Maybe it’s not me; maybe it my oven

[Mark Brkln Hts]

Ever since we got a new oven... maybe by coincidence, my baking has been ‘off’.
nearly everything bakes sooner than the recipes’ lower time limit; cookies are too frequently ‘dark’ on the bottom.

the new oven is a 24” Verona 2.5cu ft, 13,000BTU, inside 18”w x 14”d x 17”h

my baking sheet is a well used calpalon 14” x 15”, originally silver, now nearly dark, single layer.

I am curious...
- Is a faster than usual recovery time causing...
- Is it possible that too large of a sheet is compartmentalizing the oven into a higher bottom-half temperature and a lower upper-half...
- Should I the shorter cook time, and say “thank you”...
- Should I lower the cook temperature...
- Do I have to abandon my beloved sheet...

any insights will be greatly appreciated in advance,
m.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Ever since we got a new oven... maybe by coincidence, my baking has been ‘off’.
nearly everything bakes sooner than the recipes’ lower time limit; cookies are too frequently ‘dark’ on the bottom.

the new oven is a 24” Verona 2.5cu ft, 13,000BTU, inside 18”w x 14”d x 17”h

my baking sheet is a well used calpalon 14” x 15”, originally silver, now nearly dark, single layer.

I am curious...
- Is a faster than usual recovery time causing...
- Is it possible that too large of a sheet is compartmentalizing the oven into a higher bottom-half temperature and a lower upper-half...
- Should I the shorter cook time, and say “thank you”...
- Should I lower the cook temperature...
- Do I have to abandon my beloved sheet...

any insights will be greatly appreciated in advance.

1. Always use an oven thermometer to check the oven temperature. Even a new oven may need to be calibrated.

2. Keep in mind a new oven will work better than a old oven since they are better insulated and sealed.

3. The type of metal makes a huge difference. Dark metal, anodized aluminum, non-stick coated metal all conduct heat more intensely. If you are using any of these metals, they manufacturers recommend reducing oven temperature up to 25°.

4. Line baking sheeting and cake tins with parchment paper. Use cloth baking strips on cake tins.

 

[Mark Brkln Hts]

I neglected to mention that I do use an oven thermometer which is part of what perplexes me.
My pan is basic. Not non-stick, not dark metal, not insulated.
?cloth baking strips? I need to learn about this.
25 degrees lower? Could it be that simple?

 

[Cahoot]

Home ovens are notoriously unreliable. Funnily enough I've been experimenting with my own oven these past couple days, since it's an old oven and I've found that it's actually less consistent than I thought. If you have a probe thermometer, you can also stick that into the oven along with your regular oven thermometer to be able to monitor the real-time temperature inside since the oven thermometer really only shows the average temperature over a period of time. This way you can more easily monitor heat fluctuations, especially when you open the door and put things inside. You just have to position the probe thermometer so that the tip is close to where you bake things but isn't actually touching anything (i.e. it's hanging in the air).

As an anecdote, my oven has normally had a heat shield (basically a giant aluminum tray) on the very bottom rack right above the heating element. I experimented with removing it and found that when I'd put in a baking tray after fully preheating the oven, the temperature would now actually shoot up by 25-50°F on the oven thermometer and stay there for a good 10, 20 minutes before settling back down to the original preheated temperature, which meant that the actual live temperature in the oven was even higher still.

My guess is that the oven tries to compensate for the drop in temperature from opening the door, but without the heat shield there it way overcompensated. It resulted in much darker than normal bottoms on my baked goods, despite having made them before. But it was useful to see the actual real-time jumps in temperature that caused this.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I neglected to mention that I do use an oven thermometer which is part of what perplexes me.
My pan is basic. Not non-stick, not dark metal, not insulated.
?cloth baking strips? I need to learn about this.
25 degrees lower? Could it be that simple?

if you’re using an oven thermometer, and your pan is uncoated metal, then reduce your baking temperature.

American home recipes for cake are Always incorrect with their baking temperature at 350°F (170°C). The correct temperature is 325°F (160°C).


this is a cloth baking strip. Wilton makes them. You can fashion one out of wet paper towels and aluminum foil. The wet cloth acts like a Bain Marie to insulate the cake pan from heat.

Cake layers from the same batch of batter, baked at the same time, in the same oven. Only difference is the type of cake tin. The over baked dried out brown cake was baked in an expensive Fat Daddio anodized aluminum pan. I pulled that cake out sooner because it was so over baked.

Proper oven temperature, the right metal, and cloth baking strips produce a soft crumb. My cakes are not dry and do not have a hard crust.

 

[Mark Brkln Hts]

Home ovens are notoriously unreliable. Funnily enough I've been experimenting with my own oven these past couple days, since it's an old oven and I've found that it's actually less consistent than I thought. If you have a probe thermometer, you can also stick that into the oven along with your regular oven thermometer to be able to monitor the real-time temperature inside since the oven thermometer really only shows the average temperature over a period of time. This way you can more easily monitor heat fluctuations, especially when you open the door and put things inside. You just have to position the probe thermometer so that the tip is close to where you bake things but isn't actually touching anything (i.e. it's hanging in the air).

As an anecdote, my oven has normally had a heat shield (basically a giant aluminum tray) on the very bottom rack right above the heating element. I experimented with removing it and found that when I'd put in a baking tray after fully preheating the oven, the temperature would now actually shoot up by 25-50°F on the oven thermometer and stay there for a good 10, 20 minutes before settling back down to the original preheated temperature, which meant that the actual live temperature in the oven was even higher still.

My guess is that the oven tries to compensate for the drop in temperature from opening the door, but without the heat shield there it way overcompensated. It resulted in much darker than normal bottoms on my baked goods, despite having made them before. But it was useful to see the actual real-time jumps in temperature that caused this.

Wow.
thnx