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!
Hi Amy, I have been trying to make a San Francisco style of sourdough bread using a recipe from a bread machine book I have. You make the starter,(2-3days) then 2 refreshments, first 2 days then second 12 hours)and then start to process in the machine for 10 min and leave for 8 hrs. Then add final dough Ingredients and process for dough cycle. Then shape into round and let rise about two hours and score and bake. I’ve used Steam oven method but crust is so hard and not many airy pockets. Also tried refrigeration overnight and Dutch oven method with basically same results. Tomorrow I am going to try loaf pan method and see what happens. I’ve not really tried higher hydration sour dough and this one is definitely “stiff and moist”as described. Any other tips I could try for getting some holes? I love, love your discard recipes!!
I would try this recipe for Classic Sourdough Bread and see if it gives you better results. Happy baking!
Amy,
I received a beautiful Emile Henry large loaf pan for Christmas. I’d like to make a large loaf but not sure if I can simply double your artisan sandwich loaf recipe? Does it need to bake longer?
Thanks for your help.
Becky
I haven’t baked with an Emile Henry loaf pan before, so I’m not sure. I would probably double the recipe and if I had too much dough to fit in the loaf pan, then I would divide the dough and bake a mini loaf or smaller boule with the extra. Hope that helps!
I absolutely love your recipes! I now mostly bake my sourdough in loaf pans now. Only issue I have had on the last 2 bakes is a side blowout. I score it deep. I am thinking not enouph steam? Doing more today and going to use my big square roaster to cover the loaf pans to keep steam as previously steamed the oven with a pan. They get too tall to use another loaf pan on top. (using 5×9 pans) Your recipe for classic sourdough makes two large loaves. Should I spritz them with water or do you think just the roaster lid over top of the loaf pans (They will be sitting on a large baking sheet) will create enouph steam?
It does sound like not enough steam. I’d try it with the roasting pan on top and see if that makes a difference. Let me know how they turn out!
I am experimenting with the loaf pan on top method. My bread is getting too dark. Last night I even had a loaf that the parchment paper like baked into the bread. I couldn’t get it all off. I have never had that happen before. Do you know if the pan on top would be causing it to get too brown or if I should just drop the temp in the second half of the bake?
I would drop the temp in the second half of the bake and see if that works!
Can I score after 7 min? For the loaf pan?
Yes, that should work.
will the recipe for beginner sour dough make two loaves?
This beginner sourdough bread makes one regular sized loaf, but you can double it to make two loaves. Happy baking!
Hi I was trying to find your bread recipe for the size of the loaf when you’re using a bread pan and I couldn’t. What is the total weight of the dough per bread loaf?
Thank you in advance.
It depends on the recipe, but most of Amy’s sandwich bread recipes make a loaf of roughly 1.45–1.5 kg. The artisan loaves are roughly 1000 grams. That can vary depending on if you have inclusions or if you make any modifications to the amount of water or flour, etc. Hope that helps!
How many grams of dough for one loaf
It depends on the recipe, but most of Amy’s sandwich bread recipes make a loaf of roughly 1.45–1.5 kg. The artisan loaves are roughly 1000 grams. That can vary depending on if you have inclusions or if you make any modifications to the amount of water or flour, etc. Hope that helps!
Love your recipes and tips/techniques. I like to print them to put in my sourdough notebook. Could you possible add a “PRINT” button for this like you would for a recipe? If I just hit my print button it wants to print everything to the tune of 29 pages! 🙁
Thank you!!
CJfromGA
Thanks for the feedback! The website automatically formats the print option for recipe cards. We’ll look into it!
Hi Amy,
Thank you so much for your help and recipes!!!
I don’t own oven for baking bread. Could you please explain how to do It i …n an airfryer.
Looking forward for your help,
Sincerly Sabina
I’ve never tried to bake bread in an airfryer, and I’m not sure how to attempt that. An air fryer is basically a convection oven, and we don’t typically recommend baking bread on convection (convection baking is best for baked goods like cookies or for things like getting vegetables crispy). Air fryers also vary widely by model, so I’d check the user manual for your particular model and see if there is any guidance on how to bake a loaf in an air fryer. Sorry to not be of more help!
I’ve seen others talk about baking in a toaster oven. Do you have one of those? If not, you can pick one up for pretty cheap!! 🙂