Why Your Bread Isn’t Baking Right: How Steam and Dough Volume Affect Results

Baking frustrations like fast setting crusts, blowouts, and lackluster results often stem from too little dough in the oven to generate steam. Understanding steam and dough volume is key to better bakes.

The Role of Steam in Baking

Steam is an essential ingredient in artisan dough baking, especially critical in the early stages. It keeps the surface of the dough moist, preventing the crust from hardening too soon. This keeps the dough pliable, allowing the dough to achieve its full oven spring, that dramatic rise that gives artisan bread its characteristic shape. Additionally, steam helps create a glossy, caramelized crust that adds to the loaf’s overall appeal.

Many bakers understand the importance of injecting steam at the start of the bake, but it’s equally vital to recognize that much of the steam in the oven comes from the dough itself. As the dough heats, its water content evaporates, playing a key role in creating the steamy environment needed for a successful bake.

The Problem with Under-loading Your Oven

Baking just one or two loaves in a deck oven might seem straightforward, but it can create a few challenges that may derail your bake. Here’s why:

• Insufficient Steam: With only a small amount of dough in the oven, there isn’t enough moisture released to create the steamy environment needed for a proper bake. Without this natural steam, the crust hardens too quickly, limiting oven spring.
• Temperature Imbalance: A partially loaded deck oven can cause uneven heat retention and steam distribution. This imbalance may lead to uneven crust color or inconsistent baking results, particularly when steam levels are insufficient to support even baking conditions.
• Blowouts: Without enough steam to keep the surface pliable, gases inside the dough escape unpredictably, sometimes leading to unsightly blowouts.

In contrast, an oven filled with sufficient dough for the area creates a self-sustaining steamy environment. Each loaf contributes its moisture, resulting in a more consistent and balanced bake.

How to Fix It

Here are some actionable solutions to address steam and oven loading issues:

• Bake More Dough: Whenever possible, bake in larger batches to naturally increase steam production. Alternatively, if you’re baking fewer loaves, arrange them across fewer decks to concentrate moisture and create a more effective steamy environment. For example, If you only need to bake 6 loaves, try loading 3 loaves on decks 2 and 3 for best performance. Both approaches help maintain optimal baking conditions and improve your results.
• Consider Dough Hydration: The water content (or percentage) in your dough evaporates as it bakes, contributing to the moisture in the oven and creating a steamy environment. This natural process plays a critical role in achieving proper oven spring and crust development, highlighting the importance of hydration levels in dough. For more info on how to accurately calculate your dough hydration, check out this article.
• Alter Baking Temperature: When baking smaller batches or volumes of dough, opt for lowering the oven temperature by about 25°F to help maintain a steamy environment and promote even baking. By contrast, for an overloaded oven, slightly increase the temperature to ensure consistent results across all loaves. 

  • For significantly under-loaded ovens, lowering the temperature by 10–15°F per empty deck is recommended to maintain a steamy environment and promote even baking. For example, the Simply Bread oven, designed to bake 12 loaves, benefits from a temperature reduction of 15–25°F when loaded with only 6–8 loaves across 2 decks. However, for slight under-loading, such as baking 11 loaves instead of 12, no adjustment is typically necessary, as the loaves still provide sufficient moisture.

  • Conversely, an overloaded oven occurs when loaves are placed too closely together, limiting airflow and steam distribution. In this case, increase the temperature slightly—about 10°F–15°F total—to ensure proper heat penetration across all loaves. Monitor crust color and doneness closely, as uneven baking can occur. Bake time may need to be increased.

Understanding the relationship between steam, hydration, and oven loading is key to mastering your bakes. If you’re experiencing issues like blowouts, overly hard crusts, or inconsistent results, consider how many loaves you are baking and how much steam your oven is generating. With these adjustments, you can turn a stressful bake into a successful one—one loaf at a time.