Welcome to Baker of Seville

Who doesn't like fresh, homemade Sourdough Bread?  The smell alone is worth the effort.

My baking quest all started when a friend gave me some sourdough starter.  The thought of crusty baguettes and beautiful bread boules was very enticing.  I mean, how hard could it be?  (Harder than I thought, that's for sure)

I had various tools that could be used for baking. I had an old bread maker with a dough setting, a dutch oven (from my sons boy scout days)  and a bench scraper.  Certainly enough to get me started.

I found some great sites on the internet and started learning the basics.

My first loaves were actually edible.  Not great, but not bad either.  I was hooked.

Gradually the bread improved.  My dough handling techniques got better and I felt more comfortable working with higher hydration dough.  This allowed me to play with more recipes.  

It was time to get some new toys (i e  bread baking tools) 

That's when I purchased my first Lame. It was the standard, wood handle (plastic actually) type Lame with the blade that skewers on the metal stick.  I wont use any names, but you know them.  There are many out there and all have  basically the same pathetic design.

I absolutely hated it.  Scoring is hard enough.  It's even worse when the blade shifts or slides off.  I ultimately just held the blade in my fingers.

How could such a simple tool be so poorly designed?  And even worse, how could they ALL be the same.? There were a few that had  secure blades but they were mostly plastic.  Or very pretty and expensive wood lames with only one side of the blade accessible.  I knew I didn't want plastic or wood. 

Why had NO ONE made a better lame in all of these years?

So, I set out to design my own.  Now, just so you know, I don't consider myself an inventor by any stretch.

But I saw this as a challenge.

I started with the criteria that I wanted in a lame.

First and foremost, the blade had to be secure and easily, quickly and safely changeable. And of course, utilize a standard double edge blade.

It had to be solid stainless steel and built to last forever.  No wood or plastic.

I wanted it to be easily cleaned and sanitized.

And lastly, it needed a good quality storage box for protection and safety.

Oh, and it had to be beautiful.

With that criteria in mind, I came up with a conceptual design and made a prototype.  I was off and running.   

I searched for a while and finally found a cutlery manufacturer that specialized in stainless steel that was willing to work with me.   I can tell you, it is not easy to explain to someone why you want to build a tool to hold a razor blade that you don't intend to shave with.

Anyway, we took my initial design prototype and my design criteria and started tweaking for ergonomics, blade stabilization/attachment and manufacturing constraints.

After a couple of iterations, and the better part of a year, I had my first order in hand.  

It met all of my criteria.  I could not have been happier.

And that's how I went from a aspiring home bread maker to a Lame Designer and seller.

(yes, I am a Lame salesman and I've heard all the bad jokes from my friends)

I honestly do feel that this  is the best designed and built lame on the market today.

I am confident that you will feel the same.

Pete - Designer

Baker of Seville