I agree with the facts that Ed Okie presents in
his comments on measurement of bread
temperature, but I respectfully disagree with
his conclusions. I don't see how color can be
a truly reliable indication unless one is
baking a familiar bread in the usual oven.
Certainly color at the done point differs with
several factors: makeup of the bread, oven
temperature, location of the bread in the oven.
The oven control dial is not a reliable
indicator of actual air temperature inside,
another source of error.
I use a probe thermometer for testing doneness,
and like Ed I have noticed that the internal
temperature changes very quickly as baking
nears completion. It rises from about 185
degrees to 200 or more in a matter of minutes.
Anywhere in this range I consider the bread
done and pull it. My interpretation is that
steam is being generated internally and the
bread is baked as far as possible - more baking
will just dry it out. If you pull it out
earlier there is water inside and the dough is
gummy. Well, if you can't take it out earlier
and you can't take it out much later, this must
be a pretty good guide!
Maybe Ed's objection amounts to the fact that
you do have to check temperature a few times
since there is a fairly small time interval
during which the bread should be removed. It
would certainly be nicer to just peek now and
again to judge, but as I have said, this may
not be reliable. As you continually bake the
same bread under the same conditions you can
learn to estimate the done point by color, but
I think the thermometer is an invaluable aid to
get you there without making a lot of needless
errors.
Ed's point about bread space being open is
true, but if one is only trying to detect steam
then this openness is fine.
My probe thermometer seems accurate (e.g., as
tested by plunging in boiling water) and cost
only $24. As indicated above, accuracy does
not seem to be terribly critical anyway.
There are many other places where one can go
wrong in making bread. The problems Ed
experienced could have arisen earlier in the
process. In any case, before pulling the doors
off the oven or throwing out the old oven for a
convection type, I recommend trying what is
really a very simple test - just poke a tiny
spike into the loaf and read the dial.
Richard Casey