can you judge doneness of bread by oven smell?

coming out of the loaf and surely one cannot divine whether the bread is done by the smell.  I get the wonderful fragrance during the first fifteen minutes of any bake using steam and for sure the bread is not done at that point.  The only reliable way is to use an instant thermometer and read the interior temperature of your bake.  It also goes without saying that you should use an oven thermometer to assure that your oven is the correct temperature.  I check my oven every six months to make sure the thermostat is still accurate.

Alan is spot on.

At least expecting consistent smells across all shapes and styles of bread seems iffy.  A big round that bakes for nearly an hour and has a very dark crust is going give off very different odours than a baguette that bakes for 20 minutes.

For a particular recipe baked in a particular shape and size? Yeah, you might be able to recognize the proper smell for what you consider done. I don't have a great sense of smell so I've not tried it.

The only reliable test for doneness, that I know of, is the interior temperature:  about 195° - 200°F (91° - 93°C).

Ford

I must be in a mood today. Anyway.

If I've baked the bread in question many times - yes, I use the smell in the kitchen to think "Gee - I should check that thing." We all vary in the acuteness of our sense of smell and the notes we pick up, so this may be my gift as a baker. I'm usually within a couple of minutes of being correct as to it being done. A baguette smells different from a whole wheat loaf and from a rye. Don't know the science behind it, but I can always tell. I get a range of aromas from the flour itself (I can tell "bread" flour from "all purpose" and a few other gradations), through the mix, the fermentation, the proof and the bake. It is part of the pleasure of baking for me.

That being said, this is only an indication of the need to test for the bread being done. And so I always test. I don't ever go on smell alone.

And there we have the next topic. Our OP has a problem far beyond testing doneness with smell. The bread is sticking to the pan. This needs to be solved. One of the great indications that panned bread is about at the end of the bake is that it pulls away from the pan and it should unmold without further ado. I like oil or pan release, but this is a personal taste. They shouldn't be sticking. Something else is going wrong.

If an instant read thermometer were the only way to know if bread is done, I am forced to ponder mightily how all those bakers, all those years before its invention or common distribution, pros and home bakers alike, managed to turn out loaf after loaf - well baked.

I've been involved in long discussions with a baker who have inserted probe thermometers in the loaf during the bake and plotted the temperature rise. This has convinced said baker (and others) that this is not the best method. I occasionally have to answer to this baker, so I tend to agree.

The "thump" test is a valid one with panned loaves and others (once one gets the sticking problem vanquished). With free standing loaves, I have been trained to give the loaf a squeeze with both hands. This can be challenging with a loaf right out of the oven, but it can be done. One should hear the crackle and feel the resistance. It takes practice, but it is worth it. I'm a great enthusiast of the fast read thermometer for many things. but I have never poked it into my bread.

To the OP - your bread should not stick to the pan after you pull it from the oven. A properly baked loaf in a properly prepared pan should unmold easily. Solve that first and then try any of the above methods and enjoy the aromas from your bread as they change through the process.

Hope this helps.

I know that you asked about bread, but did you know that if you're able to smell the scent of brownies while they're baking that some of the flavor already leached out from the brownies. I learned that from America's Test Kitchen. That's even worse because you have to take brownies out before smelling them. Anyway, after watching several episodes of The Great British Bake Off (The Great British Baking Show in the states), I think I prefer to err on the overbaking side of baking yeast breads. Raw yeast dough is not tasty.

As for bread stuck in the loaf pan, I had that problem on several occasions. Usually it's because the bread was underdone. Or I might have cleaned the loaf pan too thoroughly. I watched a youtube video, and the lady in the video recommended not washing the loaf pan. Basically treat the loaf pan like a cast iron skillet. Wipe it clean with a paper towel and keep it well seasoned with oil. 

I have an thermostate in my oven , I do not need one to check if the bread is done when it comes to my sourdough breads that I bake in my DO.

30 minutes on 250C with the lid on, 20 minutes on 200C with the lid off and always perfect.

If I have a slightly larger bread than my usual I add 7 minutes to each times, never fails.

If I make a loaf on a baking tray I have to use my thermostat to check.

The smell of bread baking in the oven ist fantastic but I would never know by smell if the bread is read, nor by colour.

if you have a German Bread Balking Apprentice 2nd Class  With a well trained, experienced nose for such things - doneness is no problem.   She can even tell if the loaf will cause cancer in humans:-)  She can even tell if you need a typhoid shot.     Hey....When you are good .... you are good and Lucy is Nose Bad!  i will rent her out as long as you promise not to spoil her in any way like her Master does:-)

Happy baking 

is the smell of something burning.  Be it crumbs on the bottom of the oven or the loaf crust.   :(

Edit:  I have an amazing gift of smell, but enjoy the aromas of baking bread too much to stop making them (remove bread from oven) when they indicate the outside of a loaf to be done.    

Aroma is influenced by temperature, the higher the temp, the less aroma.  Preheating the oven, days later, can release residual aromas from the previous bake session.  For more aroma, use lower baking temps for a longer period of time.

I could understand a sensitive nose might pick up alcohols and stuff released during baking bread but with cakes I am baffled what are you smelling, roasting nuts, caramelizing sugars, heated cocoa, natural and artificial flavours evaporating and non of those things would indicate doneness to me.  If it works for you keep doing it but I know I can't even figure out what to smell for unless I was looking for the burnt smell Mini mentioned and with cakes even that doesn't reliably indicate the centre is done baking.

Gerhard

http://sensorydecisions.com/fresh-bread-smell-fragrance-spray.  A great air freshiener for the car too

Happy smelling