What temperature bakes bread in a bread machine?

Most bread machines bake bread at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. 

Richer doughs, such as those containing butter and eggs, are baked at 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. This dough will be done when it reaches 180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit or 82 to 88 degrees Celsius. 

Most dough made with whole grains will be baked at 350 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Some “leaner” doughs can be baked at 400°F. It will be ready when the dough reaches a temperature between 88 and 99 degrees Celsius or 190 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. 

When this temperature is maintained for sufficient time, the bread’s interior will be thoroughly cooked. It will be moist and airy but not sticky. Check the internal temperature of the loaf to ensure that it is thoroughly cooked. This becomes increasingly important as loaf size increases. 

If the bread machine does not have a thermal profile for that bread, consult the recipe when preparing the dough to determine the proper temperature. This is at least a starting point for determining the ideal temperature for baking bread. 

What other temperatures are bread machines capable of baking at? 

Egg- and dairy-containing bread must be baked at a high enough temperature to kill any bacteria. Suppose your bread consists solely of water, flour, and other vegan ingredients. In that case, you could theoretically bake it at 140 degrees Celsius for the first two hours and 170 degrees Celsius for the final twenty minutes. 

Using a lid that prevents heat loss, it is possible to bake at temperatures as low as 150 degrees Celsius for the first twenty minutes and 140 degrees Celsius for the last hour and fifteen minutes. 

To be safe for consumption, the bread must reach 95 degrees Celsius on the inside. This can be determined using a needle thermometer without touching the baking pan. 

When do other temperature settings on bread machines come into play? 

Warm water is ideal for proofing yeast, provided it is not too hot. The optimal temperature ranges between 105- and 110-degrees Fahrenheit. At 95 degrees Fahrenheit, it is optimal for yeast multiplication but not for dissolving and activating active dry yeast. However, proofing yeast in a bread machine is uncommon. 

Yet they frequently use the bread machine to maintain a “starter.” A sourdough starter, for instance, contains both yeast and lactobacilli. The bread machine maintains the proper temperature while preventing exposure to air. This prevents the temperature from exceeding 140 degrees Fahrenheit or 60 degrees Celsius, which would be fatal to the yeast. 

You can also make yogurt with a bread machine. Not all bread machines have the appropriate temperature profile for this purpose. The optimal temperature range is between 110- and 115-degrees Fahrenheit. Like sourdough, you will require a starter culture. And like yeast, it will die if exposed to excessive heat. 

When else might you want to use a bread machine to keep food warm? 

Bread machines can be used to prepare the dough and promote its rapid rise before baking. Your bread machine should have a setting for making simple dough, whether for pizza, bread, or cinnamon rolls. 

Advanced bread machines can maintain the dough at the optimal temperature for up to 13 hours before baking, allowing you to bake fresh bread just before serving. 

However, this is not possible with dough containing fresh milk or eggs. Some bread machines can serve as bread warmers, like an oven’s warming drawer. After removing it from the baking sheet, you can achieve the same result by allowing the bread to cool in the bread machine. 

Leave the lid slightly ajar to allow cooler outside air to reach the bread without drying it out or causing surface cracking. 

Why might a bread maker fail to cook bread properly? 

Heat will escape if you frequently remove the lid to check on the bread. The beadmaker may not be intelligent enough to compensate by adding time to the clock. If the lid is left off, the bread will not get as hot as it should. 

Adding cold milk and butter may prevent the dough from reaching the desired temperature, resulting in an undercooked loaf. Frozen flour will undoubtedly hinder the machine’s performance; even the most advanced bread machines will fail to recognize that frozen dough mixed with other ingredients is not warm enough. 

You can minimize these issues by adding dry ingredients at room temperature and warm water, milk, and eggs while the machine is in operation. The wet ingredients at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit will not harm the final product, regardless of the mode of baking used. If you combine water and yeast too soon, you may also obtain undesirable outcomes. 

If the bread maker is functioning properly, but the bread does not appear to be fully cooked, try moving it to a warmer room. If that does not work, the heating element may be defective. Or you must thoroughly clean the baking dish, as the baked-on grime acts as an insulator and prevents the bread from cooking properly. Also, dough that contains too much liquid will not thoroughly cook. 

Another possibility is that you are overfilling the loaf pan. Typically, this occurs when the bottom is cooked, but the top is still raw. Carefully consider the capacity. 

A thermal profile designed to cook a 2-pound bread may result in an undercooked 1-pound dough ball. In the opposite scenario, the bread will be burned. If the dough is over-proofed, as indicated by a doubling or greater, you may also obtain bread that burns. 

If there is insufficient space at the top of the bread bucket, hot air cannot circulate, preventing the top of the loaf from being cooked. In addition to producing soggy bread, slicing the loaf too soon without first allowing it to cool could also result in this issue.