How to Bake Sourdough without a Dutch oven: Manual Steam Method

You’re ready to get started with sourdough baking, but you don’t have a Dutch oven! This post will teach you how to bake sourdough bread without a Dutch oven using a manual steam method.

Or you’re making sandwich bread or another bread that doesn’t fit in a Dutch oven and need an alternative to avoid baking a dense bread.

This post will explain why a Dutch oven is used, what to substitute for a Dutch oven, and more baking tips to achieve a beautiful bake with oven spring and a crisp crust.

collage of images for manually steaming sourdough bread in oven to bake without a dutch oven pan filled with water, spray bottle, and pan of towels soaked in water

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What is a Dutch oven, and Why Does it Matter?

Helpful Tools

Why does bread need steam?

What is manual steam?

6 steamy substitutes for a Dutch oven

How to manually add steam without a Dutch oven the easiest way

Some sourdough recipes to try out this method

Want more sourdough starter info?

Time for some steamy bakes

Want to Learn Sourdough for Free?

Living Bread Baker posts mentioned

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What is a Dutch oven, and Why Does it Matter?

A Dutch oven is a heavy cast iron pot fitted with a matching lid. Some Dutch ovens are raw uncoated cast iron and some are coated with enamel.

The cast iron holds heat very well for even baking and creating a hot environment. The heavy lid helps lock in the steam as it escapes in the hot oven.

Steam is critical to get a good bake. Without the Dutch oven, you will need to add steam manually.

Cast iron dutch oven and enamel coated dutch oven for sourdough baking

Helpful Tools

Here are some tools that will help you get a steamy bake, but the tips below will help you get a great bake today with tools you probably already have on hand!

5 qt. Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven
Basic Stainless Steel Square Pan for Manual Steam
Heavy duty silicone oven mitts
Spray bottles for manual steam
Challenger Breadware Cast Iron for boules, demi baguettes, or batard loaves (a more expensive item because it is specialized)

See the full list of my recommended essentials here: Amazon idea list of Sourdough Essentials (see affiliate disclosure)

Have a limited budget? This post outlines the absolute essentials so you don’t have to break the bank to get started plus some hacks to get along without all the “right tools”: Beginners’ Guide to Sourdough Bread Baking Tools on a Budget

Why does bread need steam?

If you’ve ever baked a loaf of bread but ended up with a heavy, dense, thick crusted bread, you may know a thing or two about steam.

Home ovens are made to remove moisture to create a dry hot baking environment. In bread baking the baking has two stages:

First stage: High heat, high steam (the oven spring stage)
Second stage: High heat, no steam (the crusty stage)

Steam keeps the outside of the bread soft so that it can expand like a balloon in the high heat oven in order to achieve great oven spring and a soft open crumb inside.

Without steam in the first half of the bake, the crust will form too quickly and early which won’t allow your bread to expand during the bake leading to a dense, small loaf.

If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you must use a manual steam method.

What is manual steam?

Manual steam is a way to create steam in your oven without the use of a Dutch oven or an automated professional baking oven.

Manually steam bread to avoid a hard crust and dense texture using a few methods.

Use water or ice with basic tools like a metal pan, spray bottle, lava rocks, or towels.These tools help add steam while the oven preheats and in the first stage of baking.

6 steamy substitutes for a Dutch oven

One way to add steam to a home oven is to fill an oven-safe metal pan with 1-2 inches of water, and preheat in the oven on the bottom rack. The water should be steaming by the time the oven is preheated.
Roll up kitchen towels, place them in a pan, fill the pan with water, and ensure the towels are completely saturated. Put the pan in the oven for 30 to 60 minutes while it preheats to create a consistent, slow release of steam.
Use lava rocks instead of towels if you’d like. Lava rocks are great because they will slowly release the steam and hold it for a long time, and they don’t have a risk of burning.
Another method that can be used on its own or combined with other steam methods is to generously spray the walls of the oven with water using a spray bottle before quickly closing the oven door to trap the moisture.
Some bakers will add a pan of ice when they put their bread into the hot oven to create steam.
Combination of a pan method above and the water spray bottle.

rolled up towels in a metal pan saturated with water for manually steaming the oven for baking sourdough bread

How to manually add steam without a Dutch oven the easiest way

Preheat your home oven (most sourdough bread recipes call for a temperature of 450-500 degrees F)
Fill a metal pan (brownie pan or similar) with 1-2 inches of water
Place pan on lowest oven rack. Make sure there is room for your bread on the center rack, you may have to remove the top rack if its too tight.
Fill a clean spray bottle with water and set aside
Once oven has preheated for 30 minutes, check to see if the pan of water is steaming. If its steaming, its time to add your bread. If your water isn’t steaming yet, wait 15-30 more minutes.*
Transfer your proofed dough to a parchment lined cookie sheet
Place the pan of dough onto the center rack above the steaming pan of water
Close the oven door until its only open a crack, then quickly spray the walls of your oven with 4-6 sprays of water, then quickly close the door to trap the added steam
Bake your bread for 20 minutes (or the time amount the recipe directs for using the closed Dutch oven) without opening the door
Then remove the pan of water and finish your bake as the recipe directs

*If the water evaporated, carefully add 1 inch of water (use oven mitts as the water may splatter on the hot pan) and wait 10-20 more minutes for it to become steamy.

process collage of a pan of water being put into the oven and water spray added to create manual steam for sourdough bread, text reads 1 2 3 Steam

Some sourdough recipes to try out this method

Want more sourdough starter info?

Before we get into this helpful hack, you can get my free Quick Start Sourdough Guide to begin learning some of the key parts of the cycle of sourdough starter.

Learn the phases, the signs of an active, how to care for a sourdough starter to keep it alive and thriving, as well as how to make your own sourdough starter.

Learn more about sourdough starters in these posts:

text: free sourdough quick start guide, with images of pdf pages from the guide and a hand holding a jar of active sourdough starter

Time for some steamy bakes

Now that you have the tools to bake without a Dutch oven, start baking beautiful sourdough loaves. Enjoy great oven spring, a soft crumb, and a crisp crust.

For more sourdough baking help, check out these posts:

Want to Learn Sourdough for Free?

Learning to bake sourdough doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Whether you’re just getting started or looking for a little more clarity in the process, I’ve got something that will help!

👉 Join my free sourdough email course and learn step-by-step how to go from starter to fresh, homemade sourdough bread—with confidence.

Each lesson is short, beginner-friendly, and designed to help you succeed one step at a time.

🎉 Sign up now and start your sourdough journey today!

Join the Free Sourdough Email Course → {click here to sign up}