Can meat spoil outside the fridge if it's baked into bread as a filling?
I make an Italian bread called 'pane di miele' that involves cooking the bread dough with a large piece of meat (chicken, ham, pork, etc.) inside. I haven't had any foodborne illness issues from it, but I'm concerned about the safety, especially since the inside temperature doesn't always reach 165°F (74°C).

To address your concern, I will provide information on the USDA guidelines for cooking meat to ensure food safety and discuss how the baking process may affect the growth of harmful bacteria in your Italian bread (Pane di Miele).
I made a batch of sourdough bread a few hours ago and one of the fillings was meat leftovers cooked with vegetables – they were cooled down to room temperature before adding them in the dough. Would this be safe to eat?

To answer your question, the safety of using room temperature meat fillings in sourdough bread depends on several factors.

1. Type and preparation of meat: Cooked meat that has been properly stored and cooled to room temperature can be generally considered safe for use in bread. However, raw, undercooked, or contaminated meat should never be used