How to Bake in the Simply Bread Oven

May 18

There’s something special about pulling a loaf of sourdough from the oven—crackling crust, a golden blistered surface, and that deep, nutty smell that fills the whole kitchen. I’ve baked my fair share of loaves in our home oven, but for consistency and so much ease—especially in a busy bake week—my Simply Bread oven has been the greatest investment.

If you're curious about how I use my Simply Bread Oven to get those rustic, open-crumb loaves we love, here's my step-by-step.

What You'll Need

A fully proofed sourdough loaf (cold from the fridge)
Parchment paper (or Simply Bread’s baking mats)
A lame or sharp blade
A peel (or something to slide your loaf in cleanly)

Step 1: Preheat

Set your Simply Bread Oven to 500°F and let it heat up (this will take about an hour and a half). The longer, the better—the goal is to get that baking stone blazing hot to mimic a hearth oven.

Step 2: Get Your Loaf Ready

Once your oven is up to temperature, remove your loaf from the fridge and gently flip it onto your baking mat or parchment paper. Score your loaves with a sharp blade. Personally, I love the rustic look of one clean expansion score, but this is your chance to add some character and give the loaf room to open up in the oven. You want to work quickly but intentionally during this step, keeping your loaf as cold as possible - you always want cold dough hitting a hot oven for maximum oven spring!

Step 3: Pre-Steam the Oven

Right before you load the oven, steam the oven slightly with the steam 2 setting. This step isn’t 100% necessary, but I always do it for two reasons. For one, I want to make sure the steam settings are working properly before I load my bread into the oven. And two, it doesn’t hurt to add a touch of steam in the oven just before you load your loaves in. Make sure to check that your water reservoir is full too!

Step 4: Load the Oven

Slide your loaf, parchment and all, onto the hot baking surface. Shut the door quickly to hold in the steam and heat. Don’t overthink it—just slide it on in there!

Loading sourdough bread into Simply Bread Oven - Sourdough Mama Organic Sourdough

Pulling sourdough bread out of Simply Bread Oven - Sourdough Mama Organic Sourdough

Step 5: Steam and Bake

Immediately once your bread is loaded in the oven, steam the oven again, this time using the steam 5 setting. Keeping the oven door shut, turn the heating element off. Bake at 500°F for 20 minutes with steam - don’t open the door during this time!

If you’re using to baking sourdough in a dutch oven, this is basically the same concept of baking your bread with the dutch oven lid on for the first half the bake. We’re trapping the steam in the oven, giving our loaves a nice big oven spring, opening that crumb, and developing the internal texture of our bread.

Once that 20 minutes is up, it’s time to do a steam release (similar to removing the lid of your dutch oven). Open the oven door for a moment, then close it and turn the heating element back on. Bake for another 15-20 minutes depending on the size of your loaf. The purpose of this step is to develop the crust of the loaf. You’re aiming for that deep golden brown color and some bold blisters on the crust.

(Baker’s tip - don’t be scared of a darker color! This is actually called the Maillard reaction, and you should always aim for it - that’s where all the best flavor is!)

Step 6: Let It Rest

After you’ve pulled your loaves out, as tempting as it is, don’t slice into it right away. Let it cool for at least an hour so the inside can finish setting. Cutting into it too early can result in a gummy crumb, and trust me, it’s worth the wait!

Want to dig deeper into sourdough?

I put together a comprehensive Sourdough Guide that covers everything from starter care and fermentation timing to shaping techniques, scoring, and bake schedules. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to level up your loaves, this guide walks you through the why behind the process—not just the steps.

It’s the same method we use every day at Sourdough Mama, and it’s designed to help you bake confidently and consistently at home.

Grab the Guide Here

What else can you bake in the Simply Bread oven?

Naturally, the Simply Bread oven was designed to bake sourdough bread, but there are so many other things you can bake in this oven too! It’s been such a blessing in my bakery (and home) to give me back more time and get incredible, consistent bakes every time.

I use it all the time to bake things like: