Your First Bake with the Cactus Bread Oven
Already have a sourdough recipe you like? Keep using it.
This guide focuses on how to shape, proof, score, and bake your dough with the Cast Iron Warehouse Round Bread Oven.
The dough amount, temperatures, and baking times below are practical starting points for your first bake. Once you're familiar with how your dough and oven behave, adjust them to suit your usual recipe.
Quick Start
| Starting dough | Around 900 g (2.0 lb) |
| Shape | Round loaf |
| Banneton | Around 8.5 in round |
| Preheat | 480°F, around 30 min |
| Bread Oven | Room temperature |
| Bake | 450°F |
| Covered bake | About 30 min |
| Uncovered bake | Start with about 20 min |
The dough weight above refers to total dough weight before baking. It is a starting point rather than a minimum or maximum capacity.
How the Round Bread Oven Works
The domed lid creates an enclosed baking space around the loaf during the first part of the bake.
As the dough heats, it releases moisture. The fitted lid helps retain that moisture around the loaf, keeping the surface flexible while the loaf expands before the crust begins to set.
Later, the lid is removed so moisture can escape and the crust can brown and become crisp.
Covered: steam retention & expansion
Uncovered: browning & crisping
You don't need to add water or ice. The moisture already present in the dough provides the steam for the covered stage.
Your First Bake
You'll need your prepared sourdough dough, a round banneton or suitable proofing container, a bread lame, razor blade or sharp knife, oven mitts, and parchment paper if you prefer to use it.
1. Shape & Proof
Once bulk fermentation is complete according to your usual recipe, shape around 900 g (2.0 lb) of dough into a round loaf.
Place the shaped dough seam-side up in a well-floured round banneton and complete the final rise according to your usual method.
If you're choosing a banneton for this Bread Oven, a round banneton around 8.5 in is a practical starting size.
2. Preheat
Toward the end of the final rise, preheat your oven to 480°F, allowing around 30 minutes for it to heat thoroughly.
Keep the Round Bread Oven at room temperature for this method.
Preheating the oven gives the baking environment time to become thoroughly hot, while keeping the Bread Oven itself cool makes transferring and scoring the dough easier.
3. Turn Out & Score
Once the oven is ready, turn the proofed dough onto the Bread Oven base.
Center the loaf on the base and use parchment paper underneath if preferred.
For a first bake, a single main score is a simple place to start and gives the dough a controlled area to open as it expands.
Fit the lid once the loaf is scored.
4. Bake Covered, Then Uncovered
Place the covered Bread Oven into the preheated oven and reduce the temperature to 450°F.
Bake covered for about 30 minutes.
Then carefully remove the lid and continue baking uncovered for about 20 minutes.
Use this as a starting point rather than relying on the timer alone. If the crust is still lighter than you prefer, continue baking uncovered for another 5–10 minutes.
5. Remove & Cool
Once baked, remove the loaf from the Bread Oven and transfer it to a wire rack.
For a crisper crust, allow air to circulate around the loaf as it cools.
Allow the bread to cool completely before slicing, ideally for at least 1 hour.
Using a Banneton or Cold Proof
A banneton isn't essential, but it is useful for supporting a free-form round loaf during the final rise.
If you don't have one, a similarly sized bowl lined with a well-floured kitchen towel can also be used.
For an overnight cold proof, proof the dough in the banneton in the refrigerator. When you're ready to bake, transfer the cold dough onto the room-temperature Bread Oven base, score it, and fit the lid.
If you normally bake your sourdough straight from the refrigerator, you can continue with that workflow.
Common Questions
Do I Need to Preheat the Bread Oven?
No. This method uses a preheated oven and a room-temperature Bread Oven.
Keeping the Bread Oven at room temperature makes it easier to turn out, position, and score the dough without working around very hot cast iron.
The fitted lid will still retain moisture around the loaf once baking begins.
Can I Use Parchment Paper?
Yes.
Parchment paper is optional, but it can make transferring and removing the loaf easier.
Use parchment paper that is rated for your baking temperature, and avoid using more than you need beneath the loaf.
Can I Bake Less or More Dough?
Yes. The suggested 900 g (2.0 lb) is a first-bake starting point, not a fixed requirement or maximum capacity.
A smaller loaf will occupy less of the Bread Oven and may bake more quickly.
You can also experiment with a larger loaf, but the dough should still have enough room to expand without being tightly crowded against the sides or lid.
Troubleshooting
What If the Bottom Gets Too Dark?
Cast iron retains a lot of heat, and some ovens deliver more heat from below than others.
If the bottom consistently becomes darker than you prefer, try moving the Bread Oven one rack higher on your next bake.
You can also place an empty baking sheet on the rack below the Bread Oven to help reduce direct heat from the lower heating element.
If the bottom still browns too quickly, try reducing the oven temperature slightly on your next bake and adjust the baking time as needed.
What If the Loaf Gets Too Close to the Lid?
The dough should have enough room to expand without being tightly crowded against the sides or lid.
If your loaf repeatedly reaches the lid during oven spring, try slightly reducing the dough quantity on your next bake.
Every sourdough recipe and oven behaves differently. Use the dough quantity, temperatures, and baking times in this guide as starting points and adjust them to suit your dough and oven.
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