How to Tell if Bread Is Done Baking: 5 Ways | KitchenAid (2024)

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How to Tell if Bread Is Done Baking: 5 Ways | KitchenAid? ›

Inserting a toothpick into the center of a baked good is a tried and true method to test for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bread is likely fully baked. It needs a bit more time if it comes out wet with dough or crumbs.

Give the bottom of the loaf a couple firm taps with your thumb. The bread will sound hollow when it's done. If you're new to this technique, try doing this every five minutes toward the end of baking and you'll hear how the sound changes.

Use your senses: Sound

“For crusty artisan bread, one way to determine doneness is by thumping the bottom of the loaf,” says Barb. “Give it a few quick knocks on the bottom of the loaf with your knuckles; if it sounds hollow, that tells you it's fully baked.”

If you're checking on shaped dough for the second rise/proof, then it should also be about double in size. Feel: Bread dough that has successfully risen/proofed will spring back slowly when poked and leave an indent. If it snaps back too quickly, it needs more time.

The toothpick test – a toothpick or knife should come out clean after inserting into the centre. The internal temperature should be around 98°C/210°F.

First and foremost, it's always best to let fresh bread rest until it's cool and fully set before slicing. I know, fresh-from-the-oven is hard to resist, but your bread will not only taste better it will keep longer if you wait to cut it for at least an hour—I prefer two or more.

Baking bread is the last hurdle, and for new bakers, it can be challenging to get just the right bake. Bake too long and the bread is burnt tasting, but if you go under, you've got an underbaked, sticky mess inside. The best way to avoid the over- or underbaked bread: internal temperature checks.

Gently press your finger into the dough on the top. If the dough springs back quickly, it's underproofed. If it springs back very slowly, it's properly proofed and ready to bake. Finally, if it never springs back, the dough is overproofed.

It is pretty simple to salvage an undercooked bread and create a decent loaf. Heat the oven to 350 F, return the bread to the oven, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes. This will work even if the loaf has cooled, which is similar to par-baking bread.

Does bread continue to cook while resting? ›

1. Bread should be allowed to come to room temperature after baking, because the heat retained inside continues to cook the bread, so slicing it too early interupts this process prematurely.

Inserting a toothpick into the center of a baked good is a tried and true method to test for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bread is likely fully baked. It needs a bit more time if it comes out wet with dough or crumbs.

“If the dough has risen too long, it's going to feel fragile and might even collapse as you poke it,” says Maggie. If this is the case, there's a chance you can save your dough by giving it a quick re-shape. Learn more about this fix in our blog on saving overproofed dough.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place bread in the preheated oven and lower the temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake until the top is golden brown and the bottom of the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 30 minutes.

underproof dough will spring back completely correctly, proof will spring back slowly and only halfway, and overproof dough won't spring back at all. after baking, the underproof dough will be dense and deformed. while the dough that was ready will be fluffy and light. and the overproof dough will be flat and deflated.