This post is dedicated to Eha, a lover of butterflies…

I am so excited to share this new technique with you today! I first saw it on Instagram (check this page) and decided to give it a try. The possibilities are simply endless, of course. Basically, you make a design using wafer paper painted by hand or with a stencil, add that to the shaped, fully proofed dough right before baking, score around it with a razor blade. Isn’t that the coolest thing since….. sliced bread?

You can use any sourdough formula you want, in this particular loaf I re-visited the Ras-El-Hanout of my past, because I love that combination of flavors. Below you see the preparation of the wafer paper and the way I scored it (using my Sonic blade).

I used a stencil and painted the black portion with a food safe pen. Then I sprayed the whole surface with air-brush gold. That has to dry completely, so I advise you to make the wafer paper decoration the day before you intend to bake the bread. Or even several days in advance, it stays perfect, no issues.

My dough had enough moisture for the paper to stick to the surface without problem, if your dough is too dry, spray it lightly with water. VERY lightly. After the paper is on the surface, dust the surface of the loaf lightly with tapioca or all-purpose flour. In my case, I mixed tapioca flour with a little turmeric to re-inforce the golden color and the taste of the bread. Slash around the paper and all over the bread with the pattern of your choice.

Another important point – do not forget this – after the bread has been in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, go back and slash AGAIN only around the design. That will make it lift and look much better. Try not to forget this step.

My first attempt making this type of decoration did not work as well for two reasons: I was too focused on the paper and did not plan carefully the scoring, so it did not turn out very good. Second, I forgot to go back and slash the design again after 5 minutes into the bake. That made the paper stay glued to the bread and the design did not have the right impact. Anyway, it is the type of thing that you learn the more you do it.

I know I will be playing with this quite often in the future, and I hope you consider this fun technique also. The paper does not darken in the oven, which surprised me a bit, and the air-brush colors also seem to hold up well. If you are the artistic type, you can paint flowers, landscapes, whatever your imagination desires!

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