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Why I Quit Preheating My Oven for 20 Minutes and Started Using a $12 Thermometer Instead
I used to crank my oven to 350 and wait a full 20 minutes before putting anything in, just like the recipe cards say. Then about 4 months ago my oven thermometer read 285 when the dial claimed it was at 350, and that explained why my sugar cookies kept spreading flat every single batch. I picked up a cheap dial thermometer at a restaurant supply store in Sacramento for $12 and now I check the real temp before anything goes in. Turns out my oven runs 40 to 60 degrees cold depending on where the rack sits, which is why my cakes were sinking in the middle for two years. Now I let it preheat until the thermometer in the center hits 350, which usually takes 25 minutes instead of my old 20. My banana bread went from gummy to actually baked through, and my dinner rolls finally brown instead of staying pale. If your bakes keep coming out underdone, grab a thermometer and check before you blame the recipe. Anyone else find their oven was lying to them about temp, and how far off was yours?
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iris_jones8928d ago
How many other things in daily life are off by a little and we just never check? My bathroom scale was 6 pounds heavy for who knows how long and I only found out when I weighed myself at the doctor. Same deal with the thermostat in my house, it was reading 3 degrees off so we were paying to heat the yard. We trust the numbers on the little dial and never stop to ask if they are true. Your oven story is just one more spot where the tool we trust is the thing lying to us. Makes me want to buy a thermometer for everything now.
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