Hello everyone!!.
This is my first post at this site. I'm a complete novice to making sourdough and am currently in the process of making my starter. It's on day 3 and looking good so far!! I'm so excited to make my first loaf but today I used an oven thermometer to test whether my oven is properly heating up or not and I saw that when I have it set to 300 C it only heats up to a maximum of 220 C or 428F wheras most recipes call for heating upto 500F. Will my sourdough turn out fine at this temperature. I plan to buy a new one as soon as the coronavirus situation gets better but I really cannot buy one for the time being and feel like all my effort into making and maintaining the starter will be wasted. Is there a method of baking the bread at this temperature?
bread just fine. I do it all the time! It takes just a little bit longer but works perfectly. (Keep it our little secret.). I bake a lot at 190° and 200° as well when rich breads are involved. Like brioche, strudel, rolls, etc.
Those high heats involve heating up stones and pots and turning the heat down a bit later,
Enriched breads (with dairy, eggs and fat) are baked at these temperatures. Peter Reinhart suggests preheating your oven at 220°C/425°F, and baking those breads at 175°C/350°F.
Some ovens allow you to adjust the temperature in the settings, if it is constantly lower or higher by a certain degree. But if your oven doesn’t has that option, you’ll have to wait for a new one to bake those hole-y, high hydration loaves.
Happy Baking (and stay safe!)
Karin