James, we haven't found that starting the bread in a cold oven necessarily makes more steam than using the pre-heated pot method, but it certainly does produce comparable results. We're glad you mentioned that it's helpful to let the oven preheat for a bit after the preheat signal goes off — whether you're pre-heating a Dutch oven or not, we've found that ovens tend to be a little bit over-eager in declaring their readiness. It sounds like you, James, might be a proponent of the pre-heated method, and we encourage you to embrace that approach if that's what works best for your oven and equipment. Happy baking! Kye@KAF

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