How to Get Oven Spring
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Oven spring is the burst of rise a loaf gets in the first several minutes of baking, when the heat causes gases to expand and the dough leaps upward before the crust sets. It is one of the most satisfying moments in bread making, and a strong oven spring is the difference between a flat, dense loaf and a tall, airy one. The good news is that oven spring is not luck. It is the payoff for a series of choices you make long before the loaf hits the oven.
Everything begins with proper fermentation. A dough that is under fermented has not built up enough gas and structure to spring well, while an over fermented dough has exhausted its strength and will spread rather than rise. The sweet spot is a dough that has grown noticeably in volume, feels light and jiggly, and holds a gentle impression when poked. Learning to read this stage is the single biggest factor in getting reliable spring, so watch your dough closely rather than relying only on time.
Shaping and surface tension play a huge role too. When you shape a loaf, you are creating a taut outer skin that holds the dough together and forces it to rise up instead of out. A well shaped boule or batard with good tension will spring far better than a loosely formed one. Take the time to build tension during shaping by dragging the dough gently across the counter to tighten the surface, and let the shaped loaf rest so the gluten relaxes just enough.
Steam in the early bake is essential. When you trap moisture around the loaf during the first part of baking, it keeps the crust soft and flexible so the dough can expand fully before it hardens. This is why baking in a preheated Dutch oven works so well, because the lid traps the loaf's own steam in a small space. If you bake on a stone or steel, you will need to add steam another way, such as with a pan of water or ice, to get the same effect.
High heat gives the dough the energy it needs to spring quickly. Preheat your oven and your baking vessel thoroughly, often for close to an hour, so the loaf hits a blast of heat the moment it goes in. A cold or underheated oven leads to a sluggish rise and a pale, thick crust. Baking cold dough straight from the refrigerator also helps, because the firm surface scores cleanly and the temperature contrast encourages a lively jump.
When you put these factors together, oven spring becomes predictable rather than mysterious. Ferment your dough to the right point, shape with good tension, chill it, score decisively, and bake in a screaming hot vessel with plenty of steam. If your loaves stay flat, work backward through this list to find the weak link. More often than not the answer is fermentation or shaping, and small improvements there produce loaves that rise proud and tall.