Judy once shared a chart with us:
THE THERMAL STAGES OF BAKING:
80°–170°F (27°–77°C) Gasses are formed and trapped More CO2 from yeast is produced, as are gasses from any chemical leaveners and alcohol vapor from the fermentation 140°–212°F (60°–100°C) Starches gelatinize Starch granules swell and burst, creating a thick web of starch molecules 160°–185°F (71°–85°C) Proteins coagulate The gluten strands curl up, tightening their links with each other, and solidifying the bread’s structure Across the temperature range Fats melt In rich doughs, the fats that were emulsified in the dough melt, moistening the dough 212°F (100°C) (adjusted for elevation) Water boils Steam is one of the most important leaveners in bread 320°F (160°C) and up Sugars caramelize, Maillard reaction Sugars on the exterior will brown at this temperature and others will combine with proteins to produce nutty, toasty flavors and beautiful color Carryover baking After the bread is removed from the oven, the temperatures will equalize, with the interior continuing to warm as the exterior begins to cool Staling ( starch retrogradation ) Once the bread reaches room temperature, the starch molecules start to shed water and to try to reassemble themselves in to starch granules, a process that makes soft bread feel hard and, well, stale ( On Baking , Pearson, pg . 57)
@judytuna did you type that up? Is it in a textbook?
I still find this chart fascinating, due to the implied research done. Humans have been making bread for thousands of years, and we slowly understood all this as a body of knowledge, and then relatively recently a bunch of folks were like, “we should really science this” and now we have that chart.
