t h e m a y f i l e s is foremost a family blog, chronicling everyday life. Life including natural, healthy eating (with recipes thrown in at random), home educating (with ideas popping up sporadically), an attempt to homestead on .2 acres (with very meager yields), raising 3 of 4 children with a rare genetic disorder, and lots of highly personal family triumphs and failures. You may also find an eclectic array of musings on politics, exercise, sewing, emergency preparedness, backyard chickens, and religion. This blog isn't a campaign to glorify anyone or anything. Just simply a record.

3.27.2009

Baking with a Temperature Probe

My biggest battle with my bread for 5 years was figuring out when it was done. I seemed to always have a raw loaf, or one overdone...of course it doesn't help when you are cooking 6 loaves in one oven! Three months ago, at my sisters advice I purchased a temperature probe. What in the world took me so long to do this? It is an amazing gadget. I paid $20 for it at my local kitchen store. I simply set the desired temperature (for my bread below, I like 184 degrees) and insert the probe. It beeps when the temperature is reached.

I put the probe in a loaf. It is a bit consuming the last 10 minutes of bread making, because my front loaves are done almost a full 10 minutes before my back loaves. But every loaf has been baked to perfection. And to think I battled this silly problem for so long.


I'm sure all you other bread makers may have known about these before but if you haven't it is a worthy investment. I think they get pretty fancy with wireless sensors you can wear around your house...if I ever move into a "McMansion" I will keep that in mind. Mine is a brand called CDN, model TSP572. It also works perfect for my tootsie rolls and meat.

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