Hi Jules! You can preheat your oven to 450 and load the dough once the Dutch oven or baking stone has been preheated for about an hour. Since the oven temperature is reduced to 450 as soon as the bread is loaded there will be virtually no difference in the baking time that you need to account for. The 500 degree preheat is simply to encourage a very hot environment to provide the highest possible oven spring. In lieu of 500 degrees, 450 should work just fine at the same baking time plus a 2-5 minutes if the dough looks a little pale in color once the initial time has elapsed. Happy Baking!

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