Baking – Rye bread: proof until soft

Leaving the loaf seam side up makes it easier for armatures like me, to roll the dough onto a baking stone or floured peel and reduce the chance of deflating your loaf. Also, sometimes the dough can bulge/blow out during baking. Baking the loaf with the seam side down helps support the structure of the bread while slashing the top gives the loaf room to expand while cooking and provide help to control the possibility of bulging/blow out.

The first pic shows expansion where it was slashed, while the second pic shows a blow out due to not enough slashes, deep enough or other reasons. Imagine what it would look like if the seam side was up? The loaf would look like it threw up.

You don't need a pan or mold at all to create round or oval loaves or rolls. Properly formed loaves/rolls can be baked directly on a sheet pan or stone. They will not loose their shape if the gluten network on the outside is stretched tight. This is part of the craft of bread making. Almost all books on bread making describe this, and there are many videos easily found by googling.

The height you can achieve (along with many other factors) is partially determined by the hydration of your dough. Typically, for a formless loaf, you would have a moderately low hydration--you don't want a dough that will flow under its own weight.

One trick that may help, although not terribly traditional is this: form your loaf on a sheet of cooking parchment. This will make it easier to slide into your oven without disturbing or deflating the loaf. Once the loaf sets, you can remove the parchment if you wish, to allow the remainder of the baking to occur directly on your stone (assuming you have one).