At What Temperature Is Sourdough Bread Done? Complete Baking Guide

If you are looking into making your very own sourdough bread, you may be wondering about how you bake it. Well, you are not alone, and many people have been asking themselves, how do you do it? What do you bake it in? What temperature do you bake it at?

Sourdough bread is baked at different temperatures depending on different baking methods used; however, it will usually be baked at a temperature ranging between 400F and 425F. Sourdough bread is baked at a relatively high temperature as far as bread goes.

So, what different methods are there for baking sourdough bread? Why do you bake your sourdough at different temperatures when you use different methods? How do I know the method that I should use? Let us have a look.

How Long Do You Bake Sourdough Bread For?

How long you bake your sourdough bread will depend on a few different factors.

For example, what method of baking are you planning on using? Different baking methods will use different temperatures.

Once your sourdough starter ready to be used, you will need to choose a method of baking that you would like to try.

Then, once you have chosen your method, you will need to choose a recipe that you would like to use, and then depending on your chosen recipe and chosen baking method, you will find what temperature will be best to bake your sourdough bread loaf at.

What Different Methods To Baking Sourdough Bread Are There?

The two main methods that are used when it comes to baking sourdough bread are using a Dutch oven or baking it in the oven on a baking sheet with steam.

When baking your sourdough bread using the Dutch oven method or when using the bake and steam method, you will follow almost exactly the same steps of preparing your sourdough bread loaf.

Tip: You can also use a baking stone (or two) to bake your perfect sourdough loaf. Read my article “The Purpose Of A Baking Stone And How To Bake Good Bread Without One” for more information.

You will need to go through all of the steps of preparing your dough before using either method, which can take quite a few hours.

Once your sourdough bread is ready to be used, you can go ahead and get your chosen baking dish ready and prepared.

The difference between the different baking methods will only come in once you are ready to now actually bake your bread in the oven.

Dutch Oven

When you bake your sourdough bread using the Dutch oven method, you will be using a Dutch oven; a thick cooking pot with a tightly fitted lid. These pots are generally made out of seasoned cast iron.

The Dutch oven should be lined with non-stick parchment paper before putting your dough into it to prevent the sourdough from sticking to the pot, and it makes removing the loaf, once it is cooked, much easier.

Once your Dutch oven has been lined with a greased or non-stick parchment paper, you can go ahead and put your dough in the pot; some recipes will instruct you to then leave the dough in the pot like that to rise again for a few hours before taking any further action.

Once the dough is now ready to be baked, you will place the lid on your dutch oven and then place the dutch oven into your preheated oven, which will usually be set at 400F when using a dutch oven.

It may vary depending on the recipe, but you will then usually leave your dutch oven in your oven at 400F for twenty minutes.

You will then remove the lid and continue to let the bread bake and get a little crispy for a further fifteen to twenty minutes; until it is cooked to your preferred state of crispiness.

Tip: If you don’t have an Dutch Oven yet and think about getting one, read my review “Challenger Bread Pan Review (Vs Lodge Dutch Oven): Worth Buying?“

Proofing Basket And Baking Sheet

If you are going to use a proofing basket method, this is what will usually happen:

You will leave your dough in a greased proofing basket for the sourdough dough to rise in; the basket will help give your sourdough a really cool shape that it will then hold.

Once your dough has been left in the basket for however long the recipe recommends (usually around 90 minutes), you will get your baking sheet ready.

Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with greased or non-stick parchment paper. Once your baking sheet is ready, you can go ahead and very carefully tip the dough out from the proofing basket and onto the baking sheet.

The most effective way in doing this is usually by placing the baking sheet over the top of the proofing basket and slowly flipping it over so that the dough is transferred directly onto the baking tray.

Then, you will place your baking sheet into your preheated oven (usually heated to about 425F). You will need to place an oven-proof dish or bowl with about 200ml of water uncovered on the shelf below the bread in your oven.

This water will keep the bread moist while it is baking and prevent the loaf from drying out.

You will cook your sourdough loaf for around 25 to 30 minutes or until the top of the loaf is a beautiful golden brown color.

How Long To Leave Your Bread In The Oven According To How You Enjoy Your Bread

Every recipe is different and will tell you to leave your loaf of bread in the oven for a particular amount of time.

Tip: If you want a perfect oven spring, check ou my guide “Awesome Sourdough Oven Spring in 10 Easy Steps!”

However, the more comfortable you become with baking your own sourdough bread, the better you will be able to decipher for yourself how well-done you enjoy your bread and at what point you should take the loaf out of the oven.

Soft Loaf

Leave your sourdough bread in the oven only until it is fully baked. You can check on the loaf periodically after its minimum amount of time required to be in the oven to check if the bread has cooked all the way through.

Once you have found that the bread is completely cooked, you can leave your sourdough loaf out to cool down for 3 to 5 minutes to cool down, and then you can move the loaf onto a wire cooling rack.

Taking your bread out at this point will help prevent the outside crust of your bread from getting crispy; if you are looking for a soft loaf of bread, this is the best option for you.

Crispy Loaf

If you enjoy your sourdough bread being slightly more crispy and crunchy on the outside, then you will need to leave your bread loaf in the oven slightly longer.

Watch your loaf very carefully the entire time you are leaving it in “extra,” as the bread can go from a beautiful golden brown to a charcoal black in a matter of minutes.

Once your loaf is completely done and fully cooked, you can leave your loaf in the oven to continue to get more crispy for a few minutes longer – usually no longer than 5 minutes extra, as sourdough bread is cooked at a fairly high heat and can burn your bread quickly.

What Happens If My Sourdough Is Baked For Too Long Or Short?

If you are new to baking sourdough bread, and you are wondering how to tell when your bread is done baking, you can use one simple trick; you listen to hear if it is done.

It may seem strange, but if you knock on the bottom of your loaf of bread, it should sound hollow.

If your bread does not sound hollow yet, it will need to go back into the oven for a while longer until it is fully baked and does sound hollow when it is knocked on.

If you have accidentally taken your bread loaf out of the oven and left it to cool down, only to realize that it was not fully cooked a few moments later, do not worry.

Put your loaf of bread back in the oven and let it continue to cook; make sure it will be kept moist when doing this, though.

If you have accidentally over-baked your bread loaf, unfortunately, there is usually not much you can do if it has been cooked to the point of either being burned to a crisp or being rock hard.

If your bread is overcooked but not to an extreme level, you can usually cut off the top of the bread where any burned crust may be, and then enjoy your bread any way; slightly dry sourdough bread is better than no sourdough bread at all.

Conclusion

Once you have found a method that you would like to use, you will be able to find a recipe for sourdough bread that will use that method.

Thankfully, the recipe that you use will tell you what temperature to set your oven on, which will take the pressure off of you because you will not need to know that information off the top of your head.

Bake your sourdough at the recommended temperature, bake it to your preferred level of crispiness, and enjoy!

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