Is My Bread Ready? How to Tell When Bread is Fully Baked

The ability to tell when bread is fully baked comes with experience. The more you bake the sooner you will learn to see the signs. In this video I will show you some of the signs to look out for and give you some tools to get you off to a good start.
Personally, I think the best way to learn is by following someone else. So, if you are baking one of my breads, then a good indication of doneness will be the amount of time the bread has been baking following the recipe instructions. If you bake at the suggested temperature and for the suggested time, then your bread will most likely be fully baked once the timer goes off.
Of course, ovens are different, so there can be variations.
But you can only follow recipes for so long before getting bored. There will come a time when you want to experiment and create your own recipes and try something new.
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#Bread #Baking #ChainBaker
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[@ChainBaker]

📖 Read more in the link below the video ⤴ 🌾 If you would like to support my work click here ⤵ www.ko-fi.com/chainbaker 🔪 Find all the things I use here ⤵ 🇺🇸 www.amazon.com/shop/ChainBaker 🇬🇧 www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ChainBaker 🍞 Share your bread pictures here ⤵ www.flickr.com/groups/chainbaker/

[@tom86c]

Hey. Big fan here. Have you ever covered the difference in water PH level? Something I keep thinking about a lot but never got to hear much science of

[@ChainBaker]

Not yet. I think it mostly affects sourdough bread. I will explore it in the future.

[@tburbank1]

Temperature probe, tapping and crust browning

[@coyjin]

Do you have, or do you plan on making, a video about oven temperature? or is it pretty bog standard across the board. I really enjoy learning from your videos because you show why bakers do things and I'm wondering if there is rhyme or reason to oven temperature.

[@Leguminator]

I still use a temp probe, but I'm getting better at knowing when a loaf is done. My biggest lesson with achieving properly baked bread was learning that letting the bread cool is part of the baking process. There's this thing people have about wanting to slice into a loaf of bread straight out of the oven --- hot fresh bread smeared with butter. I would do this then think I under baked it because it was gummy, when I really just need to let the bread cool and do its thing naturally.

[@jaclyniicole]

I literally have a loaf of bread proofing as we speak. Your channel is helping me to create a bread recipe that is nostalgic to my boyfriend. Thanks for the uploads!

[@HeyWatchMeGo]

Did it turn out?

[@jaclyniicole]

@@HeyWatchMeGo was definitely a good batch! My biggest struggle is getting the dough to be less dense, as it is highly enriched. I'm thinking of subbing the milk out for water next time. Thanks for asking! :)

[@HeyWatchMeGo]

@@jaclyniicole Sounds like you're on the right track. Take notes, and bake lots, you'll get it! 🙂

[@jayneblackburn2591]

Same, mine is in the oven 😂

[@jaclyniicole]

@@jayneblackburn2591 how did it come out? :)

[@kevinu.k.7042]

As always, a full tutorial covering all of the bases. I still use a temperature probe even when I know it is ready... These are the temperatures for a fully baked loaf. Rolls and Sandwich Breads are fully baked when the internal Temp reaches 85C - 88C. Personally I have never been lower than 88C. Stopping at these temps gives a softer crumb. So soft milk breads are good at this point. For a thicker Crust and a slightly firmer crumb bake until the bread reaches 93C - 96C Loaf Tin Breads need to reach 96 deg C in order to get a thick crust. Ciabatta Style Rustic bread, French Breads including Tartine Breads need to reach 99 deg C This is the temperature when the starch is fully gelatinised. And that is the mouthfeel we are going for with these. Once the bread reaches 99C it will not go higher as at that point we are driving the water out of the loaf at a very high rate. So once the loaf reaches 99C it needs to come out immediately. These are the temperatures at sea level. Those folk living at higher altitudes need to adjust them downwards. Thanks for another great tutorial. :)

[@2adamast]

I was baking (sourdough) bread on two tealights, i was curious how low I could stay. Got 72°, that's edible and pasteurized, but not really baked. Do extra hours compensate for low temperature?

[@kevinu.k.7042]

@@2adamast What an interesting experiment. Bravo! Do you mean the breads internal temperature reached 72C? The quick answer is that you need to get the *breads internal temperature* to a minimum of 90C. Starch gelatinisation (cooking) does not complete until it reaches this temperature. 93C would be better. That would give you a sandwich bread crumb. A French bread crumb needs to reach 99C. Baking bread requires certain minimum temperatures for certain reactions. So with bread you are really baking until you get to the particular internal dough temperature regardless of time. I always have a cheap probe thermometer to hand. Here are Hamelmans Internal Dough Temperatures. 158° to 176°F (70° to 80°C) Gluten coagulation is complete and dough structure is formed; enzyme activity decreases; rye starch gelatinization ends. At 75C the bread structure is set. 176° to 194°F (80° to 90°C) Wheat starch gelatinization is complete; enzyme activity ceases. 194° to 212°F (90° to 100°C) Maximum internal loaf temperature is reached; crust coloration begins. 212° to 350°F (100° to 177°C) Maillard reaction develops crust color; ketones and aldehydes form, eventually contributing to flavor and aroma. 300° to 400°F (149° to 204°C) Further crust color and flavor development through caramelization. Can I ask did you configure a simple oven in some way? Four tea lights next? Do come back and say how you got on if you continued your experiment. You may not be the only one baking with a tealight this winter! Cheers :)

[@2adamast]

@@kevinu.k.7042 Thanks for answering. It's just a tea light food warmer with two candles. covered by a two aluminium layer dome A Weltverborgen idea kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5mvlqB_j9yJq68 My search is "minimalist" bread hence sourdough needing only flour and water. It's whole wheat, what probably doesn't help. Looking at gelatinization, I found "Wheat (gelatinization) 124-140°F (51-60°C)" Also found increasing percentage with temperature and water, less with sugar and fat, nothing about time. I will try time next (the full 4 hours of a candle).

[@kevinu.k.7042]

@@2adamast Hi, . There are many hundreds of processes going on in bread baking. However, I can assure you that increasing time and not reaching a sufficient temperature just will not work. At 60 you will effectively make a good, but dry roux with fully gelatinised flour. Look at it this way: Boiling paper for a day, a week or a year will never char it. It is too cool for that chemistry to kick in. Many years ago my version of this was a large pot on a low wood fire. Inside it was a small stone to act like a spacer and on that a smaller pot with the dough it. Both pots had lids. That works very well. More recently I used a baking dome, which is effectively the same as a Roman Clibanus placed in a fire's red embers. That works exceptionally well. Good luck. I think experimenting is a great way to go.👍

[@richardmh1987]

Just this weekend I baked a loaf with 20% poolish, 25% wholegrain and the rest white flour, added some butter just to see the results, and baked it for 30-35 minutes. First I thought I underbaked it since even with a nice oven spring and a nice colour on the up side, it was much paler on the sides and the bottom, but to my surprise it came out very springy and with great flavor and soft crust, nice for sandwiches and spreadings on top :)

[@play_history]

Cooking anything is a learning process. It's incredibly difficult to understand how to cook a burger right until you've done it for instance. I may have food poisoned a friend or two... The process of dough becoming edible through baking is so interesting to me. Would love to see a video where you talk about the science of that. Maybe while making the most under-baked, edible thing possible?

[@ralfbaechle]

I got from making pizza to baking bread and did that mostly by experimentation not receipes. My first breads were horribly underbaked yet tasty and filling. From that starting point I optimized the bread to my taste. Which not the most direct path to a good loaf of bread it allowed me to experience the effects of every variable I changed on the final bread thus making me a better baker.

[@becsclaireee]

Tremendously helpful when I panicked and didn’t know if my bread was done or not. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

[@rlwalker2]

I am "strictly" a temperature probe guy. I see no reason to try to develop any tap and squeeze type tests when the probe will tell me every time when the bread is done. Works for me.

[@DJKLIBRA]

As a total newbie I am learning sooooo much ❤❤❤ I'm documenting my bakes with photos and notes. The effects of a little bit more of this and that are so insightful. Thank you so much! Keep up the good work.

[@thebrewsky26]

You are underrated and goated dude, I wanted to find the heuristics to help learn faster and this is exactly what I wanted. Thanks!

[@christophdeelmann6970]

Charlie, sooner or later you will be awarded the Chair of Comparative Baking!

[@ChainBaker]

😅

[@llywyllngryffyn8053]

I just started using the temperature probe. I did it for my Easter bread, which was a 3kg Swedish Black Bread. When I took it out the first time, it was only up to 175 F inside, so i put it back in for antoehr 30 minutes. When it came out, it was 198F, perfect. It was one of the most beautiful textures I've ever gotten from a bread. perfectly done. With a bread so large (baked in a Dutch Oven) it was hard to tell without the probe.

[@kumudvishwakarma4619]

And your videos are so helpful

[@koubenakombi3066]

Thank you, Charlie, for making these comparisons for us!

[@clarabartha1737]

Charlie, I have found over the two or three recipes I've tried so far that my bakes need quite a lot more time in my oven, interestingly, all other things being equal, so it really is a matter of feeling your way through or testing, as you say, and this is the biggest take-away theme in your teaching which I'm glad you are telling in your videos. I frankly, do not have a temp probe and don't want to rely on one. Doing a modified yeasted cornbread today, it's so far from your recipe that it really will be a shot in the dark and my own creation! Will keep my eye on the bake if I can get through this fermentation part. Take care and keep up the amazing work, thank you!

[@hellie_el]

my goodness but i love your videos! great information, presented in a friendly way, and no pretentiousness. ❤❤❤

[@311060dp]

In my experience there is nothing to beat the temperature probe. As you rightly mentioned a reading around 95°C is perfect. I apply this to all my breads be they yeasted, sourdough, rolls as well as gluten-free sourdough. For longer time baking in the case of gluten-free sourdough I place an inverted tray to prevent too much browning of the crust.

[@dvybeyond]

Great tips, thank you! I usually go by colour - now I'll have to practise my sound skills.

[@jbz9547]

Thank you. Definitely helpful as I tend to overbaked. Time to invest in a temperature probe.

[@LocrianDorian]

This video is really useful, I always used the probe because I was worried of overbaking the bread, but it turns out I should have been more worried of underbaking, and I have definitely underbaked before being too worried that I would overbake the bread. One less thing to worry about, thanks for the tips, Charlie!

[@laniakea4817]

Thank you very much for your baking tips!

[@isaacmiller4333]

Great video as always! Thanks for putting out such great content. I'll be getting some semolina, buckwheat, rye, barley, and spelt flours soon. I'm most excited about trying a buckwheat sour dough.

[@Irenezhang6414]

Thank you a lot! I've learned so much useful information from your experiment videos. I can always get inspired by your passion and devotion to the bakery. Couldn't be more grateful!!!

[@1Widowsson0]

Thanks for another great video.

[@naturegirl175]

I love your videos. They are so helpful.

[@doremiancleff1508]

Always nice to see experiment videos. I've baked a nice sandwich loafs couple of times and sorta got a feel for when it's done, because first couple loafs i would stick a probe even when i am certain when they are baked "just in case" and i would always end up with a gummy hole in every slice, where probe went trough, due to moisture accumulating around there and bread structure got bit smushed by probe, while it was still wet. So i just trust my bakes since. Also i like how raw bread acts pretty much like a store bought bread.

[@Crazboos]

Your videos are pure excellence. We need to get your subscriptions in the millions. You make sense out of baking. Cheers!

[@ChainBaker]

😍

[@adamcoe]

Really like your style man. Straightforward approach, everything is explained very well, and the camera work and editing are excellent. Your bread game is strong my friend, and mine will be stronger after seeing your videos. Thanks! You got a subscriber today.

[@ChainBaker]

🙏

[@constantin1959]

Thank you!!

[@Roonitochka]

Such a great video! Thank you! Loving the tips! Wow, flat breads right on the bottom of the oven? Must try!

[@mohadi7245]

Awesome video as usual!! I usually knock on the bread loafs to hear if it sounds hallowed then it’s baked just right and the color as a secondary indicator. For flat bread they usually need way hotter ovens than available in homes (pizza oven is perfect for the job) and once they puff-up and take color they are done. Still I sometimes under cook the pita then poke a hole and fill it in with eggs mixed any of the following: on its own, green onions, cheese like feta or akawii, ground meat, green onions and ground meat, American cheese and mushrooms. Then i bake it again until the eggs are done, you can finish it in a frying pan over the stove top with or without oil (I definitely recommend trying it with oil at least once)

[@kumudvishwakarma4619]

Thanks alot

[@wok1978]

I really like this kind of video I figure out so many things

[@livebree8879]

My trick is to brush the top with milk mixed with sugar before baking. The sugar caramelize then creates the browning, I think. Then as soon as I take out the bread, I brush the top with butter while it's warm. So yummy and smells good, too.

[@Quibus777]

nice one again! If you have an underbaked bread, just slice it thin and put the slices in a toaster, then it is not inedible anymore :)

[@quentinpan5712]

Useful & informative as usual!!! Due to the rising energy bills, I tried to steam breads using rice cooker. But soon I realised the buns were underbaked. It seems like steaming costs longer time for dinner rolls to get fully baked, say 40 mins or so.

[@unicornforest1787]

Just giving a shout out to Grains and Grits. She recommended you on her last video, which made me happy as I am already a subscriber of your channel.😀

[@abdelrahmanmohamed2261]

big Thankssss from egypt

[@luisdelanuez2668]

Thanks!

[@ChainBaker]

🙏

[@tommasosemboli9685]

This video is very clarifying for the timings of baking, i love your channel. By the way im trying to understand about temperature of the oven for baking, i cant find any of your videos about that😢. Thanks for your great explanations 🤩

[@ChainBaker]

Different breads bake at different settings. Generally, enriched dough is baked at lower temperature and lean dough at higher, but that's not a rule. The best you can do is look at some recipes to get an idea and then work from there.

[@leen866]

Hi Charlie, this video on how much time to bake is really helpful. Could you make a video explaining which temperature to bake different breads at? Thanks

[@ChainBaker]

It's on my list ✌️

[@UsandJames]

Thank you for the video, it really brought things to prospective. Have you done any videos on lower quality flour? Much love, God bless you.

[@ChainBaker]

Not yet, but I am planning on making a comparison video using flours of various quality ✌️

[@edi9892]

I ran into that question when I tried making Naan for the first time. Unlike anything I had tried before, it was fried and not oven-baked. In the restaurant, they'll have the finished bread 5mm thick, but I couldn't roll it any thinner than 5mm, and once I put it in the frying pan, it swole up to 20mm, sometimes even 40mm. The latter was unfortunately not fully baked on the inside, even though both sides started to char. I thus threw them into the oven hoping for the best and it kinda worked, but it was making the entire thing even more tedious than it already was (it took me most of the day).

[@debz8169]

I have not stopped baking bread since I came across your channel. Now I'm developing a certain taste of what I want from my bread. I've improved my technique and don't buy bread anymore. I am getting the hang of kneading, proofing and baking. Thank you so much for the amazing and informative videos. Happy baker all the way from Zimbabwe 🇿🇼

[@ChainBaker]

Awesome! 😁

[@sharg0]

I use a thermometer where the probe is connected via a thin heat resistant wire. That way it can be put into the centre of the bread as soon as it reached close to full rise and I won't need to open the oven to check any more (mine also has an alarm and is wireless, perfect for when smoking on the BBQ or when baking big rye bread loafs at a lower oven temp). In general the larger bread the lower I go with temp. If the inner is close to done but I don't have the crust I want all I need to do is rise the heat, the other way is harder.

[@suque1164]

Thank you very much for sharing. What temperature was your oven?

[@ChainBaker]

I think 200C but I can't remember 😄

[@scorpionheart]

You convinced me to buy a temperature probe. I just started baking and cutting into an undercooked loaf so many times is really depressing lmao

[@hawks9142]

Thank goodness, I just overcooked one of my breads a few hours ago. Don't worry though, overcooked bread is still good bread!

[@lazylonewolf]

My oven broke _just_ when I put my sourdough in the oven. I somehow managed to save it after leaving it in the oven for 40 mins, and then "baking" it in the oven toaster, but it's a small toaster and has no thermostat. I'm glad to see it's far from the underbaked examples here since they spring back when squeezed, so thanks for the comparisons!

[@ChainBaker]

Damn that is unfortunate. Sorry to hear that. At least you got one last loaf out of it!

[@danielsimms5796]

I often probe for temperature on breads I haven't made a few times before (or are changing up something on). My wife uses the probe thermometer (I swear) as a comes -out-clean tool. So close!

[@beinerthchitivamachado9892]

CB, you've been the GOAT. I have one question tho, about Cooling. I learned the hard way that Cooling is a vital step to Baking as well, and I know it depends on the type of dough and other factors, but do I need to let every bread I bake cool down before cutting it? Because sometimes I see in tutorials they cut the bread right away and it looks perfect, where as I do the same and they're gummy inside.

[@ChainBaker]

A loaf is still not 'done' right after being pulled out of the oven. It will pretty much always be gummy, so I would not trust all of those tutorials! The only breads that I'd cut/eat right away would be flatbreads like pizza, pita, etc. Even small rolls like burger buns or ciabatta should be left to cool down for at least 15 minutes.

[@mattlevault5140]

Great information, as always. The only thing I've ever under-baker is pitas - because I didn't let the stone get hot enough. It usually only the first one. Do you have a matzah recipe? I've been asked to bake communion bread in November.

[@ChainBaker]

Not yet, but I will definitely make them. Not sure if by November though, but I'll give it a shot 😅

[@mavery81230]

Another wrinkle for people using thermometers. When I lived in the high mountains of Colorado at 7,703 feet (2,347 meters) above sea level, the boiling point of water was 197F/92C. There is no way to get the internal bread temperature up to 94 or 95C. I usually shoot for about 5 degrees F less than boiling, and the other tests still apply.

[@JoyAloha709]

When my bread crust reaches the brownness I like but the bread needs to be baked more, I tent it with aluminum foil - dull side out. It continues to bake properly while preventing the top crust from over browning/burning.

[@ogreunderbridge5204]

I have the oposite problem of yours. My gas oven was small in the height as the top gas element (grill) took so much space inside I struggled to fit in and out a pizza (!), so I took it out to make more clearance. Now I only have heat from the underside. My breads tend to get somewhat burnt and thick skinned in their bottom foundation before any top browning can occur. Do you see any big no-no´s to flip flopping a standard log bread at the end part of baking time ?

[@ChainBaker]

No problem with flipping at all. Just today I flipped a large loaf towards the end of the bake to get the bottom done properly 😁

[@yuu-kun3461]

I have a terrible oven, flame at the bottom (likely to burn the underside), bad air circulation (pale top). I basically end up using a thermometer to test until I know by experience. I do appreciate you mentioning the temps and time in every video, but in my case it helps to see you cut open the bread!

[@hawks9142]

Oh wow gas stoves are a pain in the butt, my condolences 😄

[@CWeetus]

Put your bread in the highest rack, heat rises and it’ll help you stop the pale tops

[@yuu-kun3461]

@@CWeetus Good to try. Thank you.

[@ohthatsaj8293]

I like how a good indicator of when your bread is done, is if it sounds like your placing/walking on wood in Minecraft

[@IMBlakeley]

I have a temperature probe but like you noted it's hard to overbake so my pan bread gets the expected time then it goes back in upside down and out of the pan for another 10 minutes

[@IMBlakeley]

Don't usually bother with the temp probe but just baked 2x3lb loaves together after their fridge proofing. I did my normal for these tray of water in the bottom, spritze the loaves well, 10 minutes @250c, turn down to 180c for 15 mins, remove the water tray and rotate the loaves, another 15 mins then remove from the pans and back in upside down for 10 mins. Checked the internal temps 98.7c and 99c

[@kumudvishwakarma4619]

Hi chain baker

[@sourdoughhome2571]

I use a temperature probe when I bake new recipes, or use new ovens. When we had a bakery, we used probes to aid in training new staff. Which is where we learned a second lesson. When we were running our bakery digital probes were expensive and fragile, which is an unfortunate combination, so we use the older spring bi-metallic thermometers. These thermometers are great, but need to be calibrated. One night baker didn't heed my warning to re-calibrate the thermometers. We had added a new customer, and got an angry phone call after our first delivery. The thermometer was WAY off, so the bread was probably baked to 165F - disgusting pudding inside! We (understandably) lost the customer that day. Digital thermometers are more durable now, but still need to be calibrated from time to time. ThermoWorks has good documentation on how to calibrate a thermometer on their web page.

[@pelakful]

My last attempt for a sandwich bread..it was so overproofed that it’s lifted the lid on my ceramic loaf tin..than, after a few minutes in the oven “bang”- it’s exploded and the lid has dropped off…but I scraped off some dough and continued baking..still quite good loaf

[@ChainBaker]

The dangers of baking 😄

[@meltemkipri4594]

how many celsius the oven's temperature?

[@ChainBaker]

220

[@mateusfccp]

I always use temperature probe, as it seems to be the easiest way. There was a single time where it seemed to fail. I made a 100% whole wheat flour sandwich loaf. After 40min in the oven, I took it off and inserted the probe. The probe registered 95C, which is theoretically well baked. However, when I removed the probe from the bread, a lot of raw bread dough came out of with it. It was clearly raw in the middle. I've then left it for 20min more, and when I tested it again it was right. Do you know what may have happened? Maybe 100% whole wheat flour dough require a higher temperature?

[@ChainBaker]

Yeah 100% whole wheat breads can be baked closer to 98 even 99 ✌️

[@mateusfccp]

@@ChainBaker Thanks, didn't know about this difference!

[@CWeetus]

Also, you might’ve hit a hotspot, probe more then one place and you’ll get a more accurate reading

[@lbamusic]

How about just measuring the internal temp! s.b.200°f to 210°f

[@ranishamim1752]

At what temperature did you bake bread, rolls and flat bread

[@ChainBaker]

I can't remember to be fair. 250C for the pita definitely. Maybe 220C for the loaf and rolls.

[@ranishamim1752]

@@ChainBaker thank you so much..

[@amiora1]

What temp do you bake your buns in the video?

[@ChainBaker]

Can't remember to be honest. Could have been 200C fan off.

[@amiora1]

@@ChainBaker thanks 🙏

[@anastasiak7305]

Question for my US family on here here. Anyone know where I can purchase bakery ingredients/items in bulk/wholesale here in the USA? Thanks!

[@silviusprince5235]

A restaurant supply store is an option 😊 Some places you can go in person or there are others that are online shopping. Good luck and happy baking!

[@anastasiak7305]

@@silviusprince5235 thank you so much! 😊

[@silviusprince5235]

@@anastasiak7305 You’re welcome 😊

[@gabea.2123]

I have to disagree with your comment that the temperature doesn't lie. I've tested several times with a probe inside the loaf for the whole bake (wired, bluetooth, wi-fi, etc) and taking the loaf out when it reaches X (whatever you define as being the "gold" temperature, which by the way varies from baker to baker; that should be a reason to question it) and it was at X way before the bread was ready. I've also often checked the temperature when I removed the lid of my Dutch oven: the bread was ready according to the thermometer, when it actually needed 15 more minutes. The reality is that you're checking the temperature of the steam, that's why the thermometer will never indicate more than 99-100C (the boiling point of water) even if the bread is burnt (as you show in your video) as long as there's moisture inside, and the temperature can be reached in 20 minutes or so in high-hydration loaves, even though the bread is a long way from ready. This is the mistake I think most people make, and I say this respectfully of course. The order of things is wrong. You (by you I mean people) don't bake *until* the bread reaches a certain temperature; you bake until it's ready according to other indicators: time, color, sound, experience, etc. and *then* you check the temperature, which of course will be at the right spot. That's a coincidence, because the temperature has been the "right" one probably for a while. It may sound obvious but the way to tell if the bread is ready is by checking the crumb, which is what you actually do when you cut it open; you can do that easily by inserting a skewer, toothpick, knife, etc. in the loaf and checking if it comes out dry or sticky, like you would when baking a cake. If it's dry it's ready; if it's not, it needs more baking time, irrespective of what the thermometer may indicate. It's what I do when I travel, visit friends or relatives and they don't have thermometers or anything fancy, perhaps not even an oven thermometer, but they do have knifes or chopsticks or other things that we can use to check and we bake beautiful bread without any technology. Give it a try, just another experiment for your channel. Thanks!

[@ChainBaker]

I agree. And I would not recommend to anyone to rely on temperature alone. It's just a last resort when you're unsure and want a bit of confirmation. When the baking time is up and the crust is already well browned, then the probe can come in handy sometimes. I personally use it for dense rye bread most of the time because it really needs to get up to temp and it does not always get there by the time I take it out the oven. Cheers for the tips :)

[@jus4funtim]

I usually just bake regular loafs of bread, and I always use a probe 90 - 95c or 195 - 200f it always comes out perfectly done. I'm also hard of hearing so tapping the bottom tells me nothing.

[@fromthegamethrone]

That 94°c rule is exactly what I was looking for man. I hate how all of the instructions are always "take it out and do this", very much the nuclear option. If I probe it, it's not over yet. Now I'm just hoping my loaf rises, the flour is a little old hahah

[@annchovy6]

Funny, I was not long ago reading about Jeffrey Hamelman’s hatred of using thermometers to discern temperature and now I wonder if you’ve ever seen his objections. He wrote a long post about it over on the Fresh Loaf. This was what he wrote: “Several years ago, I was teaching baking classes at the Japan Institute of Baking (JIB) in Tokyo. A big part of the Institute is devoted to research on all manner of bread topics. An engineer there gave me a gift--a small probe that had a USB port on one end and a sheath to cover it. It is used to track the temperature changes within a loaf of bread. I asked him when bread reached its maximum internal temperature, and he said it was attained when the bread was approximate two-thirds through the bake. Hmmm. When I returned to Vermont, I put the probe into my desk at King Arthur and other activities took my attention--I didn't test it.” A year or so later, I was in Nantes, in France, visiting with dear friend Hubert Chiron, one of France's most important bakers, writers, and researchers. We were at INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agrinomique), where he works. I asked--"Hubert, when does bread reach its maximum internal temperature?" "About two-thirds through the bake," he replied (I had not told him about the Japanese conversation). Hmmmm. When I returned from that trip, I pulled out the probe and did the experiment for myself. Here's how it works: You take the sheaf off the end, plug the USB port into a computer and start the program. On the computer screen you see a grid that graphs temperature change on one axis and time on the other. Then you remove the probe, put the sheaf on, and wrap the whole thing in the center of a loaf of bread. It stays there throughout the final rise and the entire bake. Once the bread is baked, out comes the probe. On the computer you can see that there was no increase in temperature for a long while, since the bread was initially rising at room temperature. Eventually it curves upward after it has been loaded, and the temperature begins to increase. Sure enough, the temperature rises pretty quickly and then begins to taper off. Eventually--about two-thirds through the bake--it pretty much flatlines and temperature increase is minimal.

[@annchovy6]

“Not too long after that, I was teaching a five-day class at King Arthur, and one of the students wanted to test doneness of a loaf using a thermometer. I told the class about my experiences in Tokyo and France, and my own recent experiment. Two things happened: one was that one of the students was a writer for Cooks Illustrated. His ears perked up, and a month or so later he sent me a one-page article he had written for Cooks; basically he had replicated the experiment I had done, with the same results. The second thing was that another student in the class just happened to have, in his glove compartment, a rather sophisticated temperature probe. He went and got it, and we inserted it into a loaf of ciabatta that was about to be loaded. Being a bunch of dweeby bakers, all of us just stood around, riveted to the display that showed the temperature rise. When the bread hit 210F internally, out it came. It was half done at most. I wouldn't go near it, but I offered a slice to anyone who wanted one. No takers. Believe me, if you were blindfolded and squeezed that loaf and a roll of Charmin, you wouldn't know which one was bread and which was toilet paper. I know that there are plenty of people who have their own opinions and practices that are different from mine, and that is totally fine. I started out working with French and German bakers, and squeezing and thumping were the ways that doneness was ascertained (along with the length of time the bread was in the oven and its color). It really is foolproof once the skill is acquired. One might also say it is more respectful to the bread, since there are no small holes in the bottom where a thermometer was plunged. And it sure feels good on the hands. “

[@ChainBaker]

Interesting. I have not experienced this. Quite often I have probed a loaf that had browned well on the outside, but still the internal temperature had not risen to that 200F mark. I guess it depends on the bread too. Crust colouration can happen at a similar rate between larger and smaller loaves. At the same time the internal temperature of a large loaf would take far longer to rise than that of a smaller loaf. I never use the probe for small rolls. They all take pretty much the same time to bake. It is mostly useful for large loaves for sure.

[@Virginny]

Im not gonna lie i kinda like underbaked bread if its still fresh and warm.

[@joycebimson1387]

Thanks again for a great educational video. Suggestion: could you make one of your simple yeast recipes using sourdough starter instead of yeast? I am trying to do it but with only marginal success. Thank you.

[@ChainBaker]

Here is a guide on how to convert a yeast dough to sourdough - kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5KXg6R-rq5goac The most important thing is to have an active and healthy starter. The rest is the same as making any other bread 😉

[@jackmeoff9917]

Can you rebake an underdone loaf after you cut it?

[@ChainBaker]

Not sure if that would work. But there's only one way to find out.

[@cynettacynclaire9594]

I use a thermometer

[@jaimed3890]

😂 took me a second to figure out why your bread jingled when tapping.

[@ChainBaker]

😄

[@SteveSmith-gh2yh]

What about bread with inclusions such as cranberries? Same internal temperature?

[@ChainBaker]

It depends more on the dough itself. A higher hydration whole wheat bread should be baked closer to 98 - 99C. A light white flour loaf, even if it had cranberries, could be baked to 94C.

[@LynnieW]

I first look at the crust then smell the bread

[@perniciouspete4986]

I've been told that breads enriched with butter, eggs, etc. should be cooked to a slightly higher temperature than non-enriched breads. Is this true?

[@ChainBaker]

I find that it can be the other way around. For them to stay soft and fluffy they should be baked to a lower temp. But surely it varies from recipe to recipe ✌️

[@perniciouspete4986]

Thanks. That explains a lot.

[@kumudvishwakarma4619]

Hi I’m from india

[@almonies]

Sweet, I shall stick to probing 👽

[@gavinn333]

What temp?

[@ChainBaker]

220c

[@yampastewastaken]

Could we get a video for how to tell when our dough is fully proofed 😁😁

[@ChainBaker]

There is a video about proofing in the 'steps of baking' playlist. And another one in the 'principles of baking' playlist

[@AngryAyrab]

Maybe one day you'll show us how to make a pizza dough. I'll really appreciate that.

[@ChainBaker]

I have several pizza dough recipes on my channel ✌️

[@AngryAyrab]

@@ChainBaker Thanks. You definitely need to write a book.

[@aldendunne]

Yo bread ready (iykyk)

[@Rosk03]

Admitedly i have never though of using a temp. probe to check if the bread was done 🥺 And i can confirm that 90% of my breads were under cooked 🙄🙄🙄

[@kraklakvakve]

Commenting for the algorithm, I do not have a temperature probe.

[@perniciouspete4986]

They're fairly inexpensive and worth the investment. The ChainBaker convinced me to get one by using his all the time to demonstrate how important it is to control the temperature--and therefore the QUALITY--of the dough when bread is rising. Plus, with this video he's showing us how we can tell with precision if a loaf is done or not by using a temperature probe.

[@farinabashir6102]

I dont have an oven , i m attempting to bake the bread in a pot 😅

[@ChainBaker]

There are many different flatbreads you can make in a pan too!

[@farinabashir6102]

@@ChainBaker i m from pakistan i make flat breads , chapati , everyday , unleavened though ... this time i ll use yeast

[@michaelprozonic]

they all sounded the same to me

[@fathurandy3043]

hmm jude law?

[@ChainBaker]

I'll take it 😄

[@Glance852]

Left the pita dough in the fridge since last night. Not able to bake it today. Is the dough still good to bake tomorrow? 🫶🏼

[@ChainBaker]

I would suggest re-shaping it now.