Bread seems cooked, but still almost raw inside

[JulieAnderton]

I've made several loaves of wholemeal bread recently, using two different, but very similar recipes (basically flour, sugar, salt, fast-action yeast and water - one recipe also includes oil).

I've been baking the loaves in 2lb loaf tins. The loaves are a deep brown colour, have a good crust and sound hollow when tapped underneath, but the middles are still very doughy and verging on raw.

What can I do to make sure my bread is cooked all the way through without burning the crusts?

Hmm. What temperature and how long do you bake them for? Is this a recent phenomenon?

One of the recipes is this Delia one here so 200 degrees. I've made this one twice. The recipe says to cook the loaf for about 40 minutes, but I've been giving it a bit longer, more like 50 minutes.

The other recipe is on the back of the Allinson's Easy Yeast packet. I think it is 230 degrees for 30 minutes. I baked this one for the first time this morning, but again it needed slightly longer.

I've just had a thought - I've been leaving the loaves to rise overnight in the fridge, then putting them in the oven first thing in the morning directly from the fridge. I reckon it's because the dough is too cold and the inside of the loaf is taking much longer to reach the cooked temperature.

Yes that was my first thought. The dough is far too cold. It is just not getting hot in the middle.

TBH I can see why you are raising it in the fridge for convenience. I get round teh conveneicne issue by doing the initial raise of my dough in a breadmaker and then knead by hand before putting in tins and proving before baking. It is very convenient as it is all timed perfectly and the alarm sounds whn done so I can go and do something else.

I would invest in a really cheap breadmaker just do kneading and raising and I think you will have a better outcome. Breadmakers can also be put on a timer if you want ready bread in the morning.

Thank you - some really useful tips there. I would like to start baking bread more regularly, so will certainly consider a bread maker.

I do the Dan Lepard sponge method and that let's me time things around going to work. You can always (I think) find a bread method that fits around your schedule!

I has this problem too, so now I make the bread more of a focaccia shape, which - although not ideal for sandwiches - has solved the problem

I've had this too and the replies are really useful. Thanks!

Yes, thank you. Off to find the Dan Lepard recipe now.

Here!

Go for "the easiest loaf in the world" and the milk loaf and the wholemeal, to start with!

I would mix, leave on side for 30mins/1 hour then into fridge overnight. In the morning, take out and leave for an hour before shaping and into tins for the proove. You can leave to rise at room temperature o/n if you use less yeast (my friend uses one 7g packet of yeast for 8kg dough!).

I made a milk loaf this morning: mix the sponge and left it in the living room (coolest room) before leaving the house at 8.30am, got back at 5, mix the bread and did the light kneading while preparing tea. Have tea. Shape bread. Potter about a bit. Bread in oven while supervising bedtime things. Bread out, kids in bed. :)

Of course things don't always go this smoothly. But that's usually to do with the kids, not the bread. The bread usually behaves itself.

Buy a probe thermometer. (They are cheap and incredibly useful). The bread is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 96 - 99 degrees C.