I've been a home bread baker for years. I'm also an engineer. The concept of when a bread bake is done has always been a concern of mine. Most of the bread I bake is some form of Rye bread. I've tried a few dozen recipes over the year from various parts of Europe and America. Rye is one of those grain that when under-baked, or not left long enough to rest uncut after the bake becomes gummy depending on the percentage of Rye flour, type of Rye and hydration level. I've tried baking to a specific maximum temperature reached and in many cases it just doesn't work. The bread can still come out gummy. What I've discovered is that what's critical isn't the maximum temperature a bake reaches, but rather how long a minimum bake temperature is held at the middle of the loaf. In the case of a Rye loaf I'm looking for an internal minimum temperature of 190 degrees F. How long I want to hold ABOVE that temperature depends on the percentage of Rye. Often when the bake is complete and I've held ABOVE that minimum temperature for the allotted time the final bread temperature might be anywhere from 200 to 210 and I've held ABOVE the 190 mark for as long as 20 minutes and as little as 5 minutes. It all depends on the percentage of Rye and the hydration level of the final dough. I now after a few years of doing this have come close to a formula based on my experience. A few years from now I'm sure I'll have it down to a pure formula that will work on any level of Rye and hydration without fail. Unfortunately, that day is not yet here. The success of many Rye bread recipes comes because the time allotted for baking or a high final internal temperature has held the middle of the loaf above 190 degrees F for a long enough period of time to ensure a full bake.

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