What temp to bake bread? We’d like to pretend that making bread is simple, but it’s not, especially when you’re starting from scratch.
There are numerous factors to consider: ingredient ratios, proper mixing techniques, resting times, temperatures, shaping methods, baking methods—the list is endless!
One major issue we’ve noticed and been asked about repeatedly is what temperature bread should be baked at.
What temperature should I use to bake my bread? When it comes to baking temperatures, there are numerous factors to consider. Bread with thick and crispy crusts (like sourdough and ciabatta) bake at higher temperatures than bread with thin and soft crusts (like banana bread and hamburger buns), which bake at lower temperatures.
In today’s lengthy article, we’ll go over every factor to consider when determining the best temperature to bake bread at.
The type of bread you’re making (high-fat dough, enriched dough, or high-sugar dough), the crust you want, the flavor, and, most importantly, the texture are all factors to consider.
What Temp to Bake Bread
We’ve compiled a handy list of more specific types of bread and the bake bread temperatures at which they should be baked.
Sourdough
Sourdough bread is distinguished by its chewy interior texture and crisp, crunchy crust. A very specific baking technique is used to achieve this balance.
In an ideal world, high temperatures aid in the development of the crispy crust while a steamy oven aids in the softening of the interior crumb.
Unfortunately, not all ovens have a steaming function or are large enough to accommodate it. However, steam helps to slow the development of the crust, allowing the sourdough to rise significantly.
You can either bake the dough in a preheated pan, pot, or skillet, or add hot water to the bottom of your oven.
You can bake sourdough at two different temperatures (or methods) (with or without the use of steam).
The first step is to preheat your oven to a high temperature, approximately 465°F. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes before lowering the temperature to 430°F and continuing to bake for another 15 minutes.
This method provides excellent oven spring (the dough’s initial rise) in hot temperatures while lowering the temperature helps prevent over-browning. You’ll still have a nice, thick, dark crust.
Simply bake the loaf at 430°F for 40-45 minutes in the second method. This will result in a much thinner crust with a lighter color. Both methods will yield a crispy crust, albeit at different thicknesses.
Ciabatta
Ciabatta dough is similar to sourdough in that it has a chewy interior texture as well as a chewy crust. This is achieved by baking the loaf at high temperatures and misting it with water.
Ciabatta should be baked at 425°F for 25-35 minutes, depending on the size of the loaf.
This helps the crust form quickly, but you don’t bake it for long enough that it dries out (becomes crispy) or becomes too thick.
Dinner Rolls
For a variety of reasons, dinner rolls should be baked at lower temperatures. For starters, they are much smaller than a large loaf of bread. Because they will naturally take less time to bake, higher temperatures will quickly dry them out.
Lower temperatures also keep them soft, resulting in a thin, soft crust with a golden brown color. Many dinner roll recipes call for either high-fat bread or enriched bread.
We recommend baking these dinner rolls for about 20 minutes at 350°F. Remember, they’re small, so don’t overbake them and they’ll dry out or turn too dark.
Hotdog Rolls or Hamburger Buns
Hamburger bun and hotdog roll recipes are very similar to dinner roll recipes. They do, however, contain more moisture and are typically softer. These are frequently high-fat or enriched dough.
You could also bake hamburger buns or hotdog rolls at 375°F for 30-40 minutes.
The higher temperature (in comparison to dinner rolls) is due to the larger size of the bread, which requires more heat to rise properly.
Rye Wheat
The proportion of flour and rye grains used in wheat rye bread varies greatly.
The color of the bread will be determined by this, which can range from light to dark. Because this bread is typically very dense, using the proper temperature is critical.
Most bakers prefer to bake wheat-rye bread at 400-425°F. Because of their density, the loaves will also take much longer to bake completely.
Because loaves vary in size so much, tapping the bottom of the loaf is the best way to tell when it’s done. It is usually done if it sounds hollow. These loaves, however, can take at least an hour to bake.
Dough for Pizza
While many argue that pizza is not a type of bread, we believe it is. Pizza dough is made from the same ingredients as regular bread dough, but it is shaped differently and baked with additional toppings.
Now, regardless of the baking method, pizza dough should be baked at higher temperatures.
This ensures that the sides seal, the crust is extremely crispy, the dough cooks evenly and quickly, and the toppings do not overcook.
Bake pizza dough in an oven, on a pizza stone, in a skillet or Dutch oven, or in a pizza oven. Regardless, temperatures between 450 and 500°F are required.
The baking time of the dough is primarily determined by its thickness and overall diameter (size) or base. Obviously, the larger the base, the longer it would take.
Thin bases can be completed in about 10 minutes, while thicker bases can take up to 25 minutes.
Banana Bread
Banana bread contains a lot of sugar. Remember from that section that any bread with more than half a cup of sugar should be baked at a lower temperature, around 350°F.
This will ensure that the bread develops nice caramel-like flavors, does not become too dark, and has a nice thin and soft crust.
Brioche Bun
Brioche is a very rich bread made with milk (or cream), fat (usually butter), and eggs. It may also contain sugar at times. All of these ingredients make the dough prone to overbaking and browning.
When the sugar content of all of these ingredients is added together, it is critical to bake the dough at lower temperatures. 325-375°F for 30-40 minutes is our recommendation.
Potato Bread
In general, potato bread is a dense loaf of bread that is still fluffy and soft. To give it a distinct flavor, it is obviously made with mashed potatoes.
This bread should definitely be baked at lower temperatures to avoid becoming too dark (due to the sugars in the potato) or forming a thick and chewy crust.
We recommend baking it for 40-50 minutes at 350°F. This time varies according to the size of your loaf, but the density requires more time to bake in general.
Bread Baking Mistakes Most People Make
Because we’re talking about baking temperatures today, it’s also the most common mistake people make when baking bread.
It’s pointless to spend hours making the perfect sourdough dough only to ruin it by using incorrect bread baking temperatures, resulting in a soft crust and pale color!
It is critical to understand what characteristics your bread must have in order to determine the best temperature to achieve that.
Under-baking and over-baking are also common issues that have to do with temperature. Check to see if you understand what temperature you’re baking at and how it affects how quickly the loaf bakes.
Lower temperatures naturally cause the loaf to bake for a longer period of time than higher temperatures.
Higher temperatures, on the other hand, may give the loaf the appearance of being fully baked when it is not. You must strike a balance between fully baking the bread and the color it must have.