Bread Baking - Score and Garnish

Adding a glaze or topping to the top of your loaf can turn a delicious loaf into bread almost too beautiful to eat! Glazes improve not only the appearance but also the texture of the crust and contribute to the flavor.

Here is a few options to consider. The kind of topping you choose will depend upon the type and style of bread.


1. If I do nothing else, I usually brush some butter on the top of the loaves as soon as they are pulled from the oven. This softens the crust and gives it a glossy appearance. I usually have part of a stick of butter in the fridge, that I can grab and rub on. (Don't do this if you are making an artisan bread that you want to have a hard crispy crust.)


2. Before baking in the oven, I sometimes brush the loaves with milk to keep the loaf softer.


3. Beating an egg, egg white, or egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brushing on the crust before baking will give a shiny crust. For lighter crust, use the egg white and for a darker crust, use the yolk.



4. Choose a topping to accent the type of bread, such as rolled oats on oatmeal bread, cinnamon sugar sprinkled on cinnamon raisin bread, dried herbs on a cheese bread.



5. Egg glazes or an egg wash (#3) will serve as "glue" to hold on toppings such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds, herbs, coarse salt, or oatmeal. My all time favorite is a mixture of poppy and sesame seeds.


6. Slashing or scoring a loaf can also add to it's appearance. Use a sharp serrated knife or razor blade. Quickly slit the dough, making an X or other marking. Aim for a ½ inch indention at a 50 degree angle. Don't push down into the loaf and deflate it. Loaves may be slit before rising or immediately before placing in the oven, depending on the desired effect. Usually soft light breads are slashed before raising and denser artisan breads are slashed right before baking.


7. Scoring a loaf can also help avoid the "blow out" effect when loaves rise in the oven in strange formations. I'm not sure why this happens but usually it occurs when I didn't allow the loaf to raise long enough before putting it in the oven. Slitting the top seems to control the expansion in the bread. I especially find it helpful in sourdough bread and artisan breads that have a big burst of oven rise.


Glazing and adding toppings, while taking little time, can add creative touch to your bread baking. Notice in the included photos how much the toppings and slashing adds to the appearance of these loaves.

Did I miss your favorite topping or scoring technique?