Really? Stick a thermometer in the bottom of my bread to see if it's done? Listening for a hollow sound doesn't seem to work too well for me. Do I just need more experience?
... and I never used the "thump the bottom" method. You may need more experience, but until then, there's nothing wrong with using a thermometer while you build said experience.
No bottom thumping here (except perhaps my wife's bottom) on bread I bake. I use a Thermapen instant read thermometer and I go in direct from the top to check doneness. The tiny hole made by reading the temp simply disappears when the bread is sliced if not self sealed during the loaf cooling on the counter. Checking temp has resulted in my loaves being completely done without question.
Personally, I can't stand sticking a thermometer in - I tried it a few times and then had to throw away the part arond the hole. Early on I used a rule for new bakers suggested either by Maggie Glezer or Rose Beranbaum - "if you think it's done, give another 5 minutes". After 10 bakes or so I could tell by sight.
I use one every time, but frankly, it's out of habit most of the time. As I've gained experience making more and more different types and sizes of breads, my actual need for my thermometer has decreased since most of my loaves are similar enough to others I've baked previously to eliminate any real chance I'll under-bake them.
For instance, if I know a 750 gm dough weight, 70% hydration, all-AP loaf will be done after 45 minutes at 450F, the same time and temp will also work fine for others that are fairly similar. The same applies to other dough weights and times / temps.
And it's also easy to add or subtract a few minutes when I want a bolder or lighter bake.
I bake lots of bread (for a small shop and a subscription list). I bake one particular popular bread three times a week; probably an average of 20 loaves a week of this one bread. I make it exactly the same every time, set up the oven exactly the same every time. This is a 750 gram loaf, about 68% hydration, mostly unbleached flour.
Sometimes I've taken it out of the oven at the usual time and found the internal temperature to be under 170F. This is obviously not ready, despite the fact that nothing has changed in the recipe or technique. The loaf looked ready on the outside but would have been wet and doughy in the middle if I'd gone by just time or the thump test.
Moral of that story is - I always test with a thermometer. :)
except for baguettes, rolls or other small pieces.
Like Lazy Loafer I bake breads for sale, some of them are different ones every week. For heavier wholegrain loaves it's impossible to gauge the done-ness just by eyeballing, and the thump test doesn't work well enough for dense, moist rye breads. And sometimes 5 minutes more can make the difference between a hard, overbaked crust and one that's just right.
An instant thermometer is an inexpensive tool, and I wouldn't want to miss it, same as I wouldn't want to miss my scale.
and it hacks me iff when it sometimes reads 207 F, the color is nice and brown and it thumps perfectly....... and the crumb s still a bit wet:-) I guess nothing, or all three, work all the time.
... and I never used the "thump the bottom" method. You may need more experience, but until then, there's nothing wrong with using a thermometer while you build said experience.
No bottom thumping here (except perhaps my wife's bottom) on bread I bake. I use a Thermapen instant read thermometer and I go in direct from the top to check doneness. The tiny hole made by reading the temp simply disappears when the bread is sliced if not self sealed during the loaf cooling on the counter. Checking temp has resulted in my loaves being completely done without question.
Personally, I can't stand sticking a thermometer in - I tried it a few times and then had to throw away the part arond the hole. Early on I used a rule for new bakers suggested either by Maggie Glezer or Rose Beranbaum - "if you think it's done, give another 5 minutes". After 10 bakes or so I could tell by sight.
I use one every time, but frankly, it's out of habit most of the time. As I've gained experience making more and more different types and sizes of breads, my actual need for my thermometer has decreased since most of my loaves are similar enough to others I've baked previously to eliminate any real chance I'll under-bake them.
For instance, if I know a 750 gm dough weight, 70% hydration, all-AP loaf will be done after 45 minutes at 450F, the same time and temp will also work fine for others that are fairly similar. The same applies to other dough weights and times / temps.
And it's also easy to add or subtract a few minutes when I want a bolder or lighter bake.
I bake lots of bread (for a small shop and a subscription list). I bake one particular popular bread three times a week; probably an average of 20 loaves a week of this one bread. I make it exactly the same every time, set up the oven exactly the same every time. This is a 750 gram loaf, about 68% hydration, mostly unbleached flour.
Sometimes I've taken it out of the oven at the usual time and found the internal temperature to be under 170F. This is obviously not ready, despite the fact that nothing has changed in the recipe or technique. The loaf looked ready on the outside but would have been wet and doughy in the middle if I'd gone by just time or the thump test.
Moral of that story is - I always test with a thermometer. :)
but I can't even remember the last time a bake was under-temp when tested and I had to put it back in.
except for baguettes, rolls or other small pieces.
Like Lazy Loafer I bake breads for sale, some of them are different ones every week. For heavier wholegrain loaves it's impossible to gauge the done-ness just by eyeballing, and the thump test doesn't work well enough for dense, moist rye breads. And sometimes 5 minutes more can make the difference between a hard, overbaked crust and one that's just right.
An instant thermometer is an inexpensive tool, and I wouldn't want to miss it, same as I wouldn't want to miss my scale.
Karin
and it hacks me iff when it sometimes reads 207 F, the color is nice and brown and it thumps perfectly....... and the crumb s still a bit wet:-) I guess nothing, or all three, work all the time.