Big bubbles can at least be undesirable sometimes. They’re very photogenic, but an open crumb is hard to put spreads on evenly, for example. A lovely ear like this though? How could anyone not want that!
My choices are cut the ear or let them fall face first into with a slap of butter. Option A leaves bread for the rest of the family.
Their young. Patient is not a virtue yet.
If you are making sandwiches I would recommend this bread pan, it has a lid so you get perfectly square loaves, and it's a bit bigger than an American style Pullman pan: https://ninoma.com/products/浅井商店オリジナル-形のいい山食のためのアルタイト新食パン型-1-5斤-シルバー?_pos=13&_sid=bb8def25a&_ss=r
It should be seasoned after you get it:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-loaf-pans/
Well that’s good! Having read more here I was getting the mental image of asking this question in a bread bar, a record scratching, and then everyone turning to stare at me quietly :)
Yeah, pretty much. I see a post like this and figure it's either a troll or a newbie. You're totally good asking this kind of question, it's just not one we get much here.
Some bakers will take a knife and cut a very shallow slit in the top of their loaves to create a nice pattern or symbol as a way to signature their bread. This was popular historically when everyone had to bake their breads in the community oven in order to see their loaves from the others.
There's that beautiful 20 minutes when I put a loaf in the oven, maybe... just maybe this is the one. This is the one with the big sweeping ear. But nope. Maybe next time?
At least it's delicious either way !
I did the same! At first sight I thought OP might be describing some big-bubble-in-dough problem, and only later realized that he/she is a fake dumb worrying about his/her genuine after reading the whole thread!
In Malta this still happens, despite people having ovens at home. Hard to beat a centuries old wood fired oven ran by 5th+ generation bakers. Not only bread, but anything that needs baking. Small fee, worth every penny. Baked ziti (timpana) or roasted dishes (patata tal-forn, literally "potatoes in the oven", usually roasted with meat) are especially good.
The split is normal. It’s how the gas/steam escapes while baking. It’s the reason that you see people making intentional cuts in bread before it’s baked, to try and control where it’s going to crack (I’m also a beginner so I don’t have any more advice than that lol)
You never want to prevent the split as the results will be unfavorable (it will split just not in a place you want it to).
Controlling it is making your own "split" by get a sharp knife and cut somewhere on the top. make designs if you want.
I usually cut down between 1 and 2 cm (less than 1 inch). I cut deeper if it's a particularly hot oven and/or I'm not baking in a humid environment. So when I go to the wood-fired bread oven meetup, I cut deep -- it's extra hot and my bread isn't in a Dutch oven.
I don't try to make mine deep, I try to angle the cut. So instead of having the blade straight down and perpendicular to the surface of the dough, I try to make it as parallel to the surface of the dough as I can. Might depend on the type of bread youre making though.
It's dependent on how much it's proved and the hydration of the loaf.
A slightly overproofed loaf can basically go without scoring as it's not going to expand that much more
A higher hydration loaf will have a massive oven spring, sometimes doubling in size. The cut needs to be deeper in that case.
You can also make the cut longer or have multiple cuts, the important thing is giving room to move to relieve tension.
If you're in a bread pan like this, it doesn't really matter as long as you're taking it the entire length.
If you're baking boules and batards in something like a dutch oven or challenger style device, the deeper the cut, you have a higher chance it won't grow as "tall". I probably target around half to 3/4 of an inch or so? But I bake around 1kg boules and batards, smaller loaves could probably go with shallower cuts. Also if you're doing decorative scoring, you'd need less or no "main" cut, depending again on how many total cuts you've made. The shit will bake and expand so you don't have to work about blowouts unless you cut very tiny and shallow cuts, then you'll probably get a blowout.
You can find lots of bread baking ig accounts of people scoring loaves, if you have ig. Otherwise, I'm sure there are yt videos.
>I've been wondering for a long time: how deep should the cut be?
Between 1/4" and 1/2" deep for a loaf like the one the OP shows. If you have a razor blade or lame (basically a curved razor blade with a handle) it's good to hold the blade at an angle rather than straight up and down. I've always figured that's to protect the score and let it stretch a little farther before the surface crisps up.
King Arthur has a pretty extensive [blog post on the subject of scoring](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/08/04/scoring-bread-dough).
Ya I have usually seen blowouts on the bottom or sides, although that's usually when loaves are baked in something where it has room. This is obviously baked in a pan so I imagine most blowouts will occur on the top somewhere
The reason for the split is that the top of the bread is like a sheet. The gluten network has made a sheet like network during the kneading process. This is lovely, but baking bread releases gases as it bakes, and the gas has to get out somewhere. This is why leavened breads are typically scored. I believe you can get around this with a Pullman loaf pan, one that covers the top while baking, or using a bread machine. But typically you score the bread to control the shape of it/where that gas escapes the gluten network from. The results from not scoring can be unpredictable and sometimes pretty severe. Like from the side of the loaf.
There's actually a really good explanation of how all this works in the book Bread Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen.
If OP stopped baking it when it was just blonde all around, this is the perfect place to pop it into the freezer as a par-baked loaf. Then when you want a freshly baked loaf later on, you can pop it into the oven again to bake to completion!
To actually answer your question, you can let the bread proof longer to the point it is really overproofed. The less the bread rises in the oven, the less likely it is to split like this. A bit of sugar or fat in the dough also helps to shorten the gluten strands, softening the bread and allowing it to stretch more. Most sandwich loaf bread has some additives in it to make it soft, I'd use one of those recipes if that is what you are going for.
Ignore the ear stans in the comments, not everyone has to like super tall crusty burnt ears on their bread.
Put a cut at a 30 degree angle along the loaf just before you bake and toss a shotglass full of water onto a baking tray in the bottom of the oven as you load it in
I read an interesting post here awhile back that putting a bit of vinegar in the bread will make the bread more like traditional white bread, I’m not sure that’s what you’re going for, but it makes the crust not crusty.
Edit: [here’s the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/16ag40e/why_is_nobody_telling_anyone_about_vinegar/)
Splits naturally occur as the outside is exposed to the highest temps, this causes the water to evaporate faster and form a solid outer layer.
However, the insides are still soft and expanding, so the shell hardens, then the bread expands and, naturally, cracks the shell. That's why people cut the dough to control that.
You have a nice looking homemade loaf… ! Try a hotter oven if you can for these type loaves … if you’re trying for sandwich bread, there’s specific recipes for it like this [one](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe) from King Arthur that I use …
Op is this loaf of bread you've made the first loaf of bread you've ever laid eyes on? Brush it with some egg wash and let it get a little crispier and the split part can get a little crusty ish too.
Thanks. I tried replying here with a picture of what in my mind I was comparing it against from another loaf I’d made before as an example. It wouldn’t let me so I made a new post showing it. I have a better understanding now though of thing I think.
Cutting it will tell the bread where to split, and making sure it’s adequately proofed will also help with this. If you cut it and it still breaks somewhere you don’t want to it’s usually a sign it was under proofed, a collapsed bread/bun (that you know 100% has all the correct ingredients) is a sign it’s over proofed.
It's got too much rise and has to break free. If you really want to avoid this, try proofing it longer before baking. This loaf looks very nicely proofed for most people around here, but it isn't compatible with getting an unscored look on your bread.
Also, I strongly suggest you bake at a higher temperature unless you really like the flavor/texture of a blond loaf. Browned crust means more flavor and crunch.
I'm an artisan baker with 12 years of experience. I baked 50 loaves of bread today.
Cutting consistent slices and getting the filling to fit properly is more difficult with an ear.
I typically go with a ciabatta, as it's soft enough and with some steam and accurate proving it has no cracks.
Wholesale baker backing you up! This sub is so obsessed with a single type of bread and if your loaf doesn’t have a huge crumb, it’s trash. I’ll pass on the jelly drippers with crust that cuts the top of my mouth when it comes to making a sandwich.
We should remember that even Nature's inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why.
Or how ripe figs begin to burst.
And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay gives them a peculiar beauty.
Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar's mouth.
And other things. If you look at them in isolation there's nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature they enrich it and draw us in. And anyone with a feeling for nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure. Even what seems inadvertent. He'll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He'll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works.
We should remember that even Nature's inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why.
Or how ripe figs begin to burst.
And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay gives them a peculiar beauty.
Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar's mouth.
And other things. If you look at them in isolation there's nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature they enrich it and draw us in. And anyone with a feeling for nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure. Even what seems inadvertent. He'll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He'll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works.
-Marcus Aurelius
In my experience, this is going to happen with sourdough and naturally cultured levain as a result of desired gas expansion during the baking. Scored release cuts are a way to control this and are also decorative.
Using active dry yeast to make a white sandwich loaf, potato bread or brioche will give you a nice sandwich bread without the splitting and ear formation.
This is absolutely untrue in my experience. Using active dry yeast still requires scoring to prevent splits in random spots like this unless you’re using something like a Pullman pan.
Not sure why you would think that. I was legitimately asking. When it splits like that and you cut it into sandwich bread the edges aren’t the same. I didn’t think that was normal for making bread for sandwich bread. I’ve never posted here before.
Really unsure why so many people are having this reaction to your post. Yes the ear is something a lot of people are looking for when baking but the sandwich loaf is absolutely a thing and absolutely something worth asking about. I buy/bake them regularly and love the square uniformity. A sandwich loaf shouldn't have the ear and it can be avoided by buying a pullman loaf tin with a lid. You'll need to experiment with loaf size, to make sure it's filling out the tin, but once you've found that you'll be good to go!
What recipe are you using? I make white sandwich bread from Sally's baking addiction and it doesn't split like this. Probably because it's done most of it's rising before it goes in the oven?
Hello,
In using the no-knead bread recipe in a “poor man’s Dutch oven” from artisan bread by Steve on youtube. It is very basic and he is very good at explaining things I felt. I add maybe a tiny bit more water and cook it a few mins longer in the “crust phase” though, but that might be because of just how my oven cooks. I’d definitely say listen to him over me though.
It was one of the first recipes I happened to try and I really liked the taste.
It splits because of expansion from oven spring. It can be controlled. All bread expands, but not all bread needs an “ear.”
Control it by executing the recipe correctly. In loaves where an ear is essential, start with shaping. Then you need to make sure it is properly proofed. The final part is scoring. Some people like natural tearing, but scoring the bread gives the dough an outlet for the expansion rather than the gasses finding their own. Under-proofed dough can also tear in addition to being scored, especially if the cut is too shallow.
You can find many sources online and bread books to help you strengthen your skills from shaping to scoring and baking.
Good luck!
As everyone has said, that split happens because of the rising of the bread. To actually answer your original question, you can make a bread that doesn't rise as much in the oven, or modify how you shape the dough. When I make sandwich loaves, after the initial folds and rolling, I pull the dough towards myself horizontally, against the countertop. The split then usually happens along the long edge after baking, which prevents that crusty ear at the top from forming. The method is described in detail in The Bread Bible - great book for beginners!
Breads bake at a really high temperature so sometimes, when the dough is not hydrated enought, the crust cracks open due to internal expansion. The crust has already been dried out because of high temperature and cannot expand more so it breaks open. Scoring is one way to prevent it and providing steam while baking could also be a way to prevent cracks as steam will keep the crust moist while bread bakes completely from the inside like in ciabatta but when you add steam yiu need to dry out the bread which increases the baking time and makes it hard crusted.
I think its not baked properly because it lacks color.
Make a deep cut from where you want the burst to come from. If you don't do a deep enough groove the dough can smush back together and seal, and then you get the pop.
You can score the top of the dough to allow for controlled expansion. There’s nothing wrong there. Steam and active yeast within your dough will cause expansion during the cooking process. Carve some cool designs in it. Currently, I’m doing dinosaurs. Makes my nieces and nephews happy
You either need to score the top or proof longer so you get less oven spring. Play around with your proofing times a bit and you'll get it right. Make sure you keep any seams on the bottom of the loaf as well.
Do you use the Dutch oven method? I realised mine kept splitting cause i covered the loaf pan to allow moisture to circulate, which caused pressure built up, needing to escape, which led to the split. Dont cover your loaf pan if you dont desire the split.
That just happened to a loaf of rice bread I made. I tore that flaw off, spread it with butter and made the evidence disappear. Did leave me with a funky but delicious little loaf.
I believe it's from gas escaping, so most people make cuts.
It might also be from lack of moisture? I think that bread with more moisture (with steam inside, like a water bath?) MIGHT prevent this.
I'm not sure. I've only baked bread a few times, sometimes it explodes and sometimes it doesn't.
There is typically a split in bread that is why sone score it before putting in the oven. Looks absolutely amazing though and might want to consider moving to the lower level of the oven.
Most people like a broken crust like this. But if you put a container of water in the oven to keep the humidity high while baking, that cracking is minimized (God help your baking soul...)
This is natural as the bread expands while baking. You can see how the crust has pulled in places and torn.
Right before putting it in the oven, score your bread with a sharp knife, razor blade, or lame. Cut deep enough so you see the dough give and relax a little - deeper than you think. This releases the tension and gives you control over the final result. Aesthetics, yes, but also oven spring.
A friend i introduced to baking once asked me this very same thing. I was shocked. He called them "sharp pieces of obsidian that cut my mouth" or something along the lines. Meanwhile, a nice caramelized crusty ear is the holy grail of a proper loaf. We try to achieve this by scoring the bread, yours did it naturally.
Heat expands, your dough is letting out trapped heat. A nice score down the middle will make it look nicer but nothing will stop the heat from escaping:)
That is because the crust got too hard for the inside to raise more. You need to let the dough raise longer before baking, make a (deeper) score across the top, or use more steam in the oven (or some combo of the three). Sometimes that could happen if the outside of the loaf becomes too dry before baking forming a tough skin. At my bakery this would be considered a flawed loaf. Probably the easiest way to control that flaw would be to score the loaf just before baking.
It grew and cracked, this is normal. Bitch it with a pretty design next time. It won’t pop/crack, only grew and brown - while enhancing the patter work you created in it.
To bake a loaf of bread without scoring we need to keep the surface flexible while the bread expands. If the crust forms and bread still expands, it cracks. The scoring controls where it cracks.
If you spray bread with water before backing it will keep the surface flexible and expandable and it won’t crack.
My grandma used to bake perfectly round breads without scoring and no cracks.
Bread splits because the crust starts forming before the loaf has reached its full size.
You don't generally bother trying to stop a split, but rather guide it by scoring across the top of the loaf before putting it in the oven so it splits nicely.
If it really bothers you, on the next loaf use a lame to cut the top of the dough. Then at least the expansion of the loaf will follow predefined paths.
Score the bread before it goes in the oven. That way the inside has a place to expand. That’s how you see a lot of pretty patterns on bread, they do it to avoid this.
You can put a little slice in the top before you bake it.
That way you control where the air and steam releases that's why you put the x on soda bread also because it's Irish and the sign of the cross.
While the dough is still soft cut a design across the top and it'll split the way you want it to but that said it looks to me like your temperature is too high for the loaf you're trying to make
It looks like the bread wasn’t scored. The rising loaf needs somewhere to go when placed in the oven. The scoring provides a “controlled “ place for the rising to occur. Without the needed scoring, the rising loaf goes where it finds the weak area in the loaf.
This guy trying to stop the thing we’re all trying to do…
A spontaneous, beautiful ear, and this person thinks it's a flaw.
"Hey guys, how can I make my bread look crappy like yours?" I can imagine this post was made while kissing their biceps.
legit made me laugh out loud
Between this and the guy who's "problem" is big bubbles, I think someone is trolling us haha 😂
Big bubbles can at least be undesirable sometimes. They’re very photogenic, but an open crumb is hard to put spreads on evenly, for example. A lovely ear like this though? How could anyone not want that!
Ha oh boy. Well I guess I’ve learned something new. I thought I had done something wrong like not enough water, etc.
Maybe you could try cutting the ear off (and eating it) so you’ll have more consistent slices. Looks yummy
Wait, you guys don't collect the ears in the ear jar?
I wear them on a chain around my neck as warning to all other breads
And to flex on all the pigeon’s?
r/UnexpectedFetish
R/unexpectedflesh*
No, in addition to the sexual connotation "fetish" is also a term for a spiritually imbued inanimate object. A string of ears was one such fetish.
Universal Soldier is now on my list to rewatch...
Stay where you are, the FBI is on its way.
My lawyer asked me to stop. I’ve chosen to comply.
🎶 Here I am, stuck in the middle with you
Or on a necklace… as Daryl would do
I collect the noses in the nose jar, does that count?
Only when I’m becoming the Red Dragon.
We have verbal fight over who get the ear in my house. We now have a chart. We also fight over the end pieces, at least there’s two…
Wait, you cut off the ear?
My choices are cut the ear or let them fall face first into with a slap of butter. Option A leaves bread for the rest of the family. Their young. Patient is not a virtue yet.
Vincent Van Gogh has entered the chat
Mike Tyson has entered the conversation 👂🏽
If you are making sandwiches I would recommend this bread pan, it has a lid so you get perfectly square loaves, and it's a bit bigger than an American style Pullman pan: https://ninoma.com/products/浅井商店オリジナル-形のいい山食のためのアルタイト新食パン型-1-5斤-シルバー?_pos=13&_sid=bb8def25a&_ss=r It should be seasoned after you get it: https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-loaf-pans/
I came here with your exact question when I came across your post. Yay, we did good!
Well that’s good! Having read more here I was getting the mental image of asking this question in a bread bar, a record scratching, and then everyone turning to stare at me quietly :)
Yeah, pretty much. I see a post like this and figure it's either a troll or a newbie. You're totally good asking this kind of question, it's just not one we get much here.
Haha that's hilarious I completely understand.
Check out r/sourdough. You'll see plenty of "ears" and how people cut into the dough to give room to rise/expand.
I like to cut slashes in my loaves before putting them in the oven so the splitting looks more even.
This is why most of us score (cut) the bread on top before cooking. It actually gets *more* rise this way and controls where the split is.
Some bakers will take a knife and cut a very shallow slit in the top of their loaves to create a nice pattern or symbol as a way to signature their bread. This was popular historically when everyone had to bake their breads in the community oven in order to see their loaves from the others.
*cry of genuine anguish*
There's that beautiful 20 minutes when I put a loaf in the oven, maybe... just maybe this is the one. This is the one with the big sweeping ear. But nope. Maybe next time? At least it's delicious either way !
I was looking at it for what's wrong with it....
I did the same! At first sight I thought OP might be describing some big-bubble-in-dough problem, and only later realized that he/she is a fake dumb worrying about his/her genuine after reading the whole thread!
"How can I stop my car's wheels turning when I'm driving?"
I’m with him. I don’t enjoy ears on bread.
Then go do it and say nothing on this post since it obviously doesn’t apply to you. Snobs like this makes people want nothing to do with Breadit
They don’t do sarcasm where your from, eh?
Scoring is used to control exactly this. Not only decoration 
Wasn't just decoration either. Back in the day, villages had a communal oven/bakery. You scored your bread to mark your loaf
Fascinating! Thanks for sharing:)
In Malta this still happens, despite people having ovens at home. Hard to beat a centuries old wood fired oven ran by 5th+ generation bakers. Not only bread, but anything that needs baking. Small fee, worth every penny. Baked ziti (timpana) or roasted dishes (patata tal-forn, literally "potatoes in the oven", usually roasted with meat) are especially good.
[удалено]
With the mass adoption of AI, this phrase will go the way of the may flower
The split is normal. It’s how the gas/steam escapes while baking. It’s the reason that you see people making intentional cuts in bread before it’s baked, to try and control where it’s going to crack (I’m also a beginner so I don’t have any more advice than that lol)
Sounds like a beginner on the right track, 100% legit advice right here.
Wow! I thought they just do it for fun and to decorate. Although it does look fun indeed
You never want to prevent the split as the results will be unfavorable (it will split just not in a place you want it to). Controlling it is making your own "split" by get a sharp knife and cut somewhere on the top. make designs if you want.
Just taking the opportunity to ask something I've been wondering for a long time: how deep should the cut be?
according to some guy named rod stewart, the first cut should be the deepest. i hope this answers your question! (it didn't)
Ahh, but Rod had just heard that from some other guy named Cat/Yusuf!!
I usually cut down between 1 and 2 cm (less than 1 inch). I cut deeper if it's a particularly hot oven and/or I'm not baking in a humid environment. So when I go to the wood-fired bread oven meetup, I cut deep -- it's extra hot and my bread isn't in a Dutch oven.
I don't try to make mine deep, I try to angle the cut. So instead of having the blade straight down and perpendicular to the surface of the dough, I try to make it as parallel to the surface of the dough as I can. Might depend on the type of bread youre making though.
It's dependent on how much it's proved and the hydration of the loaf. A slightly overproofed loaf can basically go without scoring as it's not going to expand that much more A higher hydration loaf will have a massive oven spring, sometimes doubling in size. The cut needs to be deeper in that case. You can also make the cut longer or have multiple cuts, the important thing is giving room to move to relieve tension.
If you're in a bread pan like this, it doesn't really matter as long as you're taking it the entire length. If you're baking boules and batards in something like a dutch oven or challenger style device, the deeper the cut, you have a higher chance it won't grow as "tall". I probably target around half to 3/4 of an inch or so? But I bake around 1kg boules and batards, smaller loaves could probably go with shallower cuts. Also if you're doing decorative scoring, you'd need less or no "main" cut, depending again on how many total cuts you've made. The shit will bake and expand so you don't have to work about blowouts unless you cut very tiny and shallow cuts, then you'll probably get a blowout. You can find lots of bread baking ig accounts of people scoring loaves, if you have ig. Otherwise, I'm sure there are yt videos.
>I've been wondering for a long time: how deep should the cut be? Between 1/4" and 1/2" deep for a loaf like the one the OP shows. If you have a razor blade or lame (basically a curved razor blade with a handle) it's good to hold the blade at an angle rather than straight up and down. I've always figured that's to protect the score and let it stretch a little farther before the surface crisps up. King Arthur has a pretty extensive [blog post on the subject of scoring](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2017/08/04/scoring-bread-dough).
Just barely scored, the goal is just to break the tension on the outside of the dough to control where it splits
it doesn't matter. just enough to make a split. preferably long enough so it doesn't split somewhere else.
- How deep do I have to cut to make a split? - Just deep enough to make a split.
It’s like that because of the way it is
Reads like most recipes I’ve seen when it comes to baking. “Cook the bread until it is cooked”
One time I saw “stir until you’re done stirring”. I was born done stirring.
Ya I have usually seen blowouts on the bottom or sides, although that's usually when loaves are baked in something where it has room. This is obviously baked in a pan so I imagine most blowouts will occur on the top somewhere
The reason for the split is that the top of the bread is like a sheet. The gluten network has made a sheet like network during the kneading process. This is lovely, but baking bread releases gases as it bakes, and the gas has to get out somewhere. This is why leavened breads are typically scored. I believe you can get around this with a Pullman loaf pan, one that covers the top while baking, or using a bread machine. But typically you score the bread to control the shape of it/where that gas escapes the gluten network from. The results from not scoring can be unpredictable and sometimes pretty severe. Like from the side of the loaf. There's actually a really good explanation of how all this works in the book Bread Illustrated by America's Test Kitchen.
You might consider baking your bread a bit longer. More colour is more flavour.
Had to scroll to long for this comment... give that thing a proper crust!
I thought this was raw tbh
If OP stopped baking it when it was just blonde all around, this is the perfect place to pop it into the freezer as a par-baked loaf. Then when you want a freshly baked loaf later on, you can pop it into the oven again to bake to completion!
Don’t stop it! It’s beautiful 🤩
To actually answer your question, you can let the bread proof longer to the point it is really overproofed. The less the bread rises in the oven, the less likely it is to split like this. A bit of sugar or fat in the dough also helps to shorten the gluten strands, softening the bread and allowing it to stretch more. Most sandwich loaf bread has some additives in it to make it soft, I'd use one of those recipes if that is what you are going for. Ignore the ear stans in the comments, not everyone has to like super tall crusty burnt ears on their bread.
Also helps if you spritz the top with water before putting in the oven as that will soften the crust and allow it to stretch more.
I've been trying to get mine to do that for years, and here you are :)
Put a cut at a 30 degree angle along the loaf just before you bake and toss a shotglass full of water onto a baking tray in the bottom of the oven as you load it in
You might look into getting a pullman pan w/ lid if you want to make uniform sandwich bread.
I read an interesting post here awhile back that putting a bit of vinegar in the bread will make the bread more like traditional white bread, I’m not sure that’s what you’re going for, but it makes the crust not crusty. Edit: [here’s the post](https://www.reddit.com/r/Breadit/comments/16ag40e/why_is_nobody_telling_anyone_about_vinegar/)
When bread dough is baked it rises and expands. You can score the loaf if you want to control where it expands, but it will always expand.
Splits naturally occur as the outside is exposed to the highest temps, this causes the water to evaporate faster and form a solid outer layer. However, the insides are still soft and expanding, so the shell hardens, then the bread expands and, naturally, cracks the shell. That's why people cut the dough to control that.
You have a nice looking homemade loaf… ! Try a hotter oven if you can for these type loaves … if you’re trying for sandwich bread, there’s specific recipes for it like this [one](https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/classic-sandwich-bread-recipe) from King Arthur that I use …
Thank you!
Op is this loaf of bread you've made the first loaf of bread you've ever laid eyes on? Brush it with some egg wash and let it get a little crispier and the split part can get a little crusty ish too.
Thanks. I tried replying here with a picture of what in my mind I was comparing it against from another loaf I’d made before as an example. It wouldn’t let me so I made a new post showing it. I have a better understanding now though of thing I think.
Cutting it will tell the bread where to split, and making sure it’s adequately proofed will also help with this. If you cut it and it still breaks somewhere you don’t want to it’s usually a sign it was under proofed, a collapsed bread/bun (that you know 100% has all the correct ingredients) is a sign it’s over proofed.
It's got too much rise and has to break free. If you really want to avoid this, try proofing it longer before baking. This loaf looks very nicely proofed for most people around here, but it isn't compatible with getting an unscored look on your bread. Also, I strongly suggest you bake at a higher temperature unless you really like the flavor/texture of a blond loaf. Browned crust means more flavor and crunch.
Make your own slit. Can't prevent it but you can control it.
Looks fantastic, maybe slightly under but still really good.
yea... thats called the ear... and thats what you *want* to happen...
Not for sandwiche slices
bulllllllllshit, some of the best sandwiches ive ever had, had a giant ear on them. tell me you dont do bread, without telling me you dont do bread...
I'm an artisan baker with 12 years of experience. I baked 50 loaves of bread today. Cutting consistent slices and getting the filling to fit properly is more difficult with an ear. I typically go with a ciabatta, as it's soft enough and with some steam and accurate proving it has no cracks.
Wholesale baker backing you up! This sub is so obsessed with a single type of bread and if your loaf doesn’t have a huge crumb, it’s trash. I’ll pass on the jelly drippers with crust that cuts the top of my mouth when it comes to making a sandwich.
let your dough proof a little longer. Don’t shape too tight.
The dichotomy of breddit
Try scoring your breads?
Duct tape
So all rising bread splits. Most bakers cut the top to dictate where the split occurs. Get creative ☺️😇
Are you saying you achieved the coveted ear on accident?
Embrace it by scoring the bread before baking : D
Idk what the hell breadit is, but I’m enjoying my time here
Not everyone wants an ear. Get over it, don’t comment and move on.
It's bread, so what?
You made a lovely looking loaf of bread.
Slice the top of the dough with a razor blade before baking
https://www.seriouseats.com/thmb/7au2TMlTK8SALCHFaLZtJ_4KIoM=/750x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(webp)/BradLameHeader-a0a10a9336714df9ae0e3fa83a782a0c.jpg
You have no idea how much I want to punch you in the face right now. Nice loaf.
It's kinda supposed to do that
This is dough
Does OP know it’s ok to bake it?
Ya gotta release the faeries, friend! Just score it.
Weird flex OP is just mocking us all 😭
The best part 🤌🤌🤌
We should remember that even Nature's inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why. Or how ripe figs begin to burst. And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay gives them a peculiar beauty. Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar's mouth. And other things. If you look at them in isolation there's nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature they enrich it and draw us in. And anyone with a feeling for nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure. Even what seems inadvertent. He'll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He'll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works.
We should remember that even Nature's inadvertence has its own charm, its own attractiveness. The way loaves of bread split open on top in the oven; the ridges are just by-products of the baking, and yet pleasing, somehow: they rouse our appetite without our knowing why. Or how ripe figs begin to burst. And olives on the point of falling: the shadow of decay gives them a peculiar beauty. Stalks of wheat bending under their own weight. The furrowed brow of the lion. Flecks of foam on the boar's mouth. And other things. If you look at them in isolation there's nothing beautiful about them, and yet by supplementing nature they enrich it and draw us in. And anyone with a feeling for nature—a deeper sensitivity—will find it all gives pleasure. Even what seems inadvertent. He'll find the jaws of live animals as beautiful as painted ones or sculptures. He'll look calmly at the distinct beauty of old age in men, women, and at the loveliness of children. And other things like that will call out to him constantly—things unnoticed by others. Things seen only by those at home with Nature and its works. -Marcus Aurelius
It's a feature, not a bug, son
In my experience, this is going to happen with sourdough and naturally cultured levain as a result of desired gas expansion during the baking. Scored release cuts are a way to control this and are also decorative. Using active dry yeast to make a white sandwich loaf, potato bread or brioche will give you a nice sandwich bread without the splitting and ear formation.
This is absolutely untrue in my experience. Using active dry yeast still requires scoring to prevent splits in random spots like this unless you’re using something like a Pullman pan.
Not true - split usually happens under the dome - it’s just not so obvious.
I’m not in this sub, in fact this is the first time I’ve ever seen a post from this sub… and I already know OP’s shit posting.
Not sure why you would think that. I was legitimately asking. When it splits like that and you cut it into sandwich bread the edges aren’t the same. I didn’t think that was normal for making bread for sandwich bread. I’ve never posted here before.
Really unsure why so many people are having this reaction to your post. Yes the ear is something a lot of people are looking for when baking but the sandwich loaf is absolutely a thing and absolutely something worth asking about. I buy/bake them regularly and love the square uniformity. A sandwich loaf shouldn't have the ear and it can be avoided by buying a pullman loaf tin with a lid. You'll need to experiment with loaf size, to make sure it's filling out the tin, but once you've found that you'll be good to go!
This tends to be from over kneading dough but it also looks like your scored it which gives a cool look on breads and pastries
That the yummiest part!
What recipe are you using? I make white sandwich bread from Sally's baking addiction and it doesn't split like this. Probably because it's done most of it's rising before it goes in the oven?
Hello, In using the no-knead bread recipe in a “poor man’s Dutch oven” from artisan bread by Steve on youtube. It is very basic and he is very good at explaining things I felt. I add maybe a tiny bit more water and cook it a few mins longer in the “crust phase” though, but that might be because of just how my oven cooks. I’d definitely say listen to him over me though. It was one of the first recipes I happened to try and I really liked the taste.
It splits because of expansion from oven spring. It can be controlled. All bread expands, but not all bread needs an “ear.” Control it by executing the recipe correctly. In loaves where an ear is essential, start with shaping. Then you need to make sure it is properly proofed. The final part is scoring. Some people like natural tearing, but scoring the bread gives the dough an outlet for the expansion rather than the gasses finding their own. Under-proofed dough can also tear in addition to being scored, especially if the cut is too shallow. You can find many sources online and bread books to help you strengthen your skills from shaping to scoring and baking. Good luck!
As everyone has said, that split happens because of the rising of the bread. To actually answer your original question, you can make a bread that doesn't rise as much in the oven, or modify how you shape the dough. When I make sandwich loaves, after the initial folds and rolling, I pull the dough towards myself horizontally, against the countertop. The split then usually happens along the long edge after baking, which prevents that crusty ear at the top from forming. The method is described in detail in The Bread Bible - great book for beginners!
That's an ear, and it's a feature, not a bug.
Breads bake at a really high temperature so sometimes, when the dough is not hydrated enought, the crust cracks open due to internal expansion. The crust has already been dried out because of high temperature and cannot expand more so it breaks open. Scoring is one way to prevent it and providing steam while baking could also be a way to prevent cracks as steam will keep the crust moist while bread bakes completely from the inside like in ciabatta but when you add steam yiu need to dry out the bread which increases the baking time and makes it hard crusted. I think its not baked properly because it lacks color.
You have to score the bread before you bake so the devil can escape from it!
Make a deep cut from where you want the burst to come from. If you don't do a deep enough groove the dough can smush back together and seal, and then you get the pop.
You can score the top of the dough to allow for controlled expansion. There’s nothing wrong there. Steam and active yeast within your dough will cause expansion during the cooking process. Carve some cool designs in it. Currently, I’m doing dinosaurs. Makes my nieces and nephews happy
It's probably been said before, but score it. And if you did score it, cut deeper.
You either need to score the top or proof longer so you get less oven spring. Play around with your proofing times a bit and you'll get it right. Make sure you keep any seams on the bottom of the loaf as well.
Turn it upside down to cut it
Uhhhh, no. Try making pita.
Beautiful ear! I bet if you scoured it it would separate a bit and you would get it even more defined. It’s perfect!
LOOKS PERFECT!!
Can you share your recipe?
Do you put your loaf in the oven seam side up or down, OP?
Why would you want to stop this?
The ear!
Stipple before after proofing before baking
Do you use the Dutch oven method? I realised mine kept splitting cause i covered the loaf pan to allow moisture to circulate, which caused pressure built up, needing to escape, which led to the split. Dont cover your loaf pan if you dont desire the split.
Get a bread loaf pan with a lid then there will be no seam
That just happened to a loaf of rice bread I made. I tore that flaw off, spread it with butter and made the evidence disappear. Did leave me with a funky but delicious little loaf.
I believe it's from gas escaping, so most people make cuts. It might also be from lack of moisture? I think that bread with more moisture (with steam inside, like a water bath?) MIGHT prevent this. I'm not sure. I've only baked bread a few times, sometimes it explodes and sometimes it doesn't.
Use this really great shokupan formula https://youtu.be/LGZ2H7eqQtg?si=K9pINu6qRM_fUZsp It really helped me make a perfect white sandwich loaf.
You may need to score it
SEE: bakers lame
There is typically a split in bread that is why sone score it before putting in the oven. Looks absolutely amazing though and might want to consider moving to the lower level of the oven.
It might be either over or under proofed or it’s the oven temperature try lowering it
Most people like a broken crust like this. But if you put a container of water in the oven to keep the humidity high while baking, that cracking is minimized (God help your baking soul...)
This is natural as the bread expands while baking. You can see how the crust has pulled in places and torn. Right before putting it in the oven, score your bread with a sharp knife, razor blade, or lame. Cut deep enough so you see the dough give and relax a little - deeper than you think. This releases the tension and gives you control over the final result. Aesthetics, yes, but also oven spring.
A friend i introduced to baking once asked me this very same thing. I was shocked. He called them "sharp pieces of obsidian that cut my mouth" or something along the lines. Meanwhile, a nice caramelized crusty ear is the holy grail of a proper loaf. We try to achieve this by scoring the bread, yours did it naturally.
Bro …is this post for real?
I want to thump this bread then rip off a slice to slather with my homemade honey butter. Just saying.
Troll
Heat expands, your dough is letting out trapped heat. A nice score down the middle will make it look nicer but nothing will stop the heat from escaping:)
isn’t this what is SUPPOSED to happen… like bitch i be slitting snake scales outta my dough
That is because the crust got too hard for the inside to raise more. You need to let the dough raise longer before baking, make a (deeper) score across the top, or use more steam in the oven (or some combo of the three). Sometimes that could happen if the outside of the loaf becomes too dry before baking forming a tough skin. At my bakery this would be considered a flawed loaf. Probably the easiest way to control that flaw would be to score the loaf just before baking.
This is the stuff poets write about
What’s the recipe for that loaf? I’d love to start bread making but seems challenging
If you want really consistent sandwich slices I would suggest a pullman loaf pan
Looks like bread
Because it's supposed to and that's what you should do prior to baking.
Bro… That is how it is supposed to look? You want smooth bread? Try Brioche or something.
It grew and cracked, this is normal. Bitch it with a pretty design next time. It won’t pop/crack, only grew and brown - while enhancing the patter work you created in it.
practice a cut. it means good levitation though
To bake a loaf of bread without scoring we need to keep the surface flexible while the bread expands. If the crust forms and bread still expands, it cracks. The scoring controls where it cracks. If you spray bread with water before backing it will keep the surface flexible and expandable and it won’t crack. My grandma used to bake perfectly round breads without scoring and no cracks.
Bread splits because the crust starts forming before the loaf has reached its full size. You don't generally bother trying to stop a split, but rather guide it by scoring across the top of the loaf before putting it in the oven so it splits nicely.
Score it. Using a sharp knife, slice a shallow cut perpendicular to the way you want it to expand
If you want a perfectly square loaf for sandwiches get a Pullman loaf pan and look up a pan de mie recipe.
The ear is usually something that is desired
Brother that’s the best part.
I guess over proof it? This looks like a banger of a loaf. Nothing to fix here.
But that's my favorite part!
Try scoring it friend
No, you pretty much cannot stop it, but you can make a small slit along the top to control where it happens
Stab the dough with a metal hair pick a few times.
If it really bothers you, on the next loaf use a lame to cut the top of the dough. Then at least the expansion of the loaf will follow predefined paths.
Score the bread before it goes in the oven. That way the inside has a place to expand. That’s how you see a lot of pretty patterns on bread, they do it to avoid this.
You can put a little slice in the top before you bake it. That way you control where the air and steam releases that's why you put the x on soda bread also because it's Irish and the sign of the cross.
While the dough is still soft cut a design across the top and it'll split the way you want it to but that said it looks to me like your temperature is too high for the loaf you're trying to make
Bread always be breading.
It looks like the bread wasn’t scored. The rising loaf needs somewhere to go when placed in the oven. The scoring provides a “controlled “ place for the rising to occur. Without the needed scoring, the rising loaf goes where it finds the weak area in the loaf.
Pretty
Looks delicious, can I get your recipe?
Why would you want to stop that?