Bread knives & bakers' lames

A clean score makes all the difference to oven spring and looks. With a baker's lame you score loaves and baguettes precisely before baking – with straight, curved or serrated blades. For slicing the finished loaf you will also find bread knives: classic serrated or sharpened on both sides, with one serrated and one smooth edge.

The choice of bakers' lames is wide: handles in olive, walnut, oak, teak, apple wood, mahogany or zebrano, some handmade, The Grain Lame with an oak, olive or walnut handle, or the folding miniSchoggi lame. Small and large straight lames, models with interchangeable blades, a baguette knife with blade guard and a dough knife for precise cuts complete the range. To keep your blade sharp, there are replacement blades in packs of 10, baguette blades (also serrated), handles and inserts for wooden lames.

Tips for scoring bread

• Quick and confident: draw the blade through the dough in one swift, confident movement – held upright for round loaves, tilted sideways and shallow for baguettes.
• Cold dough scores better: loaves proved overnight in the fridge can be scored especially cleanly.
• Sharp blade: replace dull blades in good time – a sharp blade does not tear the dough.
• Plan your pattern: several slightly overlapping diagonal cuts for baguettes, a cross or wheat-ear pattern for round loaves.

Frequently asked questions about bread knives and bakers' lames

What is the difference between a bread knife and a baker's lame?

The lame scores raw dough before baking so the loaf opens in a controlled way. The serrated bread knife slices the baked loaf without squashing the crumb.

How deep should I score my bread?

It depends on the loaf: for round and oblong loaves, hold the lame upright and score deep enough for the cuts to open up nicely in the oven without closing again. For baguettes, only nick the skin of the dough with the blade tilted sideways – the flaps lie flat at first and open up during baking.

More tools in our section Bread and bakery.