Saturday, November 27, 2010

Oven Temperature Probe: Not just for meats any more

I almost entitled this post "Don't Be Afraid to Probe your Buns," but propriety got the better of me.
          
It was a big help to me, awhile back, to realize I could check the internal temperature of bread to determine doneness.  (190 to 200 degrees indicating 'done.')  The many years before, I had to guess.  Tapping the bottoms never worked well, because the bread was out of the oven so long by the time I got it out of the pan and managed to test it without burning myself.
              
But recently I was surprised to note that my Wolf oven manual gave instructions for using a probe when baking bread.  I never thought it would work to probe dough, and the secret seems to be to insert it after at least 10 minutes of baking, after the bread has been allowed that initial 'pop,' or rise when entering the heated oven, and when there is enough solid structure to support the probe.  I decided to give it a try with the sandwich rolls/hamburger buns I made for our "Sandwich Saturday" Thanksgiving get-together today.  It worked great!  Much better than trying to get a quick temp with the not-at-all-instant-read thermometer. I'm not sure it'll work with every oven to use it on something as small as sandwich rolls...My Monogram oven probe instructions said the probe had to be fully inserted in something in order to work properly, whereas the Wolf instructions just say to make sure the tip is in the center of the roll or loaf. But I think it's worth a try.  The results were fantastic....The rolls were light brown outside, and moist, but perfectly done, inside.


7 comments:

  1. Woohoo! The rolls look perfectly yummy. I've often thought about trying the probe with breads. We don't eat meat, so the thing is useless for me. I hope it works on GE Monogram. I'll give it a try today. I am making bread.

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  2. I'll be looking forward to hearing how it works for you!

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  3. Hi RHome410
    I found your search on line for a replacement bowl for bread doughs. I am curious which one you chose. Where did you find a 14 inch bowl? I am considering an old fashion wooden hewn dough trough. I agree bread dough and stainless just don't go together.
    My current WONDERFUL dough bowl has developed fissure cracks over the last 24+ years of making bread. I need a WONDERFUL repacement before this one falls into 3 large chunks.

    Thanks,
    lisaslovingloaves.blogspot.com

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  6. Rhome, I tried using the probe today on Potato Bread. I worked quite well.
    There are a couple of pictures on my blog.
    http://theoldkithen.blogspot.com/2010/11/probing-bread.html

    Thanks,
    Cotehele

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  7. Lisa, I'm sorry to be so long in answering. I tried to answer earlier with links to the bowl, but had no luck, and all day trying to figure it out didn't help. I found a 14" Mason Cash bowl, which you can see on Amazon....it's about the best price for it at $79.99. And there is a 16" bowl on Lehmans.com and Texastastes.com. And I just want everyone to know that your blog is Lisaslovinloaves.blogspot.com...It doesn't work with the 'g' on loving! ;-)

    Cotehele, I didn't realize you have a blog! I'm glad the method worked for your bread. Maybe that will be a better way to get along with the Monogram oven.

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