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Are you baking in a cast iron pot, or just on a tray? Do you get any moisture into the oven via any method?
Usually you need heat transfer and moisture in the oven for a good spring. The moisture stops the crust hardening and allows it to keep expanding and gives a better spring. When you bake in a pot with a lid, this seals the moisture in.
Nef-
I preheat for about 40 minutes at 230c, I bake on a baking steel which is a 0.25" thick slab of steel and set the steam oven to the bread mode so should be moist. Only difference between the two loaves was that the first was baked at 220c and the second was at 180c and the second rose much better so I guest in reality with my set up 220c is too hot and is firming up the crust way too fast?
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Cast iron pot, no moisture added. I'm baking with pretty wet doughs though, so plenty of moisture in the bread already
Philipflop
kboy
How long was the oven warm before your first bake? I get mine to 250C and leave it there for at least 30 minutes before baking. It needs time to get the oven hot throughout. When you baked your first loaf the oven might have dropped heaps in temp when you insert a cold loaf into the oven, making the actual baking temp lower than the second bake.
In the second bake you had more warm mass in the oven, making it drop less in temp when you add a cold loaf to it.
Makes sense?