The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

please recommend an instant bread thermometer

pcake's picture
pcake

please recommend an instant bread thermometer

i recently bought a bread (well, i think it's really for meat) thermometer, and while it's accurate, it's remarkably slow.  i had to wait over a minute today to test the temperature of the inside of a loaf i baked, and i think the temp was still going up in tiny increments when i gave up.  it's this one

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LKRHW3E/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?

can anyone suggest a thermometer that reaches temperature faster for $50 or under?  a nice long stainless steel shaft with a good point would be nice.  

ricman's picture
ricman

Thermapen is a little more than 50 dollars but is so worth it IMO. I bought mine used off of EBay for around 40 dollars, new they run about 80 dollars. They are super fast and accurate. Just my 2 cents worth.

Cheers,

Rick

 

emmsf's picture
emmsf

 The Thermapen is far and away the best instant read thermometer available. They make a new version which costs almost $100, but they have an older version which is just about as good but you can get for $75–80. I know that is more than you wanted to spend, but it  is extraordinarily fast and accurate, and it will last you a lifetime. All the rest eventually fail.   Thermapen is made by Thermoworks. They have a website and they also sell via Amazon etc. Regardless of the brand you ultimately choose, I think the key is to make sure that it uses thermocouple technology. Much more accurate and considerably faster than any other.

pcake's picture
pcake

thanks for the suggestion - sounds like this is the way to go.

just wanted to mention that no thermoworks thermometers are available on amazon, and the thermoworks site says none of their products bought on amazon include a warranty.

emmsf's picture
emmsf

Interesting. Used to be on Amazon. Policies must have changed. Good luck. 

chockswahay's picture
chockswahay

I have a Thermapen, it is one of the BEST baking, cooking, aids I have ever bought!

The company that sell them on Ebay UK are the manufacturer and they are either discontinued colours or 'returns' that have been repaired/repackaged ......

ETI ltd are a good company to trade with :)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tan-Splashproof-Superfast-Thermapen-3-Digital-Thermometer/282916427579?epid=2254479149&hash=item41df22173b:g:IcUAAOSwFJBZQpB8

pcake's picture
pcake

nice - makes me wish i was in the UK!

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Another option, though not exactly what you asked for, it a remote thermometer - I have a few of the thermapens, but also have their DOT -  horrible name, but it is easy to use.  Just stick it in the dough a few minutes before you would insert an instant read, and then set it to alarm at the done temp.  https://www.thermoworks.com/DOT   $40.

pcake's picture
pcake

i'm liking this idea.  i'd still like an instant read, but having an alarm go off when the exact temperature is reached seems like it would cover some situations really well.  thanks for the suggestion!

Frank M's picture
Frank M

I use a general purpose one that's slow, but I put it in a cup of boiling water a few moments before  checking the bread. 

gwschenk's picture
gwschenk

I use a Thermopop from Thermoworks. It's much cheaper than the Thermopen and only takes a second or two longer to work.  The DOT is also a great tool, I use it on my smoker.

Hanzosbm's picture
Hanzosbm

I second what BarryVABeach said.  I've got a ThermoPop, and it's great for what it does, but my Weber Grill Master is what I use for bread.  The problem with an instant read is you need to open the oven, take the temp, see if it's right, and if not, put it back in to do all over again.  In that time, your oven is cooling and you end up with lots of holes in your bread.  

Just toss your loaf in, bake for around 80% of the time you think you'll need; enough for the crust to set, then quickly open the door, shove the probe in, and close the door.  Less disruption to the baking and you don't have to worry about repeated poking or over baking.  The Weber model I mentioned is a bit pricey, but it has the benefit of being able to use up to 4 probes simultaneously.  Doing multiple loaves?  Want to know the oven temp?  You can do it all.

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Hanzobsm, you must have one of the igrill thermometers from Weber  -  that looks sweet.  I have a Maverick et- 732 -  the range is okay, but I have given up on setting high temp and low temp alarms, the push buttons are a pain to push, and the instructions are too hard for me to remember.  The neat thing about the DOT is it has an up arrow and down arrow, so very easy to set a done temp.  

pcake's picture
pcake

i'm thinking the DOT (digital oven thermometer) and the ThermoPop would be a good combination for me.  \

i can't find a weber grill master thermometer.  did you mean this
https://www.amazon.com/iGrill2-Complete-Master-Probes-Ambient/dp/B01CAMBRUM/ref=sr_1_5?

or are you talking about something else?  

Hanzosbm's picture
Hanzosbm

Hi PCake,

 

Yep, that's the one.  Mine only came with 2 probes (and I believe I bought it at Home Depot), but it's the same one.  There are lots of probe thermometers out there, and they all do the job, I just happen to really like that model.

The only thing it's lacking is a prediction setting.  When monitoring the temperature, it will graph the temp over time, which is really nice.  And from that, you can kind of see around what time you're likely to hit your target temp, but there's no reason the app couldn't build in that function.  Oh well.

pcake's picture
pcake

that's pretty interesting.  i like the idea of being able to monitor the oven temp and more than one part of the loaf at a time.  data rocks!

Hanzosbm's picture
Hanzosbm

Yep, and for other foods too.  My wife likes her meat cooked to medium well (BLASPHEMY!) and I like mine at medium rare (like a respectable human being).  Add to that that I generally eat larger steaks than her, and trying to time that correctly can be tricky.  I can set each probe independently and make sure I get it right.  Also, with the graph function, you can also start to better understand carry over heat and plan for it.  

WatertownNewbie's picture
WatertownNewbie

The grey Thermapen is currently on sale for 25% off.  (Act quickly, as the sale is to reduce inventory.  And as others have said, this is the thermometer to get.)

https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4?quantity=1&color=1&quantity=1&color=1&utm_source=Nl-2018Apr12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=pre-text&utm_content...