Who we are
About Loaf Scout
A baker friend for the moment you cut the loaf, or stare at the jar, and wonder what happened.
Loaf Scout started with the question every home baker asks a cut loaf: was that underproofed or overproofed? Post a crumb photo anywhere and you get five answers, three of them confident and two of them opposite. The truth is usually written right there in the slice, in the base, the top crust, the score and how even the holes are from top to bottom, if you know how to read it. We wanted one place that reads it the way a baker who bakes every week would: here is what happened, here is what went right, here is the one thing to change next time.
What Loaf Scout is
- The app (iPhone first): one photo of the cut face of a loaf, or of a starter jar from the side. A crumb read gives a proof call on a five-step scale with an honest range, a Loaf Score from 0 to 100 set by fixed rules, the findings the photo actually shows, the wins, and two or three changes for next bake, each tied to one lever. A starter read gives the rise against your band, the activity, and whether it is ready to bake. Your bakes, photos and starter log stay on your phone.
- This site: the same proof scale, findings and verdicts as four free tools you can use by eye, plus plain guides to the questions bakers search most, each written from named baking and food safety sources, and each ending with the one change for next bake or when to start again.
What Loaf Scout is not
Loaf Scout gives an AI read of one photo; your own eyes, nose and the poke test still count. It cannot taste the bread, feel the dough or smell the jar, and light, angle and a warm knife all change how a crumb looks. It is not a food safety service and never tells you a starter or a loaf is safe to eat. If you see fuzzy mold of any color, or pink or orange streaks in a starter, throw the whole jar out, whatever any read says. And it makes no health claims about sourdough, of any kind.
How we write the guides
- Every baking fact comes from a source we name on the page: The Perfect Loaf's guides, baking school references, Colorado State University Extension and the USDA on food safety, university research, and established bread books.
- We describe flours, pots and tools by type, never by brand, and we are not paid to mention any product.
- We never invent ratings, review counts or user numbers.
- We use the app's own proof scale and verdicts on every page, so the site and the app always say the same thing.
- Food safety is never softened: mold or pink or orange in the jar means start fresh, every time.
Who makes it
Loaf Scout is made by Viral Tandel, who publishes apps as Viral Labs. It is an independent project, not affiliated with any flour mill, bakery, baking school, publication, university or other app, and not affiliated with the organizations it cites. Questions, corrections and ideas: viral.b.tandel@gmail.com. Corrections from bakers who know better are especially welcome.