Oven help again, please!

[Est]

I posted a while ago that I'd bought an oven thermometer because my oven was ruining my baking efforts and I suspected it was burning too hot.

The thermometer confirmed that it was - 120 on the dial is 190 in reality. So I always go by the thermometer now.

But my baking still doesn't work :mad:

Then one day I heated the oven with the thermometer at the back instead of the front (where I can see the dial through the door). The back of the oven is 30 deg hotter than the front!

How do I deal with this? It's a fan oven, and I have now found a friend owns the same brand and has the same problem. I can't buy a new oven.

Do I heat the oven so the thermometer shows the right temperature in the middle? (i.e. too cold at the front and too hot at the back.)

Do I get it to the right temperature with the thermometer at the front and risk constantly opening the door to rotate the baking so the oven hopefully never gets a chance to burn the stuff at the back? (but won't cakes sink if I do this?)

I'm a bit stuck really! Any help appreciated - I want to get my baking right, dammit :)

[Mr Flibble]

With difficulty :)

We used to have a gas oven where the dial was largely non related to the reading of the thermometer within.

It is a bit strange that the temperature is so different when it contains a fan.

Does it have multiple heating elements? On mine I can put it into standard mode, which is good as the fan heating element has broken and I can't afford to fix it right now.

All I can really suggest is to make sure no aprt of the oven is more than 200 degrees and to move whatever you're baking round every 5 mins (keeping the door open for as short a period as possible).

What you trying to bake? Most things I bake are fine with temperatures 150-200, taking a shorter time to cook the higher the temperature.

[cobweb]

I have found that my fan oven is definitely hotter at the back, too, Est, which puzzles me!. It was an expensive good quality oven, too. Mostly its fine but with cakes it can be problematic. Most of my cakes come out crusty on top, too, not sure why???. I usually cook them at around 160 (going by the oven dial).

[fiamma]

I wouldn't suggest constantly opening the door if you're making a cake - the thing will fall flat!!! :eek: Other things might be OK, but if you're constantly opening the door the temperature will never be right that way either.

Perhaps if you're making a cake you could set the temp a bit higher than it should be, covering your cake with foil so it doesn't burn. Take the foil off ten minutes or so from the end of the baking time to let the top brown, by which time the collapse risk will have been minimised.

But I really would advise against opening the oven door constantly; that's tantamount to culinary suicide. :umm: I fear trial and error is the way to go.

Good luck!!!

[Mr Flibble]

I wouldn't suggest constantly opening the door if you're making a cake - the thing will fall flat!!! :eek:

fiamma ya big wuss, there's nothing wrong with opening the door for 5 seconds every 5 mins to turn something round :)

As long as you don't open the door, wash your hands, dry your hands, put your oven gloves on, take the cake out, inspect the colour, turn it round, put it back in, take your gloves off and hang them up before closing again it'll be fine :)

[fiamma]

Whatever... I like my cakes to turn out well when I bake. ;)

[Est]

As long as you don't open the door, wash your hands, dry your hands, put your oven gloves on, take the cake out, inspect the colour, turn it round, put it back in, take your gloves off and hang them up before closing again it'll be fine :)

But that's my exact routine - you'll ruin it for me!! :D

Thanks all, I will try a few different ways and experiment :)

[veganwitch]

That's terrible about your oven Est. No wonder you are looking for a taste tester job!;)

[Est]

^ Cheeky! :p

(I used to bake okay at my parent's old house with an ancient gas oven... s'not fair :( :mad: :D )

[veganwitch]

^ Cheeky! :p


:D