I am a digital marketing professional by day, and AB testing is a big part of my work.
For Christmas, I found myself receiving 2 new Lames! So, I thought this might be the perfect chance to mix business with pleasure… I’m AB testing these to see which one I like best / which one gave me the best results.
To be as fair as possible, I used dough from the same batch, baked at the same time, each in a Krustic dutch oven.
LAMES
A) $14 Mrs. Andersons (left – round loaf)
B) $40 Zatoba (right – oval loaf)
RESULTS
I preferred the Zatoba. It felt more sturdy, was more comfy to hold, and I had an easier time seeing where the blade was landing. Further, the cuts were more consistent in terms of depth and definition, and the ear was much more pronounced.
The Mrs. Andersons definitely feels cheaper, and I had a harder time feeling how deep I was cutting and where I was cutting.
That said, I’m no master baker. My technique needs a lot of work, but I’ll be using the Zatoba moving forward…
P.S. The bread was delicious.
by WideOpenAutoHub
16 Comments
Its almost like nailing fermentation matters more than how you score 🙂
Beautiful loaves
How does one achieve this oven spring?! Tell me your secrets PLEASE 🙏
For the longest time my lame was a safety razor blade hooked on a disposable bamboo chopstick. Worked well and best yet it was free. Then I got gifted a boule banneton that included the lame similar to the left one in your pic. For some reason or other, I actually still like using the chopstick instead of the real lame. LOL. That lame handle is still in the drawer. Lots of time, I’m so lazy I just use the razor blade without the handle especially since I only need it for a max 30 seconds.
Should have used my method as a control group, just holding the razor blade between your thumb and finger. It has always worked fine for me.
I’ve used both of these (bought the Anderson for myself and got the zatoba last Christmas), and I vastly prefer the zatoba. It feels safer to change the blades, I can set the depth and not worry about it, and the straight blade feels better than the bent one when cutting. Might just be personal preference, and I bet there’s a cheaper option that does the same things, but for me it really made a difference.
What hydration percentage are you working with?
Tl;Dr
“Feels good in the hand” Is the review in a nutshell
I have couple lames that were given to me over the years, but I prefer to use my fingers, which are free, and seem to work just as well.
I did some similar testing between the Anderson and the Goose Lame from Wire Monkey.
In short, I didn’t find a noticeable difference in the quality of the bread or scoring. I just loved using the fancy one because it is aesthetically pleasing. It does the job just as well as a cheap or improvised lame.
I use the lame on the left, the cheap one. They are perfect for simple and easy cuts, for cutting the bread without touching it if you bake a very large bread and for making easy cuts in a large amount of breads if you bake several at the same time.
But for making more accurate, precise cuts, markings and decorations I suggest using something like this:
https://www.rattonpantry.co.uk/products/foricher-bakers-lame-or-dough-bread-scorer?srsltid=AfmBOoplTxvcBNf46IOtn48Sw6M9noYdjiCzW1_sMXRhTvLAfRcSJytj
You can actually also use a medical scalpel. They work equally as good.
I’m still just using a razor held in my fingers 😅
I’m old and although I’m not some adherent to “old school”. I’ve tried many different options when it comes to what holds a blade. You hire new people and train them and they buy or 3d print things and I’m always looking for the better way to do anything. I just don’t like a straight blade, at all… I don’t even know why. Decades of using the “traditional” curved blade is my only answer but I’ve never felt comfortable with anything that isn’t like the one on the left.
Dear lord that oven spring is insane.
Where are these baking dishes from?
Do they have the same blade on them?
But wouldn’t a good AB test be with the same loaves?
They look amazing! But my professor would have given this AB test a D. Maybe a C after a taste….