Have you ever experienced baking bread that appears cooked but has an uncooked center? This can be very frustrating and time is often of the essence when dealing with it – you want to know how to fix it immediately!
There are various steps you can take to address the problem, starting with making sure your oven temperature is accurate and then waiting until after cooling for your bread to slice it open.
1. Check the Temperature
As any bread baker knows, getting it just right is of utmost importance. Pre-baking must go smoothly while the oven cooks your recipe thoroughly – additionally it’s imperative that you can accurately discern when your bread has finished baking!
Undercooked bread can be an exasperating experience. Not only may it not taste as expected, but its texture or appearance may also leave something to be desired – and could potentially make you queasy!
Signs that your bread is undercooked include its texture becoming soft and doughy or having wet spots, both of which may be related to oven temperature and type of bread being baked.
An efficient way of checking the internal temperature of bread loaves quickly and simply is with a thermometer. Doing this will allow you to know whether they have reached perfection.
Your loaf of bread should be cooked properly when its internal temperature reaches 190 degrees, but if you’re uncertain, using a probe thermometer to check its internal temperature might help determine if its complete.
Check your bread is cooked quickly by gently tapping its bottom with your finger firmly. A fully baked loaf should produce an audible hollow sound when hit hard enough with your fingertip.
If your bread is still underdone, rebaking may help. Simply increase the temperature to 350 degrees and rebaked for approximately 10-20 minutes after cooling; this should allow it to cook more thoroughly even if it has cooled in between baking attempts. It may also help if tenting loosely with aluminum foil before baking as this will ensure an even browning process and help prevent edges from over-browning too quickly.
2. Let It Cool
If your loaf of bread comes out with its exterior looking fully cooked but the interior still being raw or underdone, the first thing to do in such cases should be waiting until it cools completely before trying to slice into it.
Bread must cool sufficiently so it’s no longer hot when cut, otherwise it will appear doughy and unappetizing to cut. While you should try not to do it while it’s warm, if that becomes necessary then use all your willpower not to bite!
Hot bread should not be consumed due to its potential to leave your stomach feeling uncomfortable and expose you to bacteria and viruses that could be detrimental to digestion.
Salmonella is one of the most dangerous bacteria, so eating undercooked bread that turns out to be infected could pose a major threat.
To remain on the safe side, any undercooked bread should be rebaked within two hours after coming out of the oven, as otherwise bacteria from eggs used can begin growing and cause food-borne illness.
At times this may not always be possible and re-baking an undercooked loaf may be necessary. In this instance, make sure that it goes back into a preheated oven so it can reheat properly and heat back up evenly.
An effective way to ensure your bread is not undercooked is to check its temperature using a thermometer. Simply insert the thermometer into the center of the bread, leave it in the oven until its internal temperature reaches between 190-195 F for enriched breads or 200-210 F for lean ones.
3. Re-Bake
Nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment when baking bread; however, when cutting into it and finding that it’s undercooked or just doughy inside can be disheartening.
Reviving undercooked bread doesn’t have to be impossible – often all it takes is some extra baking time!
First step to baking bread properly is using an oven thermometer to check its temperature. Soft bread typically needs to reach 180 degrees for several minutes while crunchy/crusty varieties need 200. You can simply stick your thermometer into the center of your loaf without an obvious hole and check back every few minutes to ensure that its staying at the right temperature.
Before cutting your bread, allow it to cool for at least 15 minutes so as to ensure it doesn’t dry out too much or become soggy or soggy, which may result in bad slices when trying to slice it. This step should prevent it from overdrying and becoming sticky on the inside – something which could potentially cause difficulty when trying to slice.
If your bread has already cooled too much, however, you might not be able to salvage it. That is due to too much heat having passed through and will begin browning quickly on the outside.
Therefore, it’s crucial that you preheat your oven before beginning baking. No matter whether you use a regular or stone oven, preheating will help distribute heat more evenly and produce better results.
Before placing the bread into the oven, spray both your oven and it with water to help even out its cooking and lighten the crust without burning or browning too quickly. This may also help soften it slightly for easier eating!
Lastly, if you don’t own an oven thermometer and need help determining when your bread has finished baking, a probe can provide an approximate time estimate of when it has reached completion. These aren’t very costly either and could prove invaluable in future endeavors so making this small investment will certainly pay off!
4. Wrap It Up
Baking bread requires meticulous precision. Every bit of dough must be cooked thoroughly before cooling or rebaking it.
Unintentionally undercooking bread can result in sticky and soggy interiors; that’s certainly not ideal when planning to use it for toast or sandwiches!
Resolving undercooked bread issues is actually quite straightforward – all it requires is some minimal effort on your part. Here are a few helpful hints:
First, utilize an instant-read thermometer to gauge the internal temperature of your bread. Soft loaves should reach 180 degrees while hard and crusty loaves need 200 or higher degrees for ideal baking results. Insert the thermometer into the middle of your loaf until you achieve your desired temperature level.
One way to tell whether your bread is ready is to give it a test tap with your thumb or finger – if the sound it makes is hollow, remove from the oven immediately.
Eating undercooked bread could result in digestive issues such as stomach discomfort, cramping, indigestion or even bloating.
Raw dough contains living organisms, such as yeast, that produce gasses that lead to yeast infections.
Before becoming sick, it is vital that the problem be addressed immediately. You can do this by checking the temperature of your bread and rebaking if necessary.
If you don’t have time to rebake your bread, another alternative would be freezing it to prolong its freshness and prevent mold growth from ruining its taste and texture. Unfortunately, however, frozen bread won’t taste quite the same and will go stale more quickly than freshly-baked varieties.
Uncooked bread can last in your freezer up to two days when wrapped well with plastic and then foil, but make sure it remains well protected from freezer burn by being properly covered by plastic and then foil.
If your bread has undercooked, preheat the oven and bake it again for 10-20 minutes – this should do the trick but may result in overly browned spots if the loaf still appears too browned after that; tent it with aluminum foil as soon as it appears too brown in order to prevent burning.