Hi Eileen! You can either preheat your Dutch oven and lower the risen bread carefully into it, or begin with the Dutch oven cold — whichever method you're more comfortable doing. As for smaller loaves, as bread rises, it will take the path of least resistance, which means it will usually grow outwards before upwards. To help with this, give it a good tight shaping shown in step 6. of our Sourdough Guide and use the preheated-Dutch oven method. You can let your dough rise in a parchment paper sling in a smaller bowl (one that easily supports the sides of the dough as it rises) then carefully lower it into the hot Dutch oven. Going in in the hot pan will somewhat stop the dough from spreading out too much. Do a few batches and try the various methods to see what works best for you. Annabelle@KAF

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