Can I Handle the Heat?

Tuesday night was my second at Amy's Bread in Chelsea Market. Once upon a long-ago spring, when I worked an overnight shift there as a sort of audition for future employment, I spent most of my bread-contact time (that is, when I wasn't helping to pack loaves for delivery to the 200+ restaurants and markets Amy's supplies) in the shaping room, which I loved. Even in those few hours, I learned a lot and got considerably better at what I was doing, thanks to the willingness of the other employees to advise me. By the time I left, I was a far better ciabattista and baguetter than I had been upon my arrival--skills I've probably totally lost at this point. But the evening shift is oven time: scoring loaves and loading and unloading the deck oven. It is h-o-t in there; I learned my lesson after my first shift in t-shirt and jeans and came this time in tank and shorts, and replacing my sneakers with the beguiling socks-and-Crocs combo for maximum air circulation around the ol' tootsies (speaking of which, my baker bud Tony, who works with me at Sweet Farm but is also talking with the Colette Peters about working for her, told me about some new Crocs just for us food-service kids; I may have to invest).

The thing about scoring is that I think it's really cool, but I'm not all that good at it yet. If I were a real pro, I'd probably get an actual lame instead of the makeshift razor-blade-with-wooden-coffee-stirrer-stuck-through that I've been using. On the subject, does anyone know whether this tool is actually lame or lamé--that is, pronounced /lam/ or /ləmei/ (my ESL teacher trainers would be so proud...and if, by the way, you ever have need to use the phonemic alphabet and don't--as I don't--have it on your computer keyboard, just visit this site)? The guys at Amy's say "lahm," but in my online travels, I've seen lamé several times. Ant any rate, when I score, I often catch the dough on the blade, probably due to a combination of the angle at which I am holding it and the fact that I'm not moving it decisively enough. The first guy I assisted was good-humored and understanding of my mostly undeveloped scoring talents, but he was out this Tuesday, and so I spend some of the evening working with my manager. I admitted that I wasn't all that great at scoring and he said: "Well, it has to be good. Because the mixer came in at 5 am, and if you're not scoring properly, then all his work is basically ruined." Awesome. Welcome aboard.