September 17, 2015 - 11:14pm
Inner temperature of bread
Being a novice, I still have little sense of bread timings so I decide when to open the oven by means of a long wire thermometer. Cooking on an oven sheet I set 90ºC as the limit.
My questions are:
- Is there a difference in ideal inner temperature if bread is made in a dutch oven (inside the oven)?
- Is there a difference between types of bread?
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"...decide when to open the oven..." Baking oven or Dutch oven?
The baking oven will be warmer than the DO (dutch oven) as the DO contains more steam.
Yes. There are different inside "done" temperatures between types of bread and between types of grain. Different grains have different "done" temperatures. Inclusions of oils or fats, sugar, soda or baking powder in a recipe can lower baking "done" temperature.
Depending on the flour used and additions, I advise a "done" dough temperature aimed at the higher temp when combining different grain flour or risk under-baked bread.
Dough hydration can lengthen the cooking time as escaping steam cools either oven. Releasing of steam from the baking chamber will increase baking temperature.
Mini
I aim for about 97°C on most breads - obviously if you live at altitude then you might not achieve that in a standard water based recipe...
And as mini Oven says - the addition of sugars, fats will alter things - I now use a thermapen to gauge some cakes I bake - one needs 107°C for example...
Why not bake a loaf the old-fashioned way - testing for donness by tapping its bottom, looking at the crust then stick a probe into it and record the temperature... Then you have a base-line to work with for the next loaf... ie. did it seem a little undercooked in the middle? (after letting it cool for 2 hours before slicing!) If so, then try 2°C more next time, and so on.
-Gordon
The ideal temp will vary depending on the contents of the dough. If you don't vent the Dutch oven then you are more likely to have less than ideal crust.