I see that you preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Do you bake the bread at that temperature or turn the oven off?

Standard practice for most rye hearth breads is to preheat hot then bake in a receding oven. Preheat to 500°F, then drop the temperature to 450°F shortly after you load into the oven.

Hi Debbie! Because this is a community-added recipe, I can't say for sure, but as I'm reading it: Yes, you would bake the bread at 500°F. Hope that helps! Here are some more bread recipes in case you're on a baking spree: https://food52.com/blog/23723-best-homemade-bread-recipes