Grigne / Ear

The grigne (commonly called the ear in English-speaking bakery culture) is the pronounced, wing-like flap of crust that rises above the surface of a scored loaf during baking. It is both a structural outcome and a visual indicator of scoring skill and dough condition. When a lame or blade scores the dough at a shallow angle — typically 10–30 degrees from horizontal rather than perpendicular to the surface — the top edge of the cut is partially freed from the surrounding crust. As oven spring forces the loaf to expand rapidly, gas pressure escapes preferentially through the score line and the freed upper flap is pushed outward and upward, eventually setting into the distinctive raised ridge. A pronounced ear signifies correct proofing (the gas cells are intact and the gluten still extensible), a sharp cut (a dull blade drags and compresses the dough rather than slicing cleanly), adequate steam (the crust stays moist long enough for the flap to rise before hardening), and high oven heat. The underside of the ear where it peels away from the loaf body often shows a pale, moist, glossy surface that contrasts with the deeply caramelized outer crust — this contrast is considered aesthetically ideal in French boulangerie tradition. Absence of an ear usually signals overproofing (gluten too weak to hold the expansion against the cut edge), a vertical score cut (the flap has nothing to peel away from), or insufficient heat.

“The baker angled the lame at fifteen degrees and drew a single arc down the batard; forty minutes later the loaf emerged with a dramatic ear curling away from the crust.”

• glossaryOven Spring
• TechniqueScoring Bread
• glossaryPoke Test

1. 1.Tartine Bread — Chad Robertson (Chronicle Books, 2010)
2. 2.The Perfect Loaf — Maurizio Leo (Clarkson Potter, 2022)
3. 3.Bread Science — Emily Buehler (Two Blue Books, 2006)

Confidence: high