Microwave Power settings

It may already be an implicit assumption, but I think that time to cook is probably not as important as how to cook. While the power setting does affect the time to cook, the importance of time is to control how hot the parts of the food get.

As with all cooking, there is a need to control temperature. Running the microwave at less than full power allows time for the heat to be conducted from the hot parts to the cool parts. It is similar to searing vs. sauteeing.

I think that the accuracy of most microwave oven's power settings are good enough (my own testing shows about 10%). I would be more concerned about how I wanted the item cooked. Some examples:

• When I want to reheat things like a thick soup, I run the microwave at full power for a short period of time, stir, and run the microwave again. Stirring the concoction distributes the heat faster than the conduction process.
• When I want to defrost frozen foods (think meat), I use the lowest power setting. This prevents the edges of the food from getting cooked.

As you probably know, volkornbrot and similar breads are designed to bake at a lower temperature for a longer time. 240 C sounds way too high to me. 150-180 C should be about right, and leave the bread in for a long time (up to 3 hours), until the loaf starts to pull away from the sides of the pan. Even after this baking process, because the bread batter is much wetter than a standard bread, you should not slice or eat the bread until it has had time to cool and "rest," about 24 hours. If you slice it right away, the heat and moisture escape and the inside is still doughy/raw. If you wait, the moisture will have time to distribute throughout the loaf and the inside will firm up. Just be patient! The benefit is that the loaf should last for a very long time wrapped in plastic, especially if you put the unused portion in the fridge.