Flavour & Fire
The Sourdough Journal
Baking the Loaf: Tin
The tin gives the dough support, shape and a little extra room for error.
Not every sourdough loaf needs to stand on its own.
A tin changes the relationship between dough and oven. Instead of asking the dough to hold a free-standing shape, the tin supports it from the sides as it rises and bakes. That makes it especially useful for softer doughs, wholegrain loaves and breads where a regular, sliceable shape matters more than a dramatic ear.
It is not a lesser way of baking bread. It simply gives the dough a different set of conditions. Sometimes, those are exactly the conditions you need.
The Method at a Glance
These are starting points for a single loaf of roughly 900–1,000 g of dough, baked in a loaf tin of about 25 × 11 cm.
- Prepare the tin: grease it lightly, and line it with parchment if your tin tends to stick
- Shape: form the dough into a gentle log that fits the tin, without pressing out all the air; it should fill roughly half the tin
- Final proof: allow 1–2 hours at room temperature, or proof overnight in the fridge, until the dough has visibly expanded and sits around the rim or just above it
- Bake: start at 230°C for the first 15–20 minutes, then reduce to 210–220°C
- Time: about 35–45 minutes in total, depending on the tin, dough and oven
- Done: a well-coloured crust and an internal temperature of around 96–98°C
- Cool: turn the loaf out and cool on a wire rack for at least an hour before slicing
These are starting points rather than fixed rules. The dough always has the final say.
Why Bake Sourdough in a Tin?
A free-standing loaf has to support itself. The dough needs enough strength and surface tension to hold its shape while fermentation continues and the loaf expands in the oven.
A tin takes some of that responsibility away.
Its sides prevent the dough from spreading and give it a clear direction to rise. That creates a few useful advantages.
Support. The dough can lean against the sides instead of relying entirely on its own strength and the tension created during shaping. This makes a tin loaf more forgiving when the dough is softer than planned.
A practical shape. A tin gives you a regular loaf that is easy to slice and stack, fits neatly into a lunchbox and makes good toast. There is no need to create a perfect boule or bâtard.
Useful for wholegrain and softer doughs. Wholegrain and seeded doughs can be heavier and less elastic, while very wet doughs can be difficult to shape free-standing. A tin helps both types of dough rise upwards rather than simply spreading outwards.
Easier to repeat. A tin removes some of the variables involved in shaping. Once you know how your dough behaves in a particular tin, it becomes easier to judge the proof and recognise what a well-baked loaf should look like. That makes it a useful way to learn.
Choosing and Preparing Your Tin
Tin size matters more than it first appears.
A tin that is too large can leave you with a low, broad loaf. One that is too small can let the dough rise over the sides before the centre is ready.
For 900–1,000 g of dough, a tin of around 25 × 11 cm is a useful starting point, although tins vary considerably in depth and volume. Once you find one that suits your usual dough, keep it as part of your baking reference. Your dough, tin and baking temperature will begin to make sense as a combination rather than as separate variables.
Some tins release bread easily; others need a little help. A thin, even coating of oil or butter is usually enough. There is no need to flood the tin with fat.
Parchment makes removal almost effortless, provided you leave enough overhang to lift the loaf out after baking.
Shaping and the Final Proof
Shaping for a tin is different from shaping a free-standing loaf.
You are not trying to build a tight outer skin that has to hold the entire loaf upright. Instead, you want a reasonably even log with enough tension to give it structure, without pressing all the gas out of the dough.
Place it seam-side down in the prepared tin.
The final proof is one of the most useful things to learn about tin baking, so watch the dough rather than relying entirely on the clock. It should become visibly lighter and more expanded, and may reach the rim or sit just above it before baking.
An underproofed loaf can rise aggressively in the oven and split unpredictably. An overproofed loaf may have little strength left for oven spring and can collapse or bake with a dense structure.
The tin makes the shape easier. It does not make fermentation less important.
Baking
Transfer the dough gently to a well-preheated oven at around 230°C.
A tin loaf does not need exactly the same approach to steam as an open bake, because the tin already helps contain the dough during the early part of the bake. The exposed top can still benefit from a moist baking environment, however.
After the first 15–20 minutes, lower the temperature to 210–220°C so that the crust can continue to develop without darkening too quickly.
If the top colours faster than the centre is ready, cover it loosely with foil for the final part of the bake.
The exact timing will depend on the tin, the dough and your oven, but around 35–45 minutes is a useful starting point.
The loaf should feel firm and have a well-developed crust. An internal temperature of around 96–98°C is a useful additional check.
Getting the Crust You Want
A tin naturally gives the loaf a softer side crust.
For a firmer crust, take the loaf out of the tin for the final few minutes and return it directly to the oven. This allows the sides and base to dry and colour further.
For a softer, sandwich-style crust, leave the loaf in the tin briefly after baking and cover it with a clean tea towel as it cools.
Small changes like these can turn the same dough into a noticeably different loaf.
Reading Your Tin Loaf
| What you see | Possible cause | What to try next |
|---|---|---|
| Dough rises over the rim and mushrooms | Overproofed, or the tin is too small | Shorten the proof, or use a larger tin |
| Dense crumb with a tunnel under the top crust | Underproofed | Proof a little longer |
| Loaf sits low and broad in the tin | Tin too large, or too little dough | Use a smaller tin or more dough |
| Loaf sticks | Tin not greased enough, or no parchment | Line the tin, or grease it more evenly |
| Top too dark, centre still damp | Too much heat too soon | Lower the temperature or cover with foil |
| Pale, soft sides | Loaf remained in the tin for the whole bake | Turn it out for the final 5–10 minutes |
For more on reading a loaf once it has cooled, see Cooling & Reading Your Loaf.
What a Tin Cannot Do
The same support that makes a tin useful also limits the loaf.
The bread will largely follow the dimensions of the tin, and there is little room to correct mistakes once the dough is in place. If the tin is too full, the dough can rise over the edges. If it is underproofed, it may remain stiff rather than filling the tin properly.
A tin also cannot compensate for dough that is seriously overfermented, underdeveloped or poorly baked. The sides can prevent the dough from spreading, but they cannot rebuild its structure.
And if you want a broad, open crumb, a pronounced ear and a deeply exposed crust, open baking or a Dutch oven offers a different set of possibilities.
The method should follow the bread you want to make.
There is no rule that sourdough has to be rustic, round or dramatically scored. A good loaf is simply one that suits what you want to eat.
From Tin to Table
When the loaf comes out of the oven, let it rest briefly in the tin before turning it out carefully onto a wire rack.
Do not slice it immediately.
Give it at least an hour to cool, and longer if the loaf is particularly large or moist. Then look at what happened.
Did the dough rise evenly? Did it fill the corners? Is the crumb soft and open, or dense and compressed? Is the crust the way you wanted it?
The tin has made the loaf easier to shape, but the finished bread still tells the story of everything that came before it.
A Different Kind of Sourdough
There is something appealing about a tin loaf.
It asks less of the dough and, in return, gives you something useful and dependable. It does not need a perfect ear or an impressive silhouette. It simply needs to rise, bake through and become good bread.
Sometimes the most satisfying loaf is the one that simply works.
The tin gives the dough support. You decide what to do with it.
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Baking the Loaf – Loaf Tin
Sometimes a tin gives the dough exactly the support it needs.