Using an IR Thermometer

This web site has a lot of useful information.  Quoting:

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D/S Ratio- Distance to Spot ratio refers to a very important feature of your infrared thermometer.  This ratio is the size of the area being evaluated by the infrared thermometer as it relates to distance.  In other words, the area being measured becomes larger as the distance increases.  This has a profound impact on the accuracy or precision of the reading.  If the target you are measuring is 6 inches in size, and your infrared thermometer has a D/S ratio of 8:1, than the maximum distance you can reliably measure the temperature of the target is 48 inches.  Beyond this distance, not only is the target being measured, but whatever else falls within the "spot" is being measured as well.  This means that if a very hot object is the target, and it is in cooler surroundings, than measurements taken beyond the maximum distance will include cooler elements, and lowering the "average" of what is in the "spot".

D/S Ratio X Target Size,   or   8:1 X 6 = maximum measure distance of 48 inches. ===

One thing it does not discuss however is an emissivity setting, which in my power plant experience does come into play when measuring the temperature of refractory (baking stones).

sPh

Pamela,

The IR thermometer is not used to measure the internal temp of the bread. I suppose you could cut open the loaf and take a measurement but that defeats the purpose. Measure the milk, the water, dough, flour and your forehead.

Eric

It's even a larger heat loss when you put a 2 pound boule on the surface of that stone. The heat never recovers. When I saw that it made me think about using a pan that would heat and recover quickly rather than a stone. Another thing is if you need to do more than one session, it's a while before a stone comes back up to temp after removing the first batch. Mean while the dough is proofing while you wait.

I know you will learn to value your new tool.

Eric

I find my IR gun valuable -- almost essential -- for taking surface temps of my WF masonry oven prior to baking. (This is more important for a masonry oven since it relies more on radiant heat from the oven walls & roof than a conventional oven does.) I also use it for stovetop frying to take the surface temp of the pan before adding the oil or other ingredients. I also use it to check that the waffle iron is ready for batter. That's pretty much it.

You may want to use it to take the temp of your baking stone so you can get consistent results when using it, but other than that, I don't think you'll find it much help in the world of bread in a conventional oven.

As you doubtless know, the surface temp of a loaf is not necessarily directly related to the internal temp. For example, the surface temp of a loaf in a very hot oven will rise much more quickly than it would in a cooler oven, but the internal temp will rise much more slowly. Similarly, the surface of cold dough placed in the oven will rise quickly, but the internal temp won't rise nearly as fast. Likewise, the internal temp of a large loaf will rise more slowly than that of a small loaf, whereas the surface temps of both will rise much more equally. This means that if you shoot for a set surface temp of the loaf, the internal temp may be fine, but it's just as likely to be too high or too low, depending on the conditions of the other variables.

I use mine to make sure I have proper conditions in the oven prior to loading the loaves. After that, for me anyway, the color of the crust has always been the best indicator for timing the bake.

ClimbHi
Pittsburgh, PA