Baking a Handmade Bread Loaf in Your Big Horn® Pizza Oven

It feels great to pull a fresh Bread Loaf from a hot oven. You can hear the crust crackle and see the steam rise from the soft inside. The smell is amazing. You can have this experience in your own backyard. Use the powerful heat of your Big Horn® pizza oven to make a rustic, handmade loaf of bread. A great pizza oven can do more than just make pizza. With a few tips, you can turn your backyard into a bakery and bake bread that tastes incredible.

This text will show you how to do it. We will cover the simple ingredients you need and the step-by-step method to bake a beautiful loaf in your Big Horn Outdoors® oven.

What You Need: Ingredients

A great Bread Loaf starts with just a few good ingredients. This recipe makes a simple, tasty dough.

• Strong Bread Flour: 1.1 lbs (500g) - Bread flour has more protein than regular all-purpose flour. This protein helps create gluten, which is like a stretchy web inside the dough. This web traps air and gives the bread its chewy feel and helps it rise tall.
• Warm Water: 1.5 cups (350ml) - Use water that feels warm to the touch, about 100-110°F (38-43°C). This temperature wakes up the yeast and helps it work.
• Active Dry Yeast: 2.25 tsp (7g) - Yeast makes the bread rise. It's a living thing that eats the sugars in the flour and creates air bubbles, which makes the dough light and airy.
• Salt: 1.75 tsp (10g) - Salt adds flavor. It also makes the gluten web stronger and controls how fast the yeast works, which helps the bread taste better.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: 2 tsp (10g) (optional) - A little olive oil can give the bread a richer taste and make the inside a bit softer.

What You Need: Tools

The right tools make the job go smoothly. Here is what you will use to bake a great Bread Loaf.

• Big Horn® Pizza Oven - This is your main tool. It gets very hot and holds that heat, which is how you get a crispy crust.
• Large mixing bowl - You will mix your dough in this bowl. It will also be where the dough rises first.
• Digital scale - Baking works best with exact measurements. A scale helps you get it right every time.
• Pizza peel - A peel is the flat paddle you use to safely slide your loaf into and out of the hot oven.
• Baking stone or cast-iron pan - You will bake your bread on this hot surface. It cooks the bottom of the loaf perfectly.
• A spray bottle with water - You will use this to create steam, which is the secret to a great crust.
• Wire cooling rack - After baking, the bread cools on this rack. It lets air flow around the loaf so the bottom does not get soft.
  

  
  

Step-by-Step Guide

Now you have your ingredients and tools. Let's start baking.

Make the Dough

We have a great dough recipe that works for both pizza and bread. You can find the steps here: BIG HORN OUTDOORS® Signature Pizza Dough Recipe. The main steps are to wake up the yeast in warm water, mix all the ingredients, and then knead the dough. You knead by pushing and folding the dough until it becomes smooth and stretchy. This work builds up the gluten web inside.

Let the Dough Rise Once

Put the kneaded dough in a bowl with a little oil. Cover it with a towel or plastic wrap. Let the dough sit in a warm place for about 1-2 hours. It should get about twice as big. This first rise is called "bulk fermentation." During this time, the yeast works to create air and flavor in your bread.

Shape the Loaf

After the first rise, gently press the air out of the dough. Put it on a surface with a little flour. Now, shape the dough into a loaf. You can make a round ball (a "boule") or a longer oval shape (a "bâtard"). Try to pull the surface of the dough tight as you shape it. This tension helps the loaf hold its shape when it bakes.

Let the Dough Rise a Second Time

Place your shaped loaf on a sheet of parchment paper. You can also put it in a special bowl for rising called a "banneton." Cover it and let it sit for another 30-60 minutes. The loaf will puff up again. This final rise is called "proofing." It makes sure the bread will be light and airy inside.

Heat Up Your Big Horn Oven

Now it's time to get the oven ready. Light your Big Horn® oven and let it get very hot for at least 30 minutes. Make sure your baking stone or cast-iron pan is inside while it heats. For bread, you want the stone's surface to be about 450-475°F (230-245°C). This is hot, but not as hot as for pizza. If the fire is too big, let it die down to glowing coals.

Create Steam

Right before you bake, use your spray bottle to spray water on the inside walls of the oven. Do not spray the fire. This water creates steam. Steam keeps the outside of the dough moist for the first few minutes of baking. This allows the bread to puff up one last time in the oven. This big puff is called "oven spring."

Bake the Loaf

Use your pizza peel to carefully slide the loaf onto the hot stone. Bake it for 25-35 minutes. The back of the oven is usually hotter, so you should turn the loaf around about halfway through the bake time. This helps it cook evenly.

Check if It's Done

How do you know the Bread Loaf is ready? The crust will be a deep golden-brown color. You can also tap the bottom of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is done. For a perfect check, use a kitchen thermometer. The inside of the bread should be 190-210°F (88-99°C).

Cool the Bread

Carefully take the finished loaf out of the oven. Place it on a wire rack to cool for at least one hour. It is very hard to wait, but this is an important step. The inside of the bread is still setting. If you cut it too soon, it can be gummy.

Tips for a Perfect Loaf

• Use Steam: Do not forget to spray water in the oven. It makes the crust crispy and beautiful.
• Watch the Heat: Every fire is different. Use a thermometer to check the stone's temperature.
• Trust the Sound: Learn to listen for the hollow sound when you tap the bottom of the loaf. It's a reliable trick.
• Let It Cool: Do not slice the bread while it's hot. Let it cool completely on a rack. The texture will be much better.

Start Your Backyard Bakery

You can bake a wonderful, handmade Bread Loaf in your Big Horn® pizza oven. It is a fun process that will make your outdoor cooking even better. With a little practice, you'll be baking amazing bread for your family and friends. So, light your oven, mix your dough, and enjoy fresh, homemade bread.

Do you want to improve your outdoor cooking? Look at our complete line of Big Horn Outdoors® pizza ovens and tools. Start your next backyard food adventure today!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Can I use different flours instead of bread flour?

Yes, you can try other flours. Bread flour makes a chewy loaf, but you can experiment. If you use whole wheat flour, the bread will be denser and have a nuttier taste. Start by swapping about a quarter of the bread flour with whole wheat. You can also use all-purpose flour, but this will make the bread a little softer. Trying different flours is a fun way to change the taste and feel of your bread. Just know that you might need to use a little more or less water.

Q2. What is the difference between baking on a stone and in a cast-iron pot?

Both ways work well, but they create slightly different results. A baking stone is more like a classic bakery hearth. It makes a crispier bottom crust and lets you shape the loaf in wider, flatter styles. A cast-iron pot (like a Dutch oven) traps steam. This helps the bread rise very high and creates a round, tall loaf with a thinner, crackly crust all over. The pot is a great, almost foolproof tool for a beginner.

Q3. The bottom of my bread burns, but the inside is still doughy. What's wrong?

This usually means your baking stone is too hot. When you heat your oven, let the big fire die down until you only have glowing coals. Check the stone's temperature with an infrared thermometer. It should be 450-475°F. If the bottom still burns, you can put a regular baking sheet under your loaf. This creates a small air gap that softens the direct heat. You can also slide a pizza screen under the loaf halfway through baking.

Q4. How do I keep the heat steady in a wood-fired oven for baking bread?

The trick is to let the oven's dense walls do the work. First, heat the oven with a strong fire for at least 30-45 minutes. This stores a lot of heat in the stone and dome. Then, stop adding wood. Let the fire burn down to a bed of hot coals and push them to the side. You will bake the bread with the stored heat that radiates from the oven itself, not from a live flame. This gives you a steady, even heat that slowly drops, which is perfect for baking bread.

Q5. Can I bake sourdough bread in my Big Horn® oven?

Yes, a Big Horn® oven is excellent for sourdough. The high heat gives sourdough a great "oven spring," which is that last big puff of growth. This heat also creates a beautiful, blistered crust with raised edges that bakers call "ears." You will use a sourdough starter instead of dry yeast, but the baking process is very similar. The steam you create in the oven is very important for sourdough, so don't skip that step.