How to Score Sourdough Bread: 5 Patterns From a Simple Ear to a Snowflake

Learning how to score sourdough bread isn’t complicated once you know the handful of things that actually matter. Get those down, and you can go from a basic slash to full decorative sourdough scoring patterns like wheat stalks and snowflakes. This Complete Guide to Scoring Sourdough walks you through the simple details of the process, the tools you need, and the mistakes that trip up most beginners.

Use our Easy Sourdough Bread recipe or your favorite sourdough bread recipe for any of these scoring pattern.

Why You Need to Score Your Sourdough at All

When sourdough hits a hot oven, the gases trapped inside expand fast. That expansion is what gives you oven spring, the dramatic rise that happens in the first several minutes of baking. If you don’t give the dough a deliberate place to open up, it’s going to find its own weak spot, and that usually means a random blowout instead of the clean look you wanted.

Scoring lets you:

• Control exactly where the loaf expands
• Encourage a strong, intentional oven spring
• Create that classic ear or decorative opening
• Release pressure in a controlled way
• Add a design to your finished loaf

Supplies You’ll Need

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• Bread lame or a razor blade. I use these two lames: a circular lame and a long lame.
• White rice flour
• A misting spray bottle
• Kitchen twine (optional, for symmetrical designs)
• A toothpick or skewer (optional, for sketching designs first)
• Cookie cutters or anything circular (optional, for scalloped patterns)

Choosing a Lame

I use two different lames depending on what I’m scoring, and they’re built for different jobs.

The handled lame, with the long wooden grip and the curved blade holder, is built more like a small knife. That extra length gives you leverage, which makes it a better choice for a single confident expansion score, especially on a larger loaf where you want one long, even line from end to end. It’s a little less nimble for detail work, but for a simple 45 degree slash or a straight center cut, the added control from the handle can actually make for a cleaner line. The larger one would be great for a ‘7-min score’ (detailed below) so that you don’t have to reach in as far.

The round wooden lame is the one you’ve seen in most of the photos throughout this guide. It’s small, disc shaped, and sits right in your fingertips, which gives you a lot of control for anything decorative. Because you’re gripping it close to the blade, it’s easier to make the small, precise cuts that go into designs like the vine or the snowflake. The tradeoff is that it takes a bit more hand strength and a steadier touch, since there’s no leverage working for you.

You can also cut the blade of the smaller lame, at an inward angle, on each side to create more of a point to work with.  It’s not necessary, just a preference.

Either one will get you a clean cut when you’re just starting out. I’d reach for the round lame for decorative scoring and the handled one when I want a single, confident expansion cut on a bigger loaf.

Getting Your Dough Ready to Score

Make sure it’s properly proofed. Underproofed dough tends to expand aggressively and can tear in ways you don’t want. Overproofed dough is fragile and often doesn’t have the strength left for a good oven spring, no matter how nice your scoring is.

Keep it cold. If your recipe has a cold overnight proof, score straight from the fridge. If not, pop the dough in the freezer for about 30 minutes first. Firmer dough is so much easier to cut cleanly, especially if you’re attempting anything decorative.

Prep the surface. Lightly mist the top of the dough with water, then sprinkle white rice flour over it and brush or wipe it smooth so you’re left with an even white layer. I like rice flour here specifically because it won’t scorch at high oven temps the way regular flour can, and it stays visible instead of dissolving into the mist, which gives your design that nice contrast.

Use a sharp blade. A dull blade drags instead of slicing clean through, which is where a lot of ragged cuts come from. A fresh razor or lame lets you cut quickly without pressing down hard on the loaf.

Commit to the cut. Hesitating partway through is one of the most common reasons scores drag or tear. Make your cuts in one confident, fluid motion rather than sawing back and forth.

A Basic Score, Step by Step

Here’s what the single slash at 45 degrees looks like in practice, from proofed dough to finished loaf.

The Two Types of Scoring

1. Expansion Scores

This is the functional cut, the one that actually gives your dough somewhere to go during oven spring. It can be a straight line, an X, a curve, large scallops, whatever you like, but it needs to be there.

A few things that matter with expansion scores:

• The angle changes the result. A 90 degree cut splits the loaf down the middle with no ear or flap. A 45 degree cut is what creates that classic ear.
• Depth matters too. About half an inch is right. Any deeper and you risk deflating the whole structure.
• This cut typically happens right before the loaf goes into the oven.
• The line should run end to end across the loaf, in one quick, fluid motion.

A few classic expansion score styles to try:

• A single slash at 45 degrees along the side, which gives you one ear and is the easiest place to start if scoring is new to you
• A single slash down the center, angled for an ear or straight for a clean split
• An X or cross, which is simple and gives a round boule a rustic look
• An S or spiral score
• A French score, which is two parallel lines
• A square score, cut evenly on all sides
• A scalloped score, which you can do freehand or trace using something circular like a mason jar lid or biscuit cutter, overlapping the circles slightly and erasing the extra lines in the flour as you go

2. Decorative Scores

These are purely for looks. They’re shallow, around an eighth of an inch and never more than a quarter inch deep. Anything shallower than a quarter inch will heal and seal shut as it bakes, which is exactly what lets the design show without cracking apart during expansion.

Some decorative designs worth trying:

• Wheat stalk: Small overlapping cuts built along a central line to mimic a stalk of wheat
• Cross hatch or diamond cross hatch: A grid of parallel diagonal cuts spaced about a half inch to an inch apart, then a second set cut across the first to form small diamonds
• Leaves or vines: A central stem with small angled cuts branching off, kept shallow for a delicate look
• Snowflake: Use kitchen twine to divide the loaf into six equal wedges, meeting in the center like spokes on a wheel. Then work outward from the center in each wedge with small angled cuts, keeping the spacing even and mirroring the pattern across all six sections. A toothpick or skewer can add extra detail by poking a dotted line around the outer edge, with the expansion score cut just beneath it at an angle.

A Long Loaf with Vines, Step by Step

Here’s the vine design in action on a long loaf, alongside a side expansion cut instead of a top slash.

A Decorative Loaf with a Scalloped Cut, Step by Step

This one combines a scalloped expansion score with a leaf vine design above it.

The 90 Degree Center Cut (No Ear), Step by Step

This is the simplest expansion score there is: one straight line down the center at 90 degrees. Since it’s not angled, it splits the loaf clean down the middle instead of forming an ear.

A Snowflake Design, Step by Step

This is the most involved decorative design in this guide, but it breaks down into simple, repeatable steps.

Tips for Better Scoring

• Score right after cold fermentation if you can, or freeze the dough for 30 minutes beforehand if you’re not doing a cold proof
• Always use a fresh blade
• Mist lightly with water so the rice flour has something to stick to
• Keep your first few designs simple
• Move quickly and decisively, cutting in one motion rather than sawing
• Sketch designs into the flour with a toothpick first. If you make a mistake, you can wipe the line away and try again
• Practice complicated designs on paper before you commit to the dough

Common Mistakes to Watch For

• Scoring dough that isn’t cold enough, which causes sticking and tearing
• Cutting too deep or too shallow
• Hesitating mid cut, which makes the blade drag
• Using a dull blade
• Any cut at less than 45 degrees will still form an ear, but the flap tends to collapse back onto itself instead of standing up
• If your loaf spreads instead of rising, that’s usually about dough strength, hydration, or proofing rather than the score itself
• A score that barely opens can point to the same culprits: proofing, dough strength, hydration, or how the blade was angled
• If your design disappears in the bake, the cuts were probably too shallow, the dough spread too much, or there wasn’t enough flour contrast to begin with
• Random blowouts usually mean the loaf found a weaker spot than the one you intentionally scored

When Should You Score?

For most loaves, you’ll score right before baking, once the final proof is done. If you’re using a cold proof method, scoring straight from the fridge tends to work best since the firmer dough is easier to cut cleanly and less likely to drag.

The 7-Minute Score Method

This is a variation worth trying if your loaf tends to spread before the score has a chance to open, or if you want more control over decorative cuts. Instead of doing your expansion score right before baking, you do your decorative scoring ahead of time and skip the deep expansion cut. Bake the loaf in a Dutch oven as usual.

After 5 to 7 minutes of baking, carefully lift the lid and make your expansion score then, a long, deep cut at a 45 degree angle. Replace the lid and continue baking normally.

The timing matters here. By this point the dough has already started to expand, so you can actually see where the tension is building before you cut, which gives you a more controlled and dramatic ear. Wait too long, though, and the crust starts to set and can deflate. Too early and you haven’t gained much advantage over scoring at the start.

Other Sourdough Recipes

Our sourdough recipes are divided between sourdough discard recipes and active starter sourdough recipes. We also have a recipe and tutorial for making your sourdough starter.

Sourdough Discard Recipes

Sourdough discard is the portion of sourdough starter removed during feeding to maintain a healthy and active culture. When you feed a sourdough starter, you typically add fresh flour and water, but before doing so, a portion of the existing starter is discarded to prevent it from growing too large and to maintain the right balance of yeast and bacteria.

• Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough
• Sourdough Discard Cheese Crackers
• Sourdough Discard Tortillas
• Fluffy Sourdough Discard Pancakes
• Sourdough Discard Banana Muffins
• Sourdough Discard Waffles

Sourdough Recipes

• Sourdough English Muffin Bread
• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Easy Sourdough Flatbread
• Sourdough Focaccia

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