Q & A - Checking Thermometers for Accuracy

Q - At our small retail bakery we are required to check the internal temperature of the bread to 180 degrees. What is a sufficient method to calibrate the thermometer? freezing water? boiling water? or both?

A - Thanks for the question. You can use ice water or boiling water to calibrate a probe thermometer. I think it is easier for people to use the ice water method. Here is a link to specific directions for a probe thermometer.

The probe in this photo would need a slight adjustment to point at 32F. Most of the thin-tipped digital thermometers do not allow you to calibrate (adjust) to 32F, so you would document the temperature it did hold when put into the ice water. In this case it would be 32.3F.

Below is an example of a daily log of all thin-tipped thermometers in-house.