Baking Temperatures
I made another sourdough loaf from Bread by J. Hamelman. This was the Vermont Sourdough with whole wheat. The recipe calls for 460F for 40-45 minutes. I steamed the first 5 minutes (he cautions against over steaming) and due to browning, reduced the temperature to 400 at 20 minutes. At 35 minutes the inside temperature of the loaf was 207F. I considered the bread done and removed it.
Am I missing something? I looked through the book to see if home bakers were to use a lower temperature but he likes hot fast bakes. I just find 45 minutes to be a bit long. I was baking two 1.5 lb loaves on a stone. One is pictured at top.
I am working on my oven loading technique as well as my slashing. I normally do pan loaves. Those I bake at 375F for 35 minutes.
At least these loaves did not kiss.
Mike