I'm generally a fan fan. So I would concur with the middle of the oven approach. Turn the oven off, crack the door open, and allow the bread to remain inside for 5 additional minutes; this helps keep the crust crisp. On Preheating for a Crispy Crust. For two trays of cookies space them evenly. So the hottest part of the oven is probably the top part. The interior temperature of the bread should register at least 190°F on a digital thermometer. I may be stuck in my apartment for a while because of this China Coronavirus thing, so I bought a bunch of flour and yeast. If the top … I have bread and pizza recipes that call for the oven to be 475 to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and tell you to preheat for 25 minutes. Usually the oven rack goes in the center of the oven. The dutch oven is as high as I can put it in the oven, which helps but it's still burned slightly. You can use the fan function for pastry like croissants. I have a ~38L oven that looks like this. Erin solves this by tossing an empty cookie sheet onto a lower rack at the same time she puts the bread in the oven. When I bake bread in my dutch oven, to get the bread crust a darker brown and where it should be, the bottom will burn. I would like to make some simple breads to tide me over if things get hairy here. We always use the conventional setting for all our bread baking, so the top and bottom function, also for preheating. If you're baking in a traditional kitchen oven, one that only has a heating element on the bottom, you may see some scorching on the bottom of your loaves. Heat, as they say, rises. A dent in the middle. The heat shield is a simple solution to reduce scorching. There are two kinds of dents: those that form inside the oven while the cake is cooking, and those that form after you’ve taken the cake out of the oven. We know that it depends very much on the making, model and quality of your oven how well it can be heated and how well it is sealed for the temperature to stay at a higher level. If you set the control to Bake, only the bottom one should heat. helps ensure more even heat, though can be a bit drying and it can reduce the cooking time so, especially with American recipes, be sure to check things a bit earlier than you might otherwise. As for the top/bottom, depends on what your oven is like. Also, only use the bottom heating element so that the top doesn’t crust as quickly. Yet, the burners seem to be on the bottom—so too close the them can burn your baked goods. Baking bread in a toaster oven: Should I use the bottom element, top element, or both? And also with the notion of a thermometer if you are really getting into baking delicate things. I've used several recipes and different ovens with the same problem outcome. The correct rack position will ensure even baking. Bake the bread for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and a loaf sounds hollow to the touch when you tap it on the bottom. This is so the oven is actually as hot as it needs to be for a nice crispy crust. If your dent forms once the cake is out of the oven, that means it hasn’t properly been cooked through. The bottom one, the top one is for broiling.