Oven spring is the expansion early in baking. Limited expansion may reflect the dough’s fermentation or gas-holding capacity, not simply an oven that was too cool.
Compare the handoff to the oven
Was the shaped dough already slack? Did it deflate during transfer? Was the vessel preheated if the recipe required that? Were scoring and the covered stage carried out as specified? Record these separately.
Choose the next experiment
Where the loaf was weak before loading, review proofing and dough development. Where it held shape but set rapidly at the surface, check the equipment-safe steam method. Do not exceed the vessel’s temperature rating to chase more lift.
Sources & scope
Source-based explanation and editorial checklists by SourdoughStart, operated by Tag Ad Limited. AI-assisted article revised 2026-10-12. Source links are not endorsements.
Revision note: prepared for the new reference-led edition. Suggest a correction.