantly slips off. Read the reviews of almost any lame on Amazon and you will see that this is a common problem.

I should know. I bought several. It was frustrating. So... I designed a better one. My design criteria were as follows:

- securely attached blade
- made completely out of solid stainless steel
- use a standard double edge razor blade
- simple and safe blade change
- durable storage case for safety

Once I had my design worked out I found a cutlery manufacturer that specialized in stainless steel and worked with them to produce the final product that you see here.

The Baker of Seville Lame has been on the market for a short time but has quickly become the best selling Lame on Amazon with the highest customer review rating.

Check it out. I think that you will agree.

Compare before you buy. What makes this lame better? Lets look:

This is the highest rated and best selling Lame on Amazon. And its only been on the market for a couple of months.

This is the choice of Professional Bakers