The Smell of Bread

[Tina Nord]

Someone told me yesterday that a real bread baker can tell when a loaf is done by simply smelling it in the oven. Has anyone tried this method of making sure bread is done, or have you heard of this before? I would probably never give up the oven timer method, but it would be nice to use the smell method as a secondary to make sure that my bread is not still dough in the middle.

 

[ACSAPA]

I don't believe that. Bread starts to smell delicious when it's only halfway done because of the yeast. I've had loaves of bread that filled the apartment with a wonderful smell but turned out to be underdone.
I'll stick with the oven timer.

 

[Trellum]

The smell of bread can be a great indicator, but I believe that is something only experts bakers can do... by expert bakes I mean people who do this for a living, thus having lots of experience from daily baking bread. I knew a baker who was really good at it, he knew a lot tricks.

 

[Tina Nord]

I tend to agree with you both. As with many things baked, they start to smell wonderful when they are not fully done yet. I also heard of a truck about brownies and how to identity when they were ready to come out of the oven but I forgot.

 

[Cayla]

Bread smells quite nice once it is nearly done. It is hard to tell about the exact timing, though. I worked in a bakery. The baker knew when the bread was done, but no one else did, even though we could all smell it.

 

[Mara]

I am sure a real baker would know the different smells, but I am not that experienced. I love the smell of bread and you can tell the difference when they have started to bake and when the baking is nearly done. I guess if you are in the kitchen you can smell the gradual differences and tell that way.

 

[Shimus]

The sense of the bread overwhelms me. But when I think it's done a lot of the time from the smell, I'm wrong and it's still doughy. So I need to continually bake to get up to the level where I can differentiate between smells.

Would be handy. And any other tricks.

 

[Kat R]

I wonder if the real bread baker also instinctively knows how long the bread has been in the oven. This understanding added to the amount of time they have spent smelling bread may have an element of the truth. Personally, the smell of the bread does not help me know when the bread is done. Then again, I have not heard of this before. I will be thinking about it the next time I make bread.

 

[Shimus]

I think it would come after years of baking it, that's why they can tell. Their attentions aren't always on their ovens so they can multi-task by sniffing to generalize an area where it is safe to pull out. More like a trick then anything.

 

[Tina Nord]

I am sure a bread baker just has the instinct for when the bread is done. I can never quite tell until I cut into it and just hope for the best. I can tell when cookies or cake is done just by looking at them because I have baked so many in my lifetime.

 

[Shimus]

Yeah, I expect that to be exactly like the Baker's instinct. When you've cooked so many of anything, in any food business, you can tell if it's properly done. That's part of the job - knowing if it's edible and serviceable to the public. Or in this case public is people at home or friends coming over. No different, really.

I could tell when a burger is done for instance, by the smell of the meat in the pan. Most people cut theirs to check the middle, but I do it by scent and it's never pink/red. People are like "How do you know?"

You just do, I guess. It comes with time and experience.

 

[longhair]

I'm going to say no you can't tell the bread is done based on the smell, but I think it's possible for a professional baker to know. They're passionate about their profession. On the other hand, I can tell when chocolate chip cookies and or peanut butter cookies are just about done. I don't know why, but I'm usually pretty accurate when I bake them. I'll use a timer, but my nose knows. All three smell so divine.

 

[Zyni]

Yeah, I expect that to be exactly like the Baker's instinct. When you've cooked so many of anything, in any food business, you can tell if it's properly done. That's part of the job - knowing if it's edible and serviceable to the public. Or in this case public is people at home or friends coming over. No different, really.

I could tell when a burger is done for instance, by the smell of the meat in the pan. Most people cut theirs to check the middle, but I do it by scent and it's never pink/red. People are like "How do you know?"

You just do, I guess. It comes with time and experience.

I can't tell by the smell. I can tell with a burger by the softness or firmness, without cutting into it.

Bread, no way. I love the aroma of bread baking, but I can't tell by the smell when it's done. I think bakers probably go more on instinct than on scent, but I suppose it's possible.

 

[Shimus]

It's probably more of an 'internal clock' or 'sixth sense' rather than knowing by nose, but the nose definitely guides. The same can be said of any practiced habit, though. Through experiences, baking or not you'll garner experience and be able to more clearly judge/anticipate certain things such as bread cooking.

 

[jennevieve]

Baking is a bit of a science. Exact measurements and proportions are needed when following recipes. Therefore, it is important to observe proper cooking times, rather than relying on a "sense" of when something is done. Follow the recipe/time and you will not be disappointed!

 

[ThatNewMommy]

I would love to be able to tell if it's done by the smell. But like others, it starts smelling good right from the beginning. LOL I wish I had that ability though. Breads give me such a hard time. I either get the before they're done or right as they're starting to burn. I think it may also be my oven though. It's time to get a new one but i cant afford to yet.