How do I follow a recipe if my oven doesn't go as high as the recipe states?

Question

I want to bake bread. I found this recipe from Alex French Guy Cooking on YouTube.. His recipe says that the oven should be 250 degrees Celsius. My oven only goes to 220 degrees. I bought an oven thermometer to confirm and it taps out at 230 degrees. Do I just bake the bread for longer? If so how much longer?

UPDATE:

Here are the instructions from the comments section of the video. I did link the video in the original question but I see the link isn't very visible. (Just in case there is anything else you want to check)

Ingredients you need : Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt and a Dutch Oven. Yes a dutch oven. It's the perfect way to bake your bread at home. Also, No need for sugar, modern yeast are powerful enough. No need for oil either.

Instructions : 40 grams of fresh yeast, in 600 ml of tepid mineral water, or 15grams dry yeast. In the bowl of the mixer drop 18g of salt. Then add 1 kg of bread flour and start slowly mixing. Add the water and the yeast.

As soon as everything is properly incorporated, set the speed to minimum, and knead the dough for 10 minutes.

First proofing : Place the dough in an airtight container and let it proof in a warm and dark place for 1 - 2 hours.

Then, Press down the dough, shape as seen in the video. Second proofing : Place the dough in an airtight container and let it proof in a warm and dark place for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, Heat dutch oven to 250°C or 480°F.

Out of 2nd proofing, Sprinkle the dough ball with flour. Now using razor's blade, score the surface a few times. Squeeze on oven proof gloves, get the dutch oven out, place the dough ball inside. Back in the oven.

I bake my bread at 250°C for 30 minutes, then at 230°C for another 30 minutes.

Answer 1

How much longer depends on the type of bread, the size and the shape of the loaf. The solution I suggest is to obtain a probe-type thermometer (like a meat thermometer) and use that to determine if your bread has baked for a sufficiet time. Many breads are completely baked at around 195F(90C) though I have seen a couple of recipes that call for 205F(96C)

Answer 2

• The total weight of the ingredients is 40+600+18+1000 = 1658g
• The volume is 4.6L
• The baking time is:
  • 30 minutes for baking 1
  • 30 minutes for baking 2
• The baking T° is:
  • 250°C for baking 1
  • 230°C for baking 2

What is the total baking time for an oven that taps out at 230°C?

As all measures remain the same except the T° of baking 1, they even each other out and you should bake for:

250/230*30 = 32.6

during baking time 1 and then you still need to add baking time 2 to that equation which gives us:

Bake for 63 minutes 40 seconds at 230°C

Answer 3

Like with many things while time @ temperature is a convenient shorthand for when to expect things to be done it is NOT the best indicator of "doneness".

There are a number of ways to see if bread is done. I would start with just "baking it for longer" as a starting point. Then I would recommend checking the internal temperature for a reading of 93°C (or 200°F) using an instant read thermometer. You can start with the "toothpick" method (a toothpick insert into the bread comes out dry) for a 'quick reading' and then use the thermometer to test it.