This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
Ovens: they’re such a crucial part of the baking process, but we don’t necessarily give them much thought.
That preheat ‘beep’ goes off and we throw in our cookies, brownies, or cake, set the timer, and walk away, right?
Well … not necessarily.
Unfortunately, most home ovens aren’t quite that simple and aren’t as reliable as we believe.
I get so many questions asking, “what went wrong?” when HTH readers try a recipe and it doesn’t turn out right. So many people think the recipe or their ingredients are to blame – and while that can be the case, oftentimes, it’s your oven’s fault your cookies turned out too flat, too crispy or burned.
Below, I’m using cookies to illustrate why becoming a little more familiar with your oven will help your baking more than you might think!
What You NEED to Know About Your Oven
Learn the three most important things to know about your oven and how to adjust, to be successful whenever you bake something in the oven.
1. Oven 101: Temperature
- The #1 fact to know about your oven: it’s lying to you about the temperature it’s really at.
- Many home ovens are off by 15°F, some by even 25°F or more!
- I’ve never had a home oven be 100% accurate.
- In fact, my new oven often tells me it’s preheated to the temperature I specified, when it’s actually 20°F cooler.
- It may not seem like a big difference, but baking at the wrong temperature can significantly alter your final product.
- In the image above, you can see what your cookies should look like if they’re baked at the correct temperature of 350°F, vs. how they’ll turn out if they’re baked at 25°F too cool or 25°F too warm.
- Too cool, and your cookies can overspread and not brown enough.
- Too warm, and your cookies may not spread enough, brown too much, and burn on the bottom.
- An oven thermometer is a necessity to make sure your oven is heating correctly.
- If your oven is not at the right temperature, you can adjust accordingly until your oven thermometer confirms it’s correct.
2. Oven 101: Placement
- The position of your oven rack can also have a surprising impact on your cookies.
- Certain recipes will specifically tell you where to position your oven rack, but most of the time it should be in the middle. Why? This is where the heat will be most even.
- If you bake your cookies (or anything) on the top rack, there won’t be as much browning.
- On the bottom rack, there will likely be too much browning.
- The same effect can occur when you’re baking multiple dishes at once. The other baking pans can block the heat from moving around freely and change the way the product is baked and browned.
- When possible, try to bake off one batch at a time instead of baking multiple pans at a time.
3. Oven 101: Conventional vs. Convection
- Unlike a conventional oven, which is the standard here in the U.S., a convection oven has a fan inside and an exhaust system that helps to circulate the hot air.
- This allows the oven to heat more quickly and evenly, and to bake more quickly and evenly.
- It’s more energy efficient and can even lead to better browning since the blowing air creates a drier environment.
- In many ovens, it also bakes so much more evenly, so you don’t need to rotate your baking trays.
When to Use Convection (if your oven has both convection + conventional settings)
- Convection is great for savory preparations like roasts or anything that is covered, like a braise or casserole.
- It can be good for cookies, pies, and pastries IF you make the proper adjustments (below).
- It’s NOT good for delicate foods like custards, soufflés, cakes, or quick breads.
How to Adjust
- If you’re using the convection (fan) setting in a recipe that doesn’t specifically call for it, be sure to drop the temperature 25°F.
- Also begin to check for doneness earlier, at least 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through the recommended baking time.
- Note that some convection ovens will automatically adjust the temperature when switching on the fan.
- Consult your oven manual if you’re unsure about yours.
I have a question that never seems to be addressed at any baking/cooking website. I have double electric wall ovens. conventional & convection. (lol, I’ve never heard of gas wall ovens) When you say “rack placement”, I am assuming that the electric heating element is on the top of the oven. My heating element is on the bottom. I.like another commenter, haven’t used the convection part for baking cookies. Meats, yes.
I will be trying it though.
So, wouldn’t the placement of the heating element make a big difference? I start baking in October for Christmas & usually make 12 different types of cookies. Of course, once I got the double wall ovens, my baking time was cut in half! My baking could really start later because of that, but I can’t wait to get started! lol
So glad I found you!
Hi, Clara! Every oven I’ve used has the main heating element on the bottom. The top is reserved for broiling. You might want to consult your oven’s manual or contact the manufacturer for their recommendations.
Great news. I will start using unsalted butter from now on. Thank you.
I love learning the science of baking. always trying to figure out how I can chan something, make it better. I have a quick question about cake making. When I add my liquids and flour, I tend to do it by hand because I’m so afraid of the gluten developing, making it a tough, dense mess. What I’ve been having happen lately is that I get a moist cake, that’s so tender and light it falls apart, no structure. Could it be because I’m actually undermixing? That I’m not letting enough gluten develop? I was also thinking of adding an extra egg yolk for structure. What are your thoughts? I really like the moistness of the cake and the flavors are there, it just falls apart so easily.
Thank you,
Erika
Wow! Oven 101 made my day. It’s a great start for us beginners. It will save me a lot of hassle and heartache down the road. Keep up the greater work.
Wow! Oven 101 has made my day. It’s a great starting place for us beginners. It will save me a lot of hassle and heartache down the road. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for a very informative video. I am also struggling with the concept of Convention Versus Convection but have found, as you indicate, that convection requires less heat and less time. Our oven also has what is termed a Thermofan setting and recommends that for this setting you use solid trays versus racks in the oven. It also states that it is not necessary to pre-heat the oven. I have not used this method yet and wonder if you or your readers may have any experience with such? We live in South Africa. Kind regards, Ian.
Thanks Tessa for a great informative video about oven baking. One thing I would like to add is baking cookies on an airbake cookie sheet. Once I started using one of these sheets, my cookies came out better than ever before.
Useful tips!
Dear Tessa,
Since you have followers from countries that dont use Farhenait but Celsius, for the temperature, I would appreciate if you gave us the temp. in Celsius. Of course I can search in the internet but again you are the expert. Thanks in advance!
Pretty sure you mean “conventional” oven, not “convention”! Thanks for all the science 😉
Hi Tessa, I just wanted to give you a big thumbs up for this video. It was very informative. I really want a convection oven now. I used to say that I would never get one, because I never knew anything about them. Now after watching your video, I am going to work on getting one. Thank you so much for the insight.
Hi tessa! I have a conventional oven and I noticed that when I’m baking only the bottom heating element lights up. Broil function works fine so I think the top heating element is not broken. In the oven at my previous house, the top heating element lights up from time to time when in baking mode. I’m not sure if it’s just how the oven works as they are not of the same brand. I’m curious to know if the same goes for your oven?
Hi Trish! Typically for baking the top broiler element doesn’t turn on. Baked goods are usually too delicate for that kind of direct heat because when something like cookies are baking, the cookie pan protects the bottoms of the cookies from any direct heat. Does that make sense? In all my home ovens, the top element only functions as a broiler.