"Why a simple slab of steel became the backbone of my sourdough business"

When I first started baking sourdough, I used what most home bakers do: DUTCH OVENS. Two at a time, in my home oven, producing 2 loaves in about 50 minutes. While this method worked fine when I was baking for myself, I was never satisfied with the pale crusts and often had burnt bottoms. Once I started my micro-bakery in 2023, I quickly realized something had to change! Baking 10 loaves of sourdough for my customers took me almost FIVE HOURS. I knew something had to change, but I wasn’t ready to sink thousands of dollars in a commercial bread oven.

That’s when I stumbled upon the “open bake method” — a baking method where you can bake 4 loaves of sourdough at once (in your home oven) in under 30 MINUTES. I almost didn’t believe that was possible, so I had to try it for myself. I tried all the “do it yourself” shortcuts… an average cooking sheet (the loaves turned out terrible), a baking stone (which cracked mid bake!) and none of these tools worked. I scoured the internet and found Cooking Steels — the largest steel on the market that fits the average kitchen oven and could bake four large loaves of sourdough. Today, it’s the single most important tool in my baking process, and the reason I can deliver bakery-quality loaves straight from my home oven to my customers’ tables.

In this post, I’ll share exactly how I bake my sourdough on a Cooking Steel, the improvements it made to my bread, and how it allowed me to increase my product output without investing in an expensive commercial oven.

Why the Steel Changed Everything

Switching to a baking steel transformed both the quality of my sourdough and the scale of my production.

Quality Improvements:

• Better oven spring – The steel’s heat transfers instantly, helping loaves rise tall.
• Crispier crusts – More caramelization and crunch compared to Dutch ovens.
• Consistent results – No more guessing; every loaf bakes evenly.

Production Benefits:

• Multiple loaves per bake – I’m no longer limited to a few Dutch ovens.
• Faster turnaround – The steel recovers heat quickly, so I can load batch after batch.
• Higher output – With the open-bake method, I can bake up to 8 loaves per hour in my home oven!

My Open-Bake Process

Instead of trapping steam in a pot like traditional Dutch-oven baking, I load my loaves directly onto a preheated Cooking Steel, and create steam inside the oven itself.

Here’s how I do it:

1. Preheat the Steel – The steel goes in the middle rack and heats up as the oven comes to temperature, creating a concentrated heat source.
2. Load the Loaves – My shaped and scored sourdough loaves slide right onto the steel. The direct contact gives them a powerful boost of heat.
3. Create Steam – Using a pan of boiling water on the lower rack, I fill the oven chamber with steam, allowing the bread to expand fully before the crust sets.
4. Bake to Finish – The steel’s heat retention ensures an evenly browned, crisp crust and a tall, airy loaf—batch after batch.

Grab These Tools First

For the best results and consistent bread every time, you’ll need these tools in your kitchen:

• The 16x22” cooking steel (for guidance on which thickness to buy, check out this blog here)
• A pizza peel or loading board*
• 2 metal 9x13” pans
• 2-4 dish towels
• Oven mitts or heat protectant gloves
• Parchment paper

*NOTE: You can also use a cooking sheet or a thin cutting board to transfer the loaves

Baking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 490ºF with the cooking steel inside on the middle rack, with the empty metal pans on the rack below it. Let the oven preheat for 45-60 minutes. (TIP: use the convection setting if your oven has it! This is not essential, but it helps circulate the heat for even baking.)
2. About 15min before preheating is done, boil about 1 gallon of water.
3. Prep & score your loaves on parchment paper (I score a wheat stalk on the side & a deep score down the middle of each loaf). Set aside.
4. Take the preheated metal pans out of the oven. Place 1-2 dish towels in each, then pour the boiling water into each pan until the towels are submerged. Slide the pans back onto the lower rack of the oven beneath the steel.*
5. Slide loaves onto cooking steel in the oven using a loading board or pizza peel. Make sure the loaves aren’t touching each other or the oven walls. 
6. Bake for 5 minutes, then quickly deep score loaves again (this is called a “second score” and helps your loaves to bloom nicely!) Preheat the oven to 490ºF again.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. Then rotate loaves if needed (if they’re touching each other or one side of your oven is hotter, some loaves will brown quicker). Take out the steaming pans of water and reduce heat to 450ºF.
8. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until loaves develop your desired color. (Tip: check internal bread temp after baking— should be 200-205ºF to be fully cooked)
9. And enjoy your beautifully baked bread after 1 hour of cooling!

*NOTE: Be quick to shut the oven door. Every time you open the oven door, preheat again. Most ovens will lose a LOT of heat when opened, and not automatically preheat again. This may vary depending on your oven.

Why I’ll Never Bake Without a Steel

For me, a cooking steel isn’t just a tool—it’s the foundation of my home bakery! It gave me the ability to bake more loaves, with better results, using the oven I already had.

If you’re serious about sourdough—whether you want to bake more loaves at once or start your own micro-bakery—I can’t recommend Cooking Steels enough. It’s the closest thing to having a commercial bread oven in your own kitchen. 

Common Questions

• Q: Does this method work in gas ovens? A: Because most gas ovens vent out steam, it can be tricky to open-bake in a gas oven! But it is not impossible! There are many bakers who have achieved it in their gas oven.
• Q: Can’t I just use a cooking sheet or stone, why do I need a cooking steel? A: Cooking sheets don’t conduct the heat that’s needed for sourdough. And baking stones can crack from the hot steam! For consistently gorgeous and delicious loaves, it’s 10000% worth it to get a Cooking Steel.
• Q: Do you need a convection oven to use this method? A: No, you don’t need a convection oven. But having convection helps circulate the heat & steam inside your oven for more even baking. Most ovens have a convection option, I recommend researching your oven to see if it has it!

More About Becca

You can find Becca on Instagram (LINK: https://www.instagram.com/sourdoughbybecca/?hl=en) or her website www.madebybecca.net for more resources on the open-bake method and building a sourdough micro-bakery.