On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1024

Bread dough before and after baking. As the
dough heats up, starch granules absorb
moisturefromthegluten,swell,andleaksome
starch molecules, creating reinforcement for
thedoughwallsthatsurroundthegaspockets.
Late Baking: Flavor Development and
Cooking Through Baking is continued for
some time after the bread center approaches
the boiling point. This gelates the starch as
thoroughly as possible, thus preventing the
center from remaining damp and heavy, and
slowingsubsequentstaling.Continuedbaking
also encourages the surface browning
reactions that improve both color and flavor.
Though limited to the hot, dry crust, these
reactions affect the flavor of the whole loaf
becausetheirproductsdiffuseinward.Alightcolored loaf will be noticeably less flavorful
thanadarkone.
Breadisjudgedtobedonewhenitscrust
hasbrownedanditsinnerstructurehas


becomefullyset.Thesecondconditioncanbe
verifiedindirectlybytappingonthebottomof
theloaf.Iftheinteriorstillcontainsa
continuousglutenmasswithembedded
bubbles,itwillsoundandfeelheavyand
dense.Ifithascookedthroughandbecomean
opensponge,theloafwillsoundhollow.
Cooling

Immediatelyafterbeingremovedfromthe
oven,theloaf’souterlayerisverydry,around
15%water,andcloseto400ºF/200ºC,while
theinteriorisasmoistastheoriginaldough,
around40%water,andaround200ºF/93ºC.
Duringcooling,thesedifferencespartlyeven
themselvesout.Moisturediffusesoutward,
andmuchoftheloaf’smoisturelossoccurs
now.Itrangesfrom10%to20%ofthedough
weight,dependingonsurfacearea,withsmall
rollslosingthemostandlargeloavesthe
least.