I think it is entirely up to your personal taste. I have found that if I want to make a pretty baguette, the crumb temperature will be over 205°F just because (even in a 500°F oven) it is hard to get the crust to brown before the crumb reaches 200°F and the smaller the loaf the more you fight the crumb temp vs surface temp problem.
For products where you can brush the top with egg wash or a little condensed milk or include a little sugar to encourage Maillard reaction browning, then you can finish early with a lower temperature crumb and still have a nicely colored crust. Bigger loaves required different oven temperature profiles to get it cooked all the way through without burning the top (or bottom) so adjust as you see fit. No rules really, just adjustments to get what you want.
Having replied with the internal temperature chart, I actually don’t take the internal temperature of my bread. I actually go by colour of the crust and by tapping on the bottom of the bread to listen for a hollow sound.
I take the Dutch oven out and place it on the counter when I think the crust looks done. Then I take the bread out and tap it on the bottom. I handle the bread and Dutch oven with oven gloves but tap with an ungloved finger.
For whatever it's worth (possibly very little, lol) I always take the temperature of the dough with a quick-read probe thermometer and I always bake to 210F. At my normal hydrations of around 73 to 80, depending on the dough, I just don't want to go under 210 or the bread can come out gummy. If I'm making an enriched bread that is more likely for the crust to burn I wait longer to remove the cover from the baking vessel. Sourdoughs, I take the cover off after about 15 minutes, whereas the spelt treacle loaves I leave the cover on for 20. If I was making a large enriched bread (as opposed to my small pan breads) I would leave the cover on longer: 30 or 35 minutes.
The acids in the sourdugh really suppress browning, where the sugars and fats in the enriched dough promote it. But to me, bread isn't cooked until it's at 210 F on the inside.
"Hydration" means the weight of the water or liquid as a percentage of the total weight of the flour. If you have 600g of water and 1000g of flour, the hydration is 60%. It's good to get familiar with the term if you are going to try a lot of different bread recipes. Knowing the hydration tells you a lot about the properties of the dough that you can expect.
Internal temperature is a good gauge but not the whole story. Enriched doughs one would usually bake to a temperature in the range of 195 deg F/91C - 200 deg F/93C, hearth loaves 205F/ 96C - 210F/99C. But it's really more about how much moisture is left inside. With a large or wet loaf it's possible to have a high internal temperature yet still have a lot of moisture left. This isn't bad but it will soften the crust as the cooked loaf cools and sits around.
The temperature chart I follow is this
Soft bread/dinner rolls
180 to 190ºF
Scones
200ºF
Sourdough bread
200 to 210ºF
I forget where I found that chart.
I think it is entirely up to your personal taste. I have found that if I want to make a pretty baguette, the crumb temperature will be over 205°F just because (even in a 500°F oven) it is hard to get the crust to brown before the crumb reaches 200°F and the smaller the loaf the more you fight the crumb temp vs surface temp problem.
For products where you can brush the top with egg wash or a little condensed milk or include a little sugar to encourage Maillard reaction browning, then you can finish early with a lower temperature crumb and still have a nicely colored crust. Bigger loaves required different oven temperature profiles to get it cooked all the way through without burning the top (or bottom) so adjust as you see fit. No rules really, just adjustments to get what you want.
Having replied with the internal temperature chart, I actually don’t take the internal temperature of my bread. I actually go by colour of the crust and by tapping on the bottom of the bread to listen for a hollow sound.
You tap the bottom when it's in a flaming hot dutch oven? :)
I take the Dutch oven out and place it on the counter when I think the crust looks done. Then I take the bread out and tap it on the bottom. I handle the bread and Dutch oven with oven gloves but tap with an ungloved finger.
For whatever it's worth (possibly very little, lol) I always take the temperature of the dough with a quick-read probe thermometer and I always bake to 210F. At my normal hydrations of around 73 to 80, depending on the dough, I just don't want to go under 210 or the bread can come out gummy. If I'm making an enriched bread that is more likely for the crust to burn I wait longer to remove the cover from the baking vessel. Sourdoughs, I take the cover off after about 15 minutes, whereas the spelt treacle loaves I leave the cover on for 20. If I was making a large enriched bread (as opposed to my small pan breads) I would leave the cover on longer: 30 or 35 minutes.
The acids in the sourdugh really suppress browning, where the sugars and fats in the enriched dough promote it. But to me, bread isn't cooked until it's at 210 F on the inside.
What do you mean by "hydrations"? Im so very pitiful...and new...at bread making
Thanks
"Hydration" means the weight of the water or liquid as a percentage of the total weight of the flour. If you have 600g of water and 1000g of flour, the hydration is 60%. It's good to get familiar with the term if you are going to try a lot of different bread recipes. Knowing the hydration tells you a lot about the properties of the dough that you can expect.
Internal temperature is a good gauge but not the whole story. Enriched doughs one would usually bake to a temperature in the range of 195 deg F/91C - 200 deg F/93C, hearth loaves 205F/ 96C - 210F/99C. But it's really more about how much moisture is left inside. With a large or wet loaf it's possible to have a high internal temperature yet still have a lot of moisture left. This isn't bad but it will soften the crust as the cooked loaf cools and sits around.
Thanks so much!