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13d • 💬 General Discussion
Your sourdough doesn't have an ear. Here's whether it's supposed to.
This comes up all the time, so let’s settle it once and for all 👇
🥖 What Actually Creates an Ear
An ear forms when three things happen together:
✔️ Lean dough (no oil, no honey, minimal enrichment)
✔️ Strong surface tension from shaping
✔️ A low scoring angle, about 30–35°, creating a flap instead of a straight cut
Take any one of those away and the ear disappears.
Not because your scoring is bad. Not because your oven failed. Because the dough wasn’t built for it.
🍞 Here’s Where Most People Miss It
If you’re adding oil, honey, butter, or eggs…you’re making an enriched dough.
And that dough is designed to stretch in every direction during the bake.
That’s not a mistake. That’s exactly what it should do.
Expecting an ear on enriched dough is like expecting focaccia to spring like a baguette. It’s just not how it works.
🔥 The Bottom Line
The ear is a lean-dough result.
If you want it:
✔️ Lean formula
✔️ ~75% hydration or lower
✔️ Strong shaping tension
✔️ 30° scoring angle
That’s the whole recipe.
👀 What are you baking right now, lean or enriched?
Drop it below and I’ll tell you what result to expect.
~Henry ⭐🔥
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Your sourdough doesn't have an ear. Here's whether it's supposed to.
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