i've been a bit obsessed with baking bread this winter. It was one of my goals for the year, to learn to bake homemade bread. i'd like to eventually start making sourdough, but so far i've just been making tradition bread and spicing the recipes up a bit by adding different things.
One thing about bread making that i've learned is important is knowing when the bake is done. i'm not really experience enough to know just by sight. You can tap the bottom and the bread should sound hollow but i've found by experience that isn't always a sure sign that it's done. If uncooked the bread with be dense and doughy inside, if over baked it may burn and will be too dry. i have read that being slightly over baked is better than being unbaked, but i'd still like to learn the perfect bake. Most breads are done at around 190 f, but this one is a whole wheat sprouted seed loaf. The moisture from the sprouted seeds required a little cooking time.
i have a non-digital candy thermometer that usually use when making my cheese. i tried calibrating a few weeks ago, because i suspected that it was off. This time i used the digital thermometer, and i was right about the candy one being off! This one is so much easier to use. It doesn't have to sit in the pot to register them the temperature. It's instant read. So it only take a second to get the temp, which can be crucial with cheese making and candy making. If your off by a few degrees it can be the difference between perfection and a failed batch.
My mozzarella turned out perfect. Being able to check the temperature and get an instant read is really important during the cheese making process.
One more test for the Digital thermometer is candy making. i love to make candy, but every time i think i have it mastered i get a failed batch. i'm now realizing this is because my candy thermometer was so off. i made a batch of honey taffy (i'll spot the recipe in a different post) and it came out so good!! It's really easy to make and having a good instant read digital thermometer makes all the difference!
i really love the way the honey taffy came out, and am looking forward to experimenting with some other honey candy recipes once we pull honey this spring and have lots to work with. i'm eager to make some homemade lemon honey cough drops, and elderberry honey lozenges.
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i'll post the recipes for all of these later this week!
disclaimer. i did not receive compensation for this post, however i did receive a free product to review in exchange for my opinion. My opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way. This post may contain affiliate links.
