Oven Temp for Bread

[Brotalex]

Hello Bread Bakers
I have the Casa2G90 and I baked (successfully) several loaves of sourdough bread, maybe it is beginners luck I am just curious what you would recommend the oven temp to be when loading the bread. I loaded my loaves at 500-550. Is this too hot? Some did get a bit dark, and they seemed to be done around 25 min. I get about 6 loaves in the oven and would like to load the oven again with 6 loaves so I thought I start the first load at that this temp.
another question after how many minutes do you check the loaves and turn them or move them around in the oven, it is a bit tricky not having an oven window
Thanks so much
Alex

[SableSprings]

Good instinct on the first bread run Alex. I shoot for 550F-575F for my bake day's first batch of baguettes. I usually place 8-10 baguettes into my 39" diameter oven for each batch. I have been able to fit more into a single load but if you crowd them you tend to get blowouts on the sides of the loaves. I've done multiple batches to bake up to 30 loaves on a single firing. At 550F-575F, I set my timers for 15 and 10 minutes. At 10 minutes, the crust has set and if I'm getting too much browning or I want to rearrange the loaves--that's when I move them about. I just set my cooking door aside and look in (you don't need a window ). Generally my 400g dough loaves are done (205F-209F internal) in the 15 minutes. The second batch may take 20 minutes, but seldom longer for the baguettes. The crust on my loaves is good initially, but with the 66% hydration it does soften up a bit as they cool and set. My whole wheat breads follow at the lower temps and again I use an initial 10 minute look inside to check the oven spring and watch for blowouts. Enriched doughs follow at the lowest temps and often I have to put them in the oven on an inverted sheet pan so the sugar/oil content doesn't burn.

One thing that is very important (IMHO ) is to remove the coals/ash, clean the floor and let the oven equalize temps before any breads go in. It's pretty surprising to check the temps on the cooking floor after clearing it...lots of temperature variation! I really like the IR gun from Forno Bravo in that when you scan across the cooking floor and review the readout it will give you min, max, and average temperatures. After equalizing my oven, the cooking floor is all within a 2-3 degree (F) range. I know when my loaves are loaded in that they are all going to cook pretty evenly.

I have used a Casa2G90 pretty extensively at a friends house and although I generally only make four loaves in those batches, I know the oven has enough retained heat to do a couple more loads of bread or at least follow them up with a roast, potatoes, and pie(s)!

Hope that helps! Remember your oven is unique and you will need to learn how to best utilize its capabilities...lots of help available here on the forum, but this is ultimately a personal (and very satisfying) journey for you!

[SableSprings]

Alex, I thought a visual on the look of my baguettes would help. The first picture is of my baguettes from the Casa2G90 followed by a load of Possum Korn and corn muffins. The last two pics are of my Asiago and regular baguettes. I'd be interested in how these compare to your "a bit dark" loaves. I'm actually a little surprised that you baked them for 25 minutes...it just seems to be a long time at those temps. Did you take an internal loaf temp to determine when to take them out?