Easy Bread Recipe for Scoring

Name: Easy Bread Recipe for Scoring
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 140 min
Yield: 1 round loaf (8 slices) servings
Cuisine: International
Ingredients: 500g strong white bread flour; 10g fine sea salt; 7g instant dried yeast; 325g lukewarm water (about 35°C); Extra flour for dusting

ByWei Ling

Feb 24, 20262 min

4.2(106)

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

35 minutes (plus 2 hour proofing time)

Total Time

140 min

Servings

1 round loaf (8 slices)

Difficulty

easy

Easy homemade bread recipe perfect for practising decorative scoring. Simple ingredients, crisp crust, soft crumb, beginner-friendly.

4.2 (106 ratings)

This is an easy homemade bread recipe you can make with basic ingredients and simple techniques. The dough is forgiving and reliable, making it ideal for beginners. It also provides a good surface for practising bread scoring, allowing you to experiment with different patterns while achieving a crisp crust and soft crumb.

If you are interested in how decorative scoring developed over time, you may also enjoy my article on History of Bread Scoring: Medieval Origins to Modern Breads

Round homemade bread loaf with cross scoring and crisp golden crust on wooden table with bread lame in background — A simple homemade bread loaf with cross scoring, baked until golden with a well-developed crust and natural bloom.

Recommended Tools

You do not need specialised equipment, but these tools can improve your results:

Bread Lame - A sharp blade allows for clean, controlled scoring, helping the dough expand properly in the oven and creating defined patterns. You can use a new plain razor blade if you’re comfortable handling it or you can use a Saint Germain Bread Lame for Dough Scoring. I recently came across this Magnetic Bread Lame, a professional dough scoring tool with extractable blade which you might like too.

Bread Lame Blades Refill - Fresh, sharp blades ensure precise cuts and reduce dragging, which can distort your design and affect oven spring.

Bench Scraper - A bench scraper makes handling and shaping sticky dough easier, helping you maintain surface tension when forming the loaf. I use this Curved Bowl Scraper when handling bread dough.

Easy Bread Recipe for Scoring

Prep: 20 minutesCook: 35 minutes (plus 2 hour proofing time)Serves: 1 round loaf (8 slices)easy

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour
10g fine sea salt
7g instant dried yeast
325g lukewarm water (about 35°C)
Extra flour for dusting

Instructions

1
Prepare the workplace.
2
Scale and collect all the ingredients and equipment.
3
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and yeast.
4
Pour in the lukewarm water and mix until a rough dough forms.
5
Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
6
Shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and leave to rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
7
Punch the air out (fist down once in the middle) and pull the dough in from the sides on itself.
8
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into a ball.
9
Place seam-side down on parchment paper or silicone mat. Cover and proof for an hour or until doubled in size.
10
Preheat the oven to 220°C with a baking tray. Preheating the tray encourages stronger oven spring and clearer bloom along the scoring.
11
Lightly dust the dough with flour. Using a sharp lame or razor blade, score 0.5 to 1cm deep in your chosen design.
12
Place a small oven proof plate of hot water at the bottom of the oven to create steam.
13
Carefully transfer to pre-heated baking tray. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Carefully tap the loaf and it should sound hollow. If not, let it bake for another 3 minutes before checking again.
14
Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.