Evenly baking large peasant loaves

Hi, Folks~  I'm new to the group and look forward to learning from the masters! 

My question is, has anybody ever tried using a cake nail to ensure that the center of a large peasant loaf gets cooked through?  I make a two pound cranberry cinnamon loaf for Christmas which tasted great, but was a bit underdone in the center. This was partially due to the size, and also because I had plumped the dried cranberries which added a bit too much moisture, I think. 

Would using a cake nail to heat the core work?  Any ideas would be welcomed. Thanks very much!