Deigspenningen påvirker snittet.

Because Norwegian often forms compound nouns by joining words together.

• deig = dough
• spenning = tension

So deigspenning means dough tension.

Then the ending -en is added to make it definite singular:

• en deigspenning = a dough tension
• deigspenningen = the dough tension

This kind of one-word compound is very common in Norwegian.

It is the definite article attached to the noun.

In English, you usually put the before the noun:

• the dough tension

In Norwegian, the definiteness is usually added to the end:

• deigspenningen = the dough tension

The same pattern appears in:

• snittet = the cut / the score

So the sentence uses two definite nouns:

• deigspenningen = the dough tension
• snittet = the cut

Snitt is the indefinite form:

• et snitt = a cut / a score

Snittet is the definite form:

• snittet = the cut / the score

So the sentence is talking about a specific cut, not just any cut in general.

Because snitt is a neuter noun (et-noun), its definite singular ending is -et:

• et snitt
• snittet

Påvirker is the present tense of the verb påvirke, which means to affect / influence.

Examples:

• å påvirke = to affect
• påvirker = affects / is affecting
• påvirket = affected

In this sentence:

• Deigspenningen påvirker snittet.
• The dough tension affects the cut.

A useful thing to know is that Norwegian verbs do not change for person:

• jeg påvirker
• du påvirker
• den påvirker

The verb form stays the same.

Because this is a very basic subject–verb–object sentence, just like in English.

• Deigspenningen = subject
• påvirker = verb
• snittet = object

So:

• Deigspenningen påvirker snittet.
• The dough tension affects the cut.

This is one reason simple Norwegian sentences can feel familiar to English speakers.

The noun spenning is usually an en-word in Bokmål:

• en spenning
• spenningen

Since deigspenning is a compound whose main word is spenning, it also behaves as an en-word:

• en deigspenning
• deigspenningen

The noun snitt is an et-word:

• et snitt
• snittet

A useful rule for compounds is that the last part usually decides the gender and grammar of the whole compound.

Because in Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the noun instead of standing alone.

Compare:

• English: the cut

• Norwegian: snittet

• English: the dough tension
• Norwegian: deigspenningen

This is a very important difference from English.
So when English uses the + noun, Norwegian often uses noun + definite ending.

Yes. If you wanted to speak more generally, you could use indefinite forms instead:

• Deigspenning påvirker snitt.

But that sounds less natural in many contexts. In technical or practical writing, Norwegian often prefers the definite forms when referring to a known process or feature:

• deigspenningen = the dough tension
• snittet = the cut / score

So the original sentence sounds like it refers to a specific, relevant relationship in baking, not just an abstract idea.

A rough English-friendly guide might be:

• deigspenningen ≈ dayg-spen-ning-en
• påvirker ≈ paw-vir-ker
• snittet ≈ snit-eh

A few notes:

• deig sounds somewhat like dayg
• å / på has a vowel sound English does not match perfectly; paw is only an approximation
• y in påvirker is also a special Norwegian vowel and may be difficult at first
• snitt has a short, crisp vowel and double consonant feel

Exact pronunciation depends somewhat on dialect, but those approximations can help you get started.

Snitt can mean cut, incision, or score, and in a baking context it often refers to the slash made in the dough before baking.

So in this sentence, snittet most likely means the score/cut in the loaf rather than a random cut in general.

This is a good example of how vocabulary can become more specialized depending on context.