Mondo Knows Facts
Scoring a loaf controls where it bursts
A deliberate cut gives expanding steam and gas somewhere to go
Oven spring pushes a loaf upward as trapped carbon dioxide and steam expand. Without a cut, the crust sets before the middle finishes rising and the loaf tears at its weakest point. A slash through the surface chooses the weak point, so the bread opens along the line the baker drew rather than wherever it happens to split.
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Tags: bread, baking, crust
Scoring a loaf controls where it bursts: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- A deliberate cut gives expanding steam and gas somewhere to go. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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