How to Cook Food in a Bad Oven

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Preheat the oven every time you bake.

   Preheating gives the oven a head start, and it's necessary for most pastries to go into an oven that's already warm.
   
   If your oven seems to take longer to get started, give it more time.
   
   Turn the oven on before starting to mix things like quick breads and muffins.
   
   Ten or fifteen minutes will let even a tired oven get up to speed.
2. 2

   Step 2: Get an oven thermometer.

   If setting the temperature doesn't produce that temperature, you may be able to adjust so that the resulting temperature is correct, or at least closer to where it should be.
   
   You can also see exactly how long it takes the oven to preheat, so you can plan accordingly.
   
   Do not use a "stick" thermometer, these are made for making contact with meats and other foods directly.
   
   You should put the oven thermometer into the oven at the same time you start preheating, and once it is finished preheating wait another 1-2 minutes for a more accurate reading. , Make sure that your oven has a chance to do its job.
   
   Opening the door of any oven, working or not, drops the temperature dramatically.
   
   Some foods are more sensitive to having the door opened than others.
   
   Casseroles and roasts will probably be just fine; cookies may take a bit longer if "checked" too often.
   
   Things like souffles, popovers, and other such pastries will almost certainly fail from having the door opened at all. , If things are coming out consistently over- or underdone, try baking them for more or less time.
   
   Use a timer and learn how long things take in your oven as compared to what's given in the recipe.
   
   You may have to adjust the cooking times and the temperatures concurrently to get things to come out right. , If you notice that the top or bottom, front or back of the food is scorched, move it around so as to distribute the heat more evenly.
   
   Partway through the baking, switch things from a high shelf to a low shelf and rotate it front to back if it helps. , Most oven shelves will pull out if you lift them past their stops.
   
   Ovens generally heat only from the bottom unless they are set to broil, so try to center the food in the oven and keep it up and away from the heating elements. , Having one large tray of cookies on the lower shelf may very well mean that no heat reaches the thing on the top shelf.
   
   If you can place two smaller pans side-by-side on one shelf, go ahead, perhaps swapping their locations and turning them mid-way. , Different materials conduct heat differently than straight metal, so they may help the bottom not to scorch.
   
   For things like roasts, put the roast up on a rack, and wrap it or cover it in foil. , Place an unglazed ceramic tile or clay bricks into the bottom of your oven.
   
   Earthenware, once heated, more evenly disperses heat throughout the oven.
   
   This will cause the oven to cook more evenly.
3. 3

   Step 3: Keep the door closed while baking

4. 4

   Step 4: as much as possible.

5. 5

   Step 5: Adjust cooking times.

6. 6

   Step 6: Rotate the food.

7. 7

   Step 7: Move your shelves around.

8. 8

   Step 8: Bake only one tray or pan at a time.

9. 9

   Step 9: Use an air-filled baking sheet or try glass or silicone bakeware.

10. 10

    Step 10: Use a heating stone.

Detailed Guide

About the Author