My bread came out a nice color on the outside but doughy/raw in the center. Any ideas what went wrong?

Haydee Campos
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Apricot Cardamom Bread
Recipe question for: Apricot Cardamom Bread

1 Comment

Lori T. February 21, 2019
This is made with a very rich sweet dough, which can make it difficult to gauge doneness - especially if you bake by time or appearance. Yours is simply under-baked from the sounds of it. I'm assuming you baked it in a round shape with a hole in the center. That helps get heat into the center of the dough for a more even bake. The best way to determine if a sweet dough or any bread dough really, is done, is by taking an internal temperature. Most rich or sweet breads really should hit at least 200F, different from ordinary doughs which are done at about 190F. If you want, you can always return your bread to the oven for a while longer to finish baking it. Cover the top with a sheet of foil to help prevent it getting too dark, and give it another 10-15 minutes of baking time. In the future, it's best to bake by internal temperature rather than time or brown appearance. If you don't have a way to check the internal temp, bake on the longer side of things. Cover the top with foil to prevent over browning. When you think it might be done, you can try giving your loaf a thump on the bottom, and see if it sounds rather hollow. If it does, it's done. If it doesn't return to the oven. You can also use a thin bladed paring knife to slightly pry braids apart, or poke the thicker part of an internal braid with a toothpick to get a feel. Underdone dough feels that way, and won't be as simple to poke. For now, just return your loaf to the oven for a little more heat. It will still be quite tasty once it is done.
 
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