Straight or Curved Blade? Choosing the Best Bread Lame

A bread lame is a razor blade on a handle, and it does one job: cut a quick, shallow slash in proofed dough just before it goes into the oven. That slash controls where the loaf opens as it expands in the heat. Without it, a loaf tears wherever its skin is weakest. With it, you get the long ear on a sourdough boule, the neat split down the middle of a bolillo, and the even diagonal cuts on a baguette.

This guide names seven lames worth buying from Baker of Seville, Breadsmart, Breadtopia, Saint Germain Bakery, Bread Bosses, Fox Run and Scoritech, and explains straight versus curved blades, how blades are changed and covered, and which lame suits sourdough, baguettes or a busy bakery bench.

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Quick verdict: which bread lame to buy

Five bread lames side by side

Our five standout lames, one for each kind of baker. All seven are reviewed in full below.

Product images from Amazon. Blade counts, materials and covers are as each maker or listing states them.

Our picks for the best bread lame

The seven lames below include a convertible stainless lame, a dual-ended plastic one, classic curved and stick-style lames with wooden handles, and a disposable bakery tool. Each review gives the maker’s or listing’s details, who the lame suits and one honest reason to skip it. Most take standard double-edged razor blades, so spares are easy to find.

Straight or curved: the best type of bread lame

Curved blade

A blade bowed into a curve cuts at a low angle under the skin of the dough. That creates the flap that lifts in the oven into an ear, the raised ridge on a sourdough loaf. America’s Test Kitchen found the curved Breadtopia lame made well-pronounced ears but was harder to direct for detailed scoring.

Straight blade

A flat blade cuts more vertically and is easier to steer, which makes it better for patterns, leaves and wheat-stalk designs, and for the even, upright cuts on a bolillo. ATK’s testers found straight-bladed lames handled simple and complex scoring well, with slightly less dramatic ears.

Convertible and dual-ended

The Baker of Seville and the Breadsmart give you both shapes, which is the simplest answer if you bake both boules and patterned loaves.

How to choose a bread lame

Blade shape. Curved for bold ears on sourdough; straight for patterns and upright cuts; both if you bake a mix.

Blade changing. ATK rated how easily and safely blades go on and off. A screw clamp or a slide-on strip is simpler than taking a handle apart.

Blade cover. A razor blade loose in a drawer is a hazard. A cap, pouch, box or case should come with it.

Grip. You should be able to hold it securely at a low angle and in different positions. Left-handed bakers should avoid one-sided curved designs.

Replacement blades. Most lames take standard double-edged razor blades; check before you buy, and change blades as soon as they drag rather than cut.

Bolillos, teleras and sourdough: what scoring does

The bolillo, Mexico’s everyday crusty roll, gets one long cut down its length before baking, which lets it open into its familiar split shape. The telera, the flatter roll used for tortas, is pressed with two lines instead of cut. A lame makes the bolillo cut quick and clean without dragging the soft, proofed dough, and the same tool scores sourdough loaves and baguettes.

Scoring is the last step of a process that starts with mixing; a dough whisk brings bread dough together quickly, and a kitchen scale keeps every roll the same size. Rolls bake on a sheet pan; our guides to baking pan sets and baking pan liners cover those. A covered pot gives a sourdough boule its crust; see our guide to the best Dutch oven for bread.

How we picked these seven lames

We looked at lames from Baker of Seville, Breadsmart, Breadtopia, Saint Germain Bakery, Bread Bosses, Fox Run, Scandibake, Scoritech, Matfer Bourgeat, Frieling, Orblue and many seller brands, and kept only those showing as in stock on Amazon when we checked. Details come from the Amazon listings and, for Breadtopia, the maker’s own product page.

We read America’s Test Kitchen’s bread lame review and cite it above. We did not read Wirecutter or Serious Eats for this guide. We have not used these lames for this guide.

Some lames ATK recommended are not here because we could not find them in stock on Amazon: the Wire Monkey UFO, Zatoba, Mure et Peyrot and San Francisco Baking Institute lames. Frieling’s lame showed limited stock, and we left out the many near-identical magnetic and UFO-style lames from seller brands.

Bread lame questions, answered

What bread lame does America’s Test Kitchen recommend?

ATK’s winner is the Baker of Seville Artisan Bread Lame. It rated the Breadsmart dual-ended lame Highly Recommended and the Breadtopia lame Recommended.

What is the best lame for sourdough?

A curved blade gives the most pronounced ear on a sourdough loaf; the Breadtopia did that well in ATK’s review. The Baker of Seville can be set up curved as well.

Straight or curved lame: which is better?

Curved for ears, straight for patterns and upright cuts. If you bake both, choose a convertible or dual-ended lame.

Can you use a razor blade without a lame?

You can, but a handle keeps your fingers away from the dough and the blade, and makes the angle easier to control.

How often should you change a lame blade?

When it starts to drag or tear the dough. Double-edged blades have four corners to use before you replace them.

Our final pick for scoring bread

Buy the Baker of Seville for one lame that does everything, or the Breadsmart for both blade shapes in a lighter tool. Choose the Breadtopia if most of what you bake is sourdough with a single bold ear.

Related guide: Bread lame alternative.

If you would rather leave the bread to someone else tonight, see the menu or call to order.