Sourdough baking: Tips for mastering bread in your oven

There is something deeply satisfying about pulling a loaf of sourdough from the oven—the crackle of the crust, the aromatic warmth, the anticipation of that first slice. Sourdough baking rewards patience more than expertise, inviting anyone willing to invest time to create deeply golden, crackly loaves at home. With thoughtful dough preparation, the right oven settings, rack placement, and steam and temperature controls, a home oven can help you craft crusty sourdough bread that will keep you coming back for more.

Begin by making your own sourdough starter

Every great loaf begins with a starter. When you make your own sourdough starter, you set the foundation for a satisfying loaf. The process starts with preparation stages that help build dough strength for successful expansion in a home oven. Proofing bread dough is an essential step in creating a fluffy, aromatic loaf with the right crumb structure.

1. Feed the starter and mix the dough

A basic sourdough bread recipe requires just four ingredients: flour, water, salt and an active sourdough starter. A healthy, vigorous starter signals that it is time to bake bread. Look for a starter that has doubled in volume within 5-6 hours of feeding.

Following a sourdough for beginners approach, follow your recipe to combine your sourdough ingredients and mix until the dough forms a cohesive, shaggy mass. Let the dough rest for a short autolyse period so the flour can hydrate.

2. Build strength, bulk ferment and shape

Naturally leavened sourdough relies on your starter for its rise, developing a golden brown crust, deep flavor and distinctive tang. During bulk fermentation, which is the first rise, you can build dough strength through stretch-and-fold sessions to help develop the gluten network without overworking the dough. Similar techniques come into play when learning how to make pizza dough. The dough should increase during this time by 50-75% and have bubbles throughout. Shape the dough gently into a round or oval, creating surface tension that will help the loaf hold its form.

3. Proof, score and choose a loaf style

Proofing is the final resting stage before baking. It can be done for a few hours at slightly warm/room temperatures or several hours at cold temperatures. Cold proofing at cooler temperatures slows the process, which can allow for even richer flavors to develop. If you decide not to cold proof, a proofing oven can help create a stable environment with controlled humidity and a steady temperature, usually between 70°F and 90°F. To check readiness, press the tips of two fingers about ½ inch into the dough. If the indentation rises only slightly and slowly, your bread is likely proofed. Before baking, score the loaf with a lame or sharp blade at a shallow angle to help encourage the bread’s expansion.

Home oven techniques for sourdough baking

Helpful tips for making sourdough in an oven include oven modes, temperatures and rack settings. Once your dough is shaped, scored and ready, the oven becomes the stage where the transformation happens. For those exploring how to make sourdough in an oven, many people prefer to use a Dutch oven, as it offers a good way to help trap some steam as the bread cooks.

Oven mode and rack positions

When deciding which oven setting for sourdough works best, the bake setting is a reliable starting point. The bake setting uses dry heat at medium temperatures from the oven's top and bottom elements to slowly cook dough, gently browning the surface while solidifying the interior. When it comes to making sourdough, using a Dutch oven, on the bake setting with the rack placed in the middle of the oven can help create a delicious loaf.

Preheating and settings

Sourdough bread needs adequate heat to help it rise when baked, otherwise, you won't get sourdough oven spring, which is that first expansion of gas that helps make a tall loaf. This often requires temperatures above and beyond the ever-popular 350°F. Roughly an hour before baking, preheat your oven to 450-500°F with your Dutch oven inside. A fully heated Dutch oven creates immediate intense heat and steam when the dough goes in, helping the loaf spring upward.

Some ovens offer a special setting to help bread bakers create an ideal moist, warm environment to help activate yeast in homemade bread when proofing. Select KitchenAid^® Wall Ovens feature a Proofing Mode, which provides consistent low heat to help activate the yeast in dough while it proofs, promoting rise.

Oven temperature options

So what oven temperature for sourdough works well? About 60 minutes before the bread is ready to bake, preheat the oven with a Dutch oven or baking stone to around 450°F. Crusty sourdough bread tips (and possibly, a better oven spring) may urge you to include opting for a higher temp or 475°F or up to 500°F. Follow your specific recipe for more guidance.

Creating steam in your oven

When it comes to sourdough baking tips, steam is near the top. Steam helps enable a great rise in the oven, helps develop a flavorful, brown, crackly crust and encourages an open crumb structure. Steam is also helpful to resist the hardening of the crust and enable the loaf to expand fully.

A covered Dutch oven is a popular method for trapping steam, as the lid helps seal in moisture released by the dough. If you’re not using a Dutch oven, try to create steam another way, such as by placing a deep, heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack and filling it with boiling water so that it steams during the bake cycle.

Managing bake timing, doneness and cooling

Bake the bread until it is crusty and golden, usually about 40-45 minutes, depending on your recipe. This cook time may vary, depending on factors such as the size of your loaf, your oven temperature and what method you use to cook your bread, so consult your recipe. If you’re using a Dutch oven, as is common, begin with the lid on for the first 20 minutes to trap steam and encourage oven spring, then remove the lid for the remaining time to let steam escape and the crust to crisp. Once the loaf is out of the oven, cool it on a rack before slicing. A full cooling period of at least one hour helps the crumb to set and the crust retain its crackly texture.

Common sourdough baking mistakes and corrections

Even experienced bakers encounter challenges when making sourdough bread. The table below outlines some common issues and practical solutions.

ISSUE	POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Dense Crumb	Add adequate steam during the first 20 minutes of baking and allow full fermentation before shaping. Steam helps promote an open crumb structure.
Weak oven spring	Use high heat (450-500°F), create steam and preheat your baking vessel thoroughly before loading the dough to encourage vigorous expansion.
Gummy centers	Bake until the bread reaches an internal temperature of 190°F to help ensure the crumb is fully set
Pale crust	Increase the oven temperature and remove the lid during the final phase to let the crust deepen in color. A fully baked loaf will be golden brown.
Scorched bottoms	Reposition your loaf to avoid intense heating elements or else try putting a cooking tray on the rack under your Dutch oven.
Bursting seams	Score the loaf with sufficient depth and a deliberate angle to help guide expansion where you want it, rather than letting the dough find its own path.

FAQs about sourdough baking

To try to keep the bottom of your sourdough from burning, you can try repositioning your Dutch oven away from intense heating elements, placing parchment between the loaf and the Dutch oven to buffer direct heat or placing a baking tray on the rack under your Dutch oven.

Sourdough should cool on a wire rack at room temperature, not in the oven, to allow the crumb to set and help avoid a gummy texture.

Avoid opening the oven door during the first 20 minutes of baking to help trap steam and maintain heat. Check doneness toward the end of the bake once the crust has set.

Sourdough crust often softens as moisture from the crumb migrates outward into the crust after baking. Cooling the loaf on a wire rack and managing steam during the bake can help the crust retain its crackly texture.

Yes, you can bake two sourdough loaves at once with adequate steam and proper rack spacing. For maximum oven spring, baking one loaf at a time may yield a taller rise, but two loaves can share the oven if each has enough heat and steam.

Convection bake settings circulate hot air across multiple racks in your oven. However, for sourdough, the still air of a conventional bake setting is often more ideal, and helps create an environment that allows the dough to rise undisturbed.

Select KitchenAid^® Ranges and Wall Ovens are ideal for helping you out on your sourdough baking journey. Select KitchenAid^® Ranges offer Proof Mode, which is designed to maintain a low temperature and provides ideal conditions to properly activate yeast, allowing your baked goods to rise. Select KitchenAid^® Wall Ovens feature Steam Bake with Tray, which adds moisture during the baking process so you can enjoy foods like Basque cheesecake, or fluffy, moist honey wheat sandwich bread. Explore single wall ovens and combination wall ovens from KitchenAid^® brand to find features that support your baking journey.