I raise my dough in the oven with the oven light on. Everything goes great until I remove the panned dough to start the oven for baking. When I take the dough out, it usually ends up deflating. The flavor and texture of my bread turns out great, it's just squatty.

How do I prevent that from happening?

Related question, how do I keep my crust/outside from getting so crusty (sandwich bread)?

Pullman loaf pan.

Consider using some other place to proof your dough, so you can heat your oven for baking without having to remove the loaf and let it sit/cool. Will it fit into the microwave? Could you just cover it with a light dishtowel or cheesecloth and leave it on the counter to proof?

Put a temp probe in there.  My bread dough is supposed to proof at 78-80 deg.  The oven light runs the oven temp up to about 110.

Would it help if when you take the dough out of the oven cover with a very hot towel to keep it from cooling?

Yeah, that was the next thing I was gonna try, proofing it in the microwave.

Try this recipe:
https://marysnest.com/no-knead-sandwich-bread/ - I substituted olive oil for the melted butter.

Making it was easy.  I like the taste of the artisan no-knead bread better but I think that's because the longer initial rise time (18 hours) makes it more robust.  The sandwich bread is very mild-tasting and soft even with the olive oil.  For my next one I'm going to swap 1/3 of the flour with rye or whole wheat flour.

After the second second rise just before I put it in the oven:
Attached File


After it baked I brushed the top with melted butter:
Attached File


Bake time was 40 minutes, I think another 2-3 minutes would have given it a perfect golden brown top crust but it was baked through.

Sliced:
Attached File


I don't use measuring cups for flour, I weigh it, since how densely the flour is packed can make a difference in how much you're putting into the recipe.  One cup of flour is 4.4 oz so I used 13.5 oz of flour in the recipe and 1.5 cups of water since I just made one loaf.

Made a loaf today. Did both proofings in the microwave with the door closed. Didn't rise enough. Next time maybe I'll try the oven/light and move to the microwave for a short time while the oven preheats.

Deff should weigh, make a huge difference. Also make sure the yeast is the correct amount, dry active uses a different amount than instant. My bread game improved when I started proofing overnight in the fridge.

Try setting the bowl on the counter right next to the refrigerator.  The exhaust heat from the refrigerator creates a warm spot at that point.

Collapse = over-proofing. Oven might be too warm with the lights on, definitely check that out. You want 80-85 degrees F. I only do bulk ferment in the oven/proofer, shaped dough I proof covered on top of the oven near the back vents while it preheats so the dough can go in exactly when ready and not waiting on the oven.

You want a dough recipe with some fat in it (oil, eggs, both) if you are looking for soft sandwich bread. I have one kicking around here somewhere.

The recipe I use has oil in it. It calls for canola, I use olive.

I'm not sure exactly where I can get 80-85 degrees.

It won't change all that fast.  Use your oven light but get a temp probe and watch your dough temps.  When your dough gets to 80 ish, turn the light off.  Take the dough out of the oven before you pre-heat.  It isn't going to loose anything sitting on the counter for 1/2 hour.

Learn the finger test for proofing your bread.  Basically just push the dough in a bit and see how fast it recovers.  If it pops right out, it's not proofed. When the dent stays or takes a bit to recover your dough is ready.