Baking bread may seem like an easy task, but researchers at the Iowa State Center for Nondestructive Evaluation are working to make it even easier.

The researchers have developed a system to monitor internal changes during baking to ensure that the bread is completely cooked, according to a press release.

Loren Faeth, program assistant in the industrial education and technology department, and Dale Chimenti, professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, are the two researchers who developed this new technique.

“What we are trying to do is duplicate the tapping method for checking the ‘doneness’ of the bread,” Faeth said. “The way to do this to use a small chamber of air and release it. That blast of air causes the loaf to vibrate.”

Two ultrasonic transducers send and receive signals from the vibrations. The signals are then processed using a computer that draws a graph of the signals, which is evaluated to determine if the loaf is done, Faeth said.

The process takes only a few seconds, according to a press release.

“The time the energy takes to travel through the loaf decreases as it bakes,” Faeth said.

Because this time is measured using a graph, it is less subjective than other methods, he said.

“Ultrasonic measurement is not a new technology, but the application in a high temperature environment is, and using it for bakery products is new, too,” Faeth said.

Current technology dictates that bakers rely on time and temperature to get the right color crust and the right “doneness,” Faeth said.

“This is a highly subjective system, and it necessitates time and people,” he said. “It is hard to find people with this experience and hard to find people who want to learn these skills.”

Faeth said he also hopes to use the technique on other bakery products.