Steam-Baked Sourdough Boule for Precision Oven 2.0
Scott Heimendinger
November 22, 2024
NOTE: This recipe is optimized for the Precision Oven 2.0. It will work in a Precision Oven 1.0, but you will need to open the oven door for 5 to 10 seconds in between the steamy and dry bake stages to vent steam. If you'd like to use the original version of the recipe, search for Steam-Baked Sourdough Boule.
There's a reason professional bread bakers use steam in their ovens. Steam does magic things to bread. It delays the crust formation so the bread can expand with an open, airy crumb, and it delivers heat to the loaf more quickly.
Because steam is so important, you'll see plenty of hacks for home cooks to deliver steam to their bread in a home oven. But with the Anova Precision Oven, you don't have to go to resort to throwing ice cubes into a hot pan or drop a proofed loaf into a hot Dutch oven in order to get a steamy bake. Simply turn on full steam and you'll finally get the oven spring and rich, dark brown crust you've been chasing. Start with your favorite high-hydration sourdough or no-knead recipe with these oven settings for the best bread you've ever baked at home.
Serves
4
Prep Time
36:00
Cook Time
00:30
3.88 (8)
531
Ingredients
1 (700 to 800g; 1 1/2- to 2-pound) batch
sourdough bread dough, proofed, shaped, and ready to score and bake
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Steps
1. Preheat Oven and Baking Surface
Rack
Place a cast iron griddle, large cast iron skillet, baking steel, or baking stone on the lowest wire rack position and turn on the oven.
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Steam: 100%
Temp: 450°F
Heat: Rear
2. Turn Loaf Onto Parchment
Carefully flip the proofed dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper.
3. Score
Use a lame or sharp knife to score the loaf in your preferred pattern.
4. Steam Bake
Rack
Immediately after scoring, use a peel to carefully move the loaf and parchment onto the griddle inside the oven. Use care to keep hands away from the hot steam and oven walls during transfer. Bake at full steam until the crust is set and the loaf has stopped expanding, about 20 minutes.
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Steam: 100%
Temp: 450°F
Heat: Rear
00:20 Timer
5. Let Oven Adjust for Browning Stage
Rack
Continue to bake the bread without steam until browned and crusty, about 10 minutes.
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Steam: Off
Temp: 400°F
Heat: Rear
00:10 Timer
6. Remove and Rest
Use a peel to carefully remove the baked loaf from the oven. Let the bread sit at least 30 minutes before slicing.
7. Slice
Use a sharp bread knife to slice the bread, taking care not to crush its top.
8. Serve
Spread the bread slices with butter and finishing salt. Enjoy!
2 Comments
Sherry Sontag
I had been using Andrew’s sourdough, cooking instructions and turning the fan down to low at the second stage. I tried this because it does seem to make more steam, but my lobe started to get slightly browned in the first five minutes.
I sprayed some and put things back to the other process, but I would like to know more about what the Oven is doing
Does steam bake make more steam than other forms of steam cooking?
I could tell the difference when I open the oven door that there was more this time and I don’t know why
Can you guys? To come up with the most effective possible instructions for baking sourdough bread in the APO2. I do think there is less steam than there was in the one., and in both of them, I don’t think I can keep the fan on high and get the kind of rise I’m used to getting.
2w
Sherry Sontag
is keeping steam and fan on the only way to prevent the oven from venting steam other than “oven off?”
1w
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