How to Bake Sourdough in A Loaf Pan
Published: Aug 27, 2024
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I love a good sourdough artisan loaf, made in the traditional method – or made in a stand mixer, shaped by hand, risen in a proofing bowl, turned out and baked in a dutch oven.
But sometimes circumstances don’t allow for a dutch oven. Or we want a bread that is easier to slice. Or maybe we just want to experiment with something new! Enter: sourdough bread baked in a loaf pan.
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How to Bake Sourdough Bread in a Loaf Pan
Start with your favorite sourdough bread recipe
I love using my beginner sourdough loaf (lower hydration) or my sourdough artisan bread loaf (higher hydration). Both of these recipes work really well baked in a loaf pan. Mix your dough and follow the steps of gentle folds, all the way up until your dough is ready to be shaped.
Both of the loaves pictured below feature the same recipe. One is baked in a dutch oven. The other is baked in a loaf pan.
Shape the Bread
Once your dough is ready to be shaped, prepare a loaf pan. I love these USA bread pans or these pans that are a little bit larger. Butter the corners of your pan if they are prone to sticking (good quality parchment paper also works). Shape your dough like you would for an oval loaf.
To shape: Sprinkle flour on top of the dough (if desired). Using a bench knife, lift the dough up off the counter and flip it over onto the countertop, floured side down. This ensures that the flour is staying mainly on the outside of the dough. Starting at the side of the dough closest to you, pull the dough towards you and fold it up to the center. Repeat the process by pulling the right side of the dough out, stretching it, and then back to the center. Then pull the left side of the dough out to stretch and then to the center. Pull the opposite side of the dough up and towards you and tuck it over like a package. Then roll the dough up into an oval shape. Place the dough in the prepared bread pan.
Proofing Options for Sourdough in a Loaf Pan
At this point you have a couple of options for proofing your sourdough:
Same Day Bake: If you want to bake it right away, let it sit and rise in the loaf pan for a couple of hours until puffed up, jiggly and risen. The exact number of hours will depend on the recipe you are using – specifically, the amount of starter/levain that is your dough and the temperature of your dough.
Cold Fermentation: If you prefer a cold fermentation, cover the dough and stick it in the refrigerator overnight.
Baking Sourdough in a Loaf Pan
The goal when baking a loaf of sourdough in a home oven is to get enough steam in your oven. Home ovens are built to vent steam out (not keep it in). For a sourdough loaf to expand to its full potential and have a crispy crust, you want to encourage steam in your oven during the first half of the bake. Here are a couple of ways to do that with sourdough bread in a loaf pan:
1. Bake with a pan of hot water underneath the loaf
- Pre-heat the oven to 450ºF. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven. Place the loaf in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the pan of water from the oven. Bake for another 15-20 minutes until crispy and browned on top.
2. Place a second loaf pan on top of the loaf pan with the dough creating a Dutch-oven effect
- Place a second loaf pan on top of the first loaf pan, creating a mini dutch-oven without having to use a dutch oven. This traps steam in. Bake at 450ºF with the lid on. Then take off after 25-30 minutes and bake with the lid off for another 15-20 minutes. You do not need the pan of water for this method.
3. Let the dough rise until almost doubled in the loaf pan and bake as a normal loaf of bread.
- Allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, light, jiggly and fluffy. You can add some water in a pan underneath to steam the bread for a crispy crust, but you don’t have to if choosing this method. I like to bake this bread at a little lower temperature 400-425ºF for 40-45 minutes.
If you liked this, you’ll also like…
- How to Bake Sourdough Bread on the Grill
- How to Bake Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Bread Recipe
- Beginner Sourdough Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t let your bread rise up and over the pan, I would score it so the loaf doesn’t burst open where you don’t want it to. Read more about scoring a loaf here. If you let your dough rise until doubled in size, you can choose to score or not to score.
Try reducing the temperature of your oven by 25-50ºF. You can also stick a baking sheet or baking stone on the oven rack below the loaf pan to help offset some of the direct heat.
Use good quality parchment paper or butter the corners of your loaf pan before adding the bread. This helps it to not stick. Using a good quality non-stick pan also helps and waiting for 5-10 minutes before trying to remove from the pan also helps.
Yes! Instead of turning it out on parchment paper, turn it out and gently fold it, sticking it in a loaf pan. Then bake it according to one of the methods above.
If you tried baking Sourdough Bread in a Loaf Pan or any other recipe on my website leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Happy Baking!
Thank you for the excellent and clear instructions!! I used the beginner sour dough loaf recipe and baked in a pan with steam and in came out perfect and delicious. Fun and easy recipe. 🙂
Thanks for the review! So glad this method worked for you!
Just pulled two loaves of Rosemary garlic sourdough from the oven and love that they’re in loaf form! I used a pie plate of water and it worked like a charm. Thank you for this article.
I’m glad this method worked well for you! Thanks for sharing.
I am love making sourdough sandwich bread
Glad you are enjoying it!
Can I split my dough to bake in smaller loaf pans in my Dutch oven?
You can do that! I don’t recommend the aluminum tin pans with bread because the bottom stays really soft and you don’t get as good of a crust, but you can definitely bake them in samller tins.
Can this be done with the croissant sourdough loaf? Because that sounds amazing!
Yes! I use this method to make that bread all the time!
If you choose to do a sourdough loaf with cold fermentation (for me it will be overnight), do you take it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before baking, or does it go straight from the refrigerator to the preheated oven?
Thank you!
It depends which method you choose. If you bake with covered pans or with steam, you don’t need to let it rise again. If you aren’t baking with any steam, you will want it to double in size before baking.
I recently switched from fat Daddio‘s pans to USA pans. I have a super soft sourdough bread that I make for my family every week, but I’m struggling to get it to bake all the way through in the USA pans. The recipe calls for 375° for 30 to 35 minutes; however that’s leaving raw spots when I use the USA pans.
In this case, would you recommend I cover with another loaf pan to trap more heat into fully bake it, or should I increase the temperature of my oven to 400° and bake it for 40 to 45 minutes? What would be your best advice here for me? I definitely don’t want the loaves to be super dark as we have little children who are eating the bread and we like it pretty soft.
I would probably cover with another loaf pan for the first 20-30 minutes and increase the temperature during that time. Then you can reduce the temperature back to 375 to finish the bake with the loaf pan off. Does your recipe give a temperature range for the loaf to be finished baking at? Typically it’s somewhere between 190-210ºF (depending on the ingredients) so you may check for that as well to troubleshoot.
For option 3- Let the dough rise until almost doubled in the loaf pan and bake as a normal loaf of bread. Is this for a same day bake? During bulk fermentation so there is no cold fermentation? Thanks
Yes, typically it’s for a same day bake. You could stick it in the fridge though when it’s almost doubled and then bake straight from the fridge.
What should the internal temperature be when baking your Classic Sourdough Loaf in a loaf tin?
Thanks
Cathie
Perth
Western Australia
It’s the same. I shoot for around 195-200ºF.
How do you decide what size loaf pan to use, based on the weight of your dough??
Thank you!!!!
Yes, usually based on the weight of your dough. I like a 9 by 5 loaf pan for most sourdough recipes that call for about 500 grams of flour.