The Doneness Guide: Knowing When Baking Time is Done

Too often I hear from a reader who has tried a recipe of mine that their bake time was different than what I had listed in the recipe: perhaps I said 30 minutes but theirs was done in 25 and they wouldn’t have known if they hadn’t checked early. Perhaps I said 30 minutes and theirs actually took 40-45 minutes so they’ll comment that my written bake time was too short. 

What every home baker needs to know is that bake times are dependent on a few things: the type of material your pan is made out of (glass and ceramic takes longer to heat, longer to cool compared to metal pans, even metal pans vary in terms of thickness and material), how hot or cool your oven runs (have a secondary thermometer in your oven to check that the oven thermometer is accurate, most are not), the temperature of the dough/batter when it goes into the oven (eg. if the dough was chilled, or if your kitchen runs cool versus warm), etc. 

This is why I have begun writing my recipes differently over the past year: I will tell you what visual cues to look for before I list a baking time in hopes that provides a better guide. However, people don’t always pay attention to the listed cues and instead quickly glance for the listed time and go by that. It isn’t a reliable method though; you cannot have a sense of true doneness by relying on a listed bake time from someone else’s kitchen. You need to know what you’re looking for and what you see can tell you about a baked good’s doneness. 

For this reason I’ve created and compiled a table as a guide to tell you what visual cues to look for. I’ve written the cues as best as I can describe from many years of experience baking. The internal thermometer temperatures listed are mostly gathered from external trusted recipe websites but some I know by heart (190 F for bread, always). 

I hope this will be helpful to all. 

Now, stop relying on listed baking times! Follow visual cues and know what to look for. 

The Doneness Guide

Baked Good	What to look for	Internal Temperature
Cookies (drop)	Golden brown edges, a good spread (depending on the cookie), a center middle that is not wet looking. Tip: take the cookies out a few minutes before you think they will be done as they will continue to cook from the heat of the pan as they cool down.	175 F – 185 F
Cookies (shaped)	The cookies are shiny so long as they are wet and underdone; they will turn matte when fully baked. Look for set edges. Don’t wait for golden edges, this can signify the cookies are overbaked and will be crunchy rather than soft.	n/a
Muffins	The center of the top will have risen fully. Tops will spring back when gently pressed, rather than sink. Use a cake tester, inserted into the middle of the muffin; the tester should not show any signs of wet or gooey batter, just baked crumbs.	200 F
Scones	Golden all over, but especially at the edges and on the bottom of the scone: gently lift a scone to check. Middles should not look wet or shiny. Tip: don’t leave them on the pan to continue cooking like you would a drop cookie, transfer to a cooling rack.	200 F
Quick Breads/Bundt Cakes	Try for the spring back: carefully and gently touch the middle of the cake, if it springs back and feels firm it’s likely done. But because these cake breads are deep, sometimes this isn’t enough to check: use a cake tester or a thermometer inserted into the center: look for dry crumbs, no wet or gooey batter.	200 F
Cupcakes	Much like muffins: check for a springback when gently pressing into the middle. If your finger leaves an indent you’ll be able to tell the batter is still wet. Cake tester should have baked crumbs.	200 F
Cakes baked in layers	Spring back: gently press the top of the cake to see if it’s wet inside. Sometimes gently shaking the pan will show if the center still wobbles. A cake tester should have baked crumbs, no goo.	200 F
Brownies/Blondies	First look at the top center: there should be some slight puff in the center that shows the middle has baked. Then depending on how you like them, the cake tester will show you when to take them out: for a fudgy/gooey brownie, you’re looking for some thick slightly wet clumps on the tester (not liquid, not runny). If you like your brownies without any “goo” and more on the cakey side, bake them until there’s no wet crumbs on the tester. Remember brownies will stay in the pan awhile so they’ll continue to cook a bit as they cool.	170-180 F
Yeasted Breads eg. Brioche, Challah, Babka, etc.	Deeply golden all over with significant rise in the center (the last area to bake). You can try to press down the center but this doesn’t tell you too much about the very middle of the bread, instead use an instant read thermometer, it should read 190 F.	190 F
Custards/Curds	Visually the curd or custard will be thick and viscous: flows slowly rather than runny. It will cover the back of a spoon rather than immediately run off. If you swipe a finger down the spoon the shape on the spoon will remain.	170-175 F (180 F if you’d like it to be more firmly set)
Cheesecakes (classic)	The outer edge (about 2 inch rim) should be set and not wobble when you gently shake the pan. The center should wobble. The top should have no shine to it, and be matte all over. There should be no brown spots anywhere on the cheesecake and if the center does not wobble, or even begins to puff up: it’s overdone.	150 F
Fruit Pies/Galettes	The crust will have a deep golden brown to it but more importantly you’ll need to pay attention to the filling: is it bubbling? What are the bubbles like: are they quick and runny (the pie isn’t done) or are they slow and lava-like (the pie is done)? Heavy, slow bubbling at the very middle of the pie is what you’re looking for.	210-215F

 

Questions about things that are unclear or that I may have missed? Please leave me a comment below. In time I plan to update the table with more info, as needed. 

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