An Invaluable Tool for Every Baker
One of the things that intimidates most people about baking is that it is an exact science. You can’t just wing it when it comes to making a cake, cookies or brownies like you would say, a chicken stir fry. It is such an exact science that even when you measure all of your ingredients to the tee, a number of other variables can affect your finished product. Some of these include whether or not your ingredients are at room temperature, your mixing methods or even the weather. One area most people overlook is oven temperature. Most think that when they turn the dial to 350, their oven temperature will rise to 350. However, this is not always the case. In fact, the majority of home ovens are over or under up to 20 degrees – which can be detrimental to the baking process. In addition, different ovens take varying amounts of time to rise to a desired temperature. How do you avoid all of this uncertainty? By investing in an oven thermometer.
One little known fact is that even household ovens need recalibrating occasionally. You can check your oven’s accuracy by buying an inexpensive oven thermometer, found at hardware and cooking stores. Sometimes it’s surprising to find a considerable temperature discrepancy between the dial and the oven. I recently purchased this one by OXO and it has become a permanent fixture in my oven. It only cost about 10 bucks and its base clips on to my rack and stays in place. The only downside to this one is that if you don’t have a light in your oven it may be hard to read because it is made with a frosted glass back panel allows oven light to shine through for easy readability. I didn’t realize it until after I ripped the packaging off. But I can still read it just fine. I now never have a doubt about when my oven is ready for baking.
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Jen — March 24, 2009 @ 6:54 pm
I want my post-half special dessert. What do I get????
How To Eat A Cupcake — March 24, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
Haha funny about your b/f discovering Irish Red! Mine just discovered Guinness, so I was very surprised when there were none in the fridge!
Teanna — March 25, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
I definitely need one of these! My oven always cooks things WAY too fast!
Ingrid — April 2, 2009 @ 11:12 pm
I’ve had one in my oven for years now! LOVE it! My oven is off by 15 degrees. So if I want 350 I have to set it to 365! I like the one you have as mine is difficult to read unless I open the door . How about we switch?~ingrid