To the man worried about underbaked challah:
Challah is always baked by time, not "internal temperature", as are
all breads. You did not mention the size of your bread. But I know
from experience that for a one-pound bread, and that is a big "if",
35 minutes at 350 degrees F should be fine. If your bread was a one
pounder, here are some other things to consider: Did you use an oven
thermometer? Your oven might run cool. Did you double pan it, so
the bottom did not over brown? These are all things that could give
you a mistaken result.
For a larger bread, add a bit more time, like about five minutes. For
a 1 1/2 pound bread, I would increase the time to 40 minutes. For a
2 pound bread, I would go up to 45 minutes, and possibly reduce the
temperature by 25 degrees. If breads are over browning, cover them
with foil, and maybe reduce the oven temperature, but be sure to give
them their full baking time.
Determining when a bread is done takes experience. I encourage my
students to drop the thermometer. I cannot really figure out when
this tool got to be in the home bakers tool box, but I can tell you I
hate it. No professional worth their salt would ever poke large
holes in his or her bread to see if they are done. Through experience
you learn about the time and temperature a bread takes to be fully
baked. That means sometimes erring to the too doughy, and sometimes
erring to the over baked. But after some time, you can see and feel
the results. That is the essence of mastery. I remember asking
Professor Calvel this question when I was just starting out. He told
me to bake French breads until I thought they were done, and then
give them five more minutes!
If you are really nervous about the bread, here are a few other
possibilities (to make you feel better about giving away your thermometer):
Use a wooden skewer instead of steel--only really wet batter sticks
to steel, but doughy crumb will stick to a wooden skewer. Poke it in
in a very inconspicuous place. Better yet, look at the deep creases
between the strands. If they look doughy, and feel mushy when gently
pressed, the bread probably needs more oven time.
For French style breads, the Calvel rule is excellent, they almost
always are under baked by home bakers--give it 5 more minutes. Pick
the breads up and check their bottoms, they should be well browned
and sound hollow when thumped.
Remember to make plenty of mistakes and note the results, it's really
all cause and effect. This is the only way to master bread making!
Best,
Maggie Glezer