Does adding water to the oven lower the temperature during baking?
A little, which is why I pour in boiling water rather than cold: it turns into steam quickly. That steam in the first half of the bake is what lets the loaf spring before the crust sets.
Answered by Hendrik, The Bread Code
From the book
The steam essentially prevents the Maillard reaction from happening too quickly on your crust. That’s why steaming during the first stages of the bake is so important. The steam keeps the temperature of your crust close to around 100 °C (212 °F). Achieving steam can be done by using a Dutch oven, an inverted tray and/or a bowl of boiling water. You might also have an oven with a built-in steam functionality. All the methods work, it depends on what you have at hand. My default go-to method is an inverted tray on top of my dough, paired with a bowl full of boiling water towards the bottom of the oven.
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