Hi Thomas, while checking the internal temperature of your bread can be helpful, particularly when you're making an unfamiliar recipe for the first time, it's certainly not a required step in the bread baking process. Most bakers come to rely on the color, firmness, and lightness or "hollowness" of the loaf as sure signs that the loaf is fully baked, so you're right to trust your own judgment and sense of timing. 

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