"Bob (this one)" > wrote in message
...
> D.Currie wrote:
>> "Bob (this one)" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>
>>>suzette wrote:
>>>
>>>>I was wondering if one should strive for a specific internal temperature
>>>>when baking breads, (rye, french, sourdough). I ahve looked over quite a
>>>>few
>>>>posts and have not seen any relating to this quiry.
>>>>I like to make bread every other week or so for my presonal pleasure and
>>>>am
>>>>new to this group. Thannk you for any help..........Suz
>>>
>>>For home baking, an internal temperature in the center of the loaf of
>>>200°F says it's done. In my classes, I teach people to poke the
>>>thermometer into one of the slashes on top of a crusty loaf or into the
>>>end if baked in a loaf pan. Quick-read thermometers need to be poked in
>>>almost all the way to get an accurate reading. They're designed to give
>>>an average reading over about 3 inches of the probe.
>>>
>>>Professional baking has different criteria for determining doneness.
>>>
>>>Pastorio
>>
>>
>> Would that temp change at high altitude? Where I'm at, the boiling point
>> of water is about 203 degrees, which is (obviously) 9 degrees less than
>> sea level. So if I measured the bread temp, would I want it 9 degrees
>> less (193 degrees) or would I want it to get all the way to 200, which is
>> just 3 degrees shy of the boiling point?
>
> It shouldn't be altered if at all possible. That 200°F represents the
> temperature by which the important chemical and physical changes have
> happened. Gelatinization, protein denaturing and the other events that
> combine to make bread happen at certain absolute temperatures and
> pressures. Significantly lower, and they don't proceed to fullness.
>
> For me the boiling point is usually 209°F. Changes in atmospheric pressure
> will cause it to fluctuate a bit
>
> Pastorio

Okay -- just curious, anyway. I grew up at sea level, or close enough, so
this high-altitude thing has been an experience. Baking has actually been
less of a problem than things that cook in water.

Donna