Sourdough Journey — Four Bake Methods Tested in Pizza and Convection Ovens

The baker learned sourdough on a home oven using a Le Creuset Dutch oven and got reliable results. Moving to a new location, they were asked to bake for a bakery and discovered the only available ovens are a Bakers Pride pizza oven and a commercial convection oven. They believe their starter, fermentation, and proofing are excellent, and have focused experiments on getting the bake right.

Four methods were trialed on the same batch (four loaves) after a successful bulk ferment and overnight rest in the fridge. The baker used autolyse and reported strong gluten development.

Method 1 — Pizza oven, preheat to 440°F, load when oven hits ~350°F, spray loaf

Method 2 — Pizza oven, 450°F with metal bowl cover and ice cubes

Method 3 — Convection oven, 400°F with steam pans

• Result: Exterior burned while interior remained gummy. After adjustments the baker reported pulling the loaf when the outside was burned and internal temp readings under 100°F in one check.

Method 4 — Convection oven, 450°F with double loaf-pan (concealed bake)

• Process: Loaf was concealed under a second loaf pan for the first 20 minutes to limit direct heat, then uncovered to finish.
• Result: Slow internal rise in temperature. One loaf was removed with an internal temp of 160°F after extended baking and repeated checks.

• Confinement (bowl or nested pan) and added steam changed oven dynamics but did not produce consistent crust color and internal doneness across tests.

Concrete variables to consider next

• Monitor accurate internal temperature early and late in the bake to decide pull timing. The baker observed widely varying internal temps (e.g., 99.7°F, 160°F, 178°F, 202°F) across methods.
• Reassess oven heat sources and stone vs air temperature. The pizza oven reacted differently when knobs changed top/bottom heating and when stone temperature increased.
• Try a shorter, hotter initial bake with controlled steam, or a longer bake at lower heat after achieving oven spring, to avoid bottom explosions or burnt exteriors.

Practical immediate steps for the baker (based on their notes)

• Focus on consistent preheat targets and measure both air and stone temperatures when using the pizza oven.
• Use a covered vessel that seals well in the pizza oven or a heavy pan placed on the stone to control initial radiant heat and prevent bottom rupture.

The baker plans to report back with results. Their logs show careful timing and repeated adjustments, and the experiments isolate bake variables while holding dough quality constant.