Thermal Transfer in the Simply Bread Oven

What Is Thermal Transfer?

Thermal transfer is how heat moves from one place to another. In ovens, this happens in three main ways:

• Conduction: heat that moves through direct contact, like dough touching a hot baking stone

• Convection: heat carried by moving air, like in a fan-assisted oven

• Radiation: heat that travels through space as energy waves, like the heat from a broiler or top coil

Most home ovens rely on convection and radiation. In a Dutch oven, the metal walls trap heat and steam, but the dough bakes primarily through conductive heat from the base and radiant heat from the walls.

What Makes the Simply Bread Oven Different:

The Simply Bread Oven operates as a deck oven.

In a deck oven, thermal conduction is primary. The preheated stone deck stores heat and transfers it directly into the dough upon contact. This is not like baking on a sheet tray or pan; it functions more like placing your dough onto a solid mass of stored thermal energy.

You are baking through contact with heat, not just exposure to it.

At the same time, top coils apply controlled radiant heat to develop the crust from above. When both sources are balanced, the dough receives heat from the bottom via conduction and from the top via radiation.

Steam introduces a third element. When dough is loaded and steam is introduced, moisture enters the sealed chamber. This delays crust formation and concentrates surface heat, which allows the loaf to expand fully before setting.

Together, these factors produce a baking environment that performs like a professional hearth oven.

What Happens During the Baking Process:

Loading dough into the oven initiates a shift in thermal balance.

The dough is colder than the oven. Combined with steam, these two elements draw energy from the system right away. The stone, saturated with heat during preheating, transfers that energy into the dough via conduction. Because the stone has high thermal mass, this transfer occurs gradually, but the effect is significant.

As the dough undergoes oven spring (rapid expansion in the early bake), the stone temperature typically drops as it releases energy into the dough to drive that rise. This is an expected part of the process. It’s the most active phase of heat exchange, where the dough rises rapidly and the oven is temporarily losing thermal energy to fuel that growth.

Once the initial transfer slows, the system begins to stabilize. The coils remain active, and recovery begins. However, full return to the original preheat setpoint may not occur during the bake, especially when the oven is fully loaded. Recovery continues through the remainder of the bake and may complete between batches.

Conclusion

Thermal transfer explains everything from the way your loaf springs to why the stone cools after loading. That drop in temperature is not a flaw. It is the system doing exactly what it was built to do. By releasing stored energy, it fuels the rise of your dough. When you understand how that energy moves, you are not left guessing. You are equipped to respond, to adapt, and to trust your oven.