Here’s how to make spooky bread for Halloween with two fun designs: ghostly figures and Jack Skellington’s iconic face! So let’s score these Halloween-inspired designs, so you can bring a bit of haunted charm to your bread! 

What You’ll Need

• Your proofed loaves of bread – sourdough or regular (oval for the ghost design and round for Jack)
• Rice flour and a small sieve for dusting the top
• A sharp bread lame (or a very sharp knife)
• Black marker with edible ink (or black gel food colouring and a brush)  for the ghost’s eyes and mouth

How to Score the Spooky Designs on Bread

Watch this video on read the instructions below:

Preheat your oven along with your Dutch oven or baking stone, typically around 465°F (240°C).

Prepare your bread as usual, shaping the dough into a round or oval loaf and letting it proof in a banneton or a proofing basket. Make an oval loaf for the ghost design and round one for Jack Skellington.

If you want crisp lines, you can place the proofed dough in the freezer for about 30-45 minutes before scoring. I didn’t this time but, chilled dough is often easier to score, especially for intricate designs.

Before scoring, lightly dust the top of the loaf with rice flour. This will help the ghost or Jack Skellington design stand out more clearly after baking. Use a small sieve for an even flour coating.

Using your bread lame or sharp knife, score the outline of a ghost—a rounded head with a flowing, curvy body. Keep the ghost shape simple, with rounded edges that resemble a sheet-like ghost. For a 12-inch (30 cm) oval loaf, you can score 4-5 ghost outlines. 

Lastly, make a few vertical lines on the body of each ghost. Keep the scoring shallow so that it creates light marks on the bread without expanding too much during baking. The outline of each ghost should be scored deeper than the vertical lines.

Bake your loaf as usual. The ghost design will open up slightly during baking, and the floured top will give the ghost a pale, spooky appearance!

After baking, use an edible ink marker to draw the ghost’s eyes and mouth. This gives the ghost a more detailed and expressive look without the need for intricate scoring.

To make Jack Skellington’s face, follow the same steps as for the ghost bread to prepare your loaf and dust it with rice flour. Then, for Jack’s iconic smile, score a long, curved line across the lower half of the loaf. Then, add small vertical lines along the curve to represent the stitched look of his mouth.

For the eyes, score two large, almond-shaped eyes near the upper part of the loaf.

Add two small, oval nostrils below the eyes. I should have scored these a bit deeper as they are not fully visible on my loaf. 

Enjoy your spooky loaves this Halloween!