Question on optimal baking temperature for classic, rustic sourdough:
I seem to have my best results when I'm baking in an oven that can really get the heat cranking- ex. ~550°F, yet I've read a few comments around here about baking too hot and optimal temperature being around 450-480°F.
Have other people found success with high initial temperature? What are potential negatives of baking too hot?
I should also mention, as a matter of preference, as my username suggests, I don't mind a good solid crust.
I think there is variability in the way people read oven temperature as well as how uniform the heat is inside the oven chamber. For my bakes I typically use a ¾-inch thick stone that takes an hour to reach the oven set point. I use an IR thermometer to read the surface temperature and will peel the loaves only when the stone reads around 480*F. Much higher than that the bottoms will char and burn, and as much as I like a good crust, I don’t like a burnt one.
-Brad
Ah, ok, that's insightful; thank you.
I use either a baking stone or dutch oven, but I typically only heat them as long as it takes the oven to get up to temp., so the actual baking surface must usually be a bit lower if it takes an hour for yours to reach 480.
I have 1 baking stone on my top shelf and one on the lower shelf. I heat the oven until it hits 545 F and when launching the loaves after closing the door I lower the temperature to 450. If I’m making a large Miche I will lower it to 435.
The high initial temps are, in my opinion, primarily aimed at improved oven spring. That initial blast of intense heat rapidly expands the gas inside the loaf giving that result. After the oven spring has maxed out, which at high heat unprotected means once the crust has hardened enough to no longer expand, then you need some time for heat to penetrate inside. At 500F that often is also enough time to burn the outside, especially the bottom, of the loaf. It's a balancing act at that point, that depends on your oven and your bread.
Dutch Ovens and Baking Stones are tools that help you to maintain that balance, but they take time to get up to "oven" temp. Loading them right when the oven says it is up to temp is to start at a significantly lower-than-set-point temperature. I use both unglazed quarry tiles on two shelves, and dutch ovens, for almost all of my sourdough bakes. I let them preheat to 485F for a minimum of 45 minutes. The oven itself claims to be at the set point in about 10-12 minutes. (Two shelves because my oven seems to have super-intense bottom heat and the extra shelf of tiles helps even it out in the oven.)
I used to bake on just the tiles, preheated to 500F for 40 minutes, then bake at 500F for 10 minutes, turning down to 485F till done, but I got the same carbonized bottoms already mentioned. It took some testing to find the combination that works for me, in my oven. You will find yours too. I suspect it will be below 500F, and will involve at least a stone or tiles, and possibly a cloche or dutch oven. If using a cloche or dutch ovens, the time covered/uncovered is important to how your crust turns out.
Best of luck with it
OldWoodenSpoon
I see. This is useful to read through. It does seem that I get really good oven spring with an oven at over 500 degrees. Considering that I usually don't heat my stone or dutch oven for longer than 20 or so minutes though, perhaps what this high heat is actually doing for me is getting the stone or d.o. closer to that preferred 480-500 range which would explain the improved results without significant charring.