This holiday season is just around the corner which means a lot of holiday cooking and baking. Below is a step by step guide on How to Calibrate your Oven! An oven that isn’t true to temperature is the main reason for uncooked, overcooked, and disappointing recipe results.
When the temperature is off by 40 to 50 degrees inside to what the temperature is showing can have a huge negative impact on the result of your recipe. Accuracy in temperature is crucial if you want to cook successfully.
I’ve had many comments on my Pound Cake Recipes of cakes that don’t turn out like mine did. The first thing I ask is ‘have you calibrated your oven?’
How to Calibrate your Oven
- Buy a new reliable oven thermometer. It doesn’t have to be an expensive thermometer. I suggest one like this Rubbermaid brand thermometer. Professional bakers recommend replacing your oven thermometer every year to assure accuracy.
- Most ovens have ‘hot spots’. Thes are caused by position of the elements (heating coils) and temperature cycles in the oven. The temperature is calculated where the oven’s internal thermometer is. All ovens have an internal thermometer. For this reason, you want to place the thermometer in the center of the oven. Turn the oven on 350° F. Record the temperature every 20 minutes for 4 times.
- Calculate the average by adding the numbers together and dividing by four.
- If the average is between 325° and 372° F your oven is calibrated correctly.
- If the temperature is outside that range it needs to be adjusted. Every brand and model is different on the process to calibrate. Review to your owner’s manual or look the brand and model up online to get the correct steps for your particular oven. If this fails you may want to call in an expert to calibrate it for you. You will be happy you did.
A Dirty Oven
Additionally, I want to mention how a dirty oven affects food and flavor.
A dirty oven will have an effect on food, particularly baking. The continuous burning of grime creates carbon-based fumes, which will alter the taste of bread, cakes, or anything in the oven for that matter. It will leave your cakes, breads, and other baked goods tasting smoky and scorched.
The grease will also reduce the efficiency of an oven, meaning it will take longer to cook food while also wasting energy. Complex recipes (baking) often call for accurate cooking times. If you use a dirty oven you’re constantly running the risk of your food not cooking properly. If your oven door isn’t clean you’ aren’t able to peer in and check when food is done. And constantly opening your oven loses valuable heat you’ve spent time building up. That being said, heat has to pass through extra layers of grease, grime, and burnt food in a dirty oven, so your food might not even cook evenly in the first place.
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Betty says
Hi Paula. We are building a new house, and it comes with a gas stove. I am excited about that, but also nervous because I have never cooked with a gas oven. Would you calibrate gas in the same way as electric?
Paula says
I’ve never used a gas oven either, my stove is gas but oven is electric. If it has digital controls you calibrate it the same way. If it doesn’t, try to research the brand online and see if they offer suggestions.
Pat says
When I make pound cake I use a loaf pan and when it’s all done baking the top-middle is high compaired to the sides ir still taste good but looks not so pretty also over time the top gets soggy. I need some baking lessons but open to suggestions.Thank you!
Paula says
I never have great success baking pound cakes in a loaf pan but here’s all my knowledge on baking them. https://www.callmepmc.com/bake-the-perfect-pound-cake/
Derek McDoogle says
I found it interesting when you said that professional bakers recommend replacing your oven thermometer every year to assure accuracy. My mom has a conventional oven where she bakes delicious deserts and she says that lately the oven isn’t heating as it used to. I will recommend her to look for a professional to calibrate it.
Elmarie Celatka says
My new stove takes longer for the oven to heat up than what my other one did. Preheating to 450 takes 13 minutes. Also heating racks are positioned the same way but foods baked in the same pans burn on the bottom in my new stove. How do I remedy this?
Paula says
When it says 450 on the oven, is it actually 450 on the inside? Have you tested that?
Miriam says
What if the oven door is opaque? Not from grease and dirt, but simply from being made that way?
Paula says
Open it and peek at temp as quickly as you can
Lisa g. says
What number gets divided by 4 after you record the temperature every 20 minutes? Thank you!
Brandy says
When you check the temperature every twenty minutes, four times, add those four readings together then divide that total by four to get the average.
Colleen says
I am so glad I looked at your site and seen this because I’ve been waiting to do this and haven’t because I wasn’t for sure actually how to do it Thank You I will do this am and then make the pound cake.Because it sounds delicious.Thanks for sharing everything. Colleen
Rebecca H Potts says
I read How to Calibrate… Either I overlooked or it wasn’ t mentioned that a dirty oven will also effect cooking. I have found this to be true so I try my best to keep a clean oven but it is something that I overlook till I look at my oven and want to cry. Did I mention that I dislike cleaning my oven. 🙂
Paula says
Thank you, Rebecca! I wasn’t aware that a dirty oven affects cooking time. It makes sense though.
Rob says
I assume you take 4 readings 20 minutes apart?
Paula says
yes
Debbie says
Thank you for sharing this. Also, I want to tell you that I am delighted the share of Pound Cake on Pinterest. I’ve never seen that many great cakes together, I’ve made several of them and can’t wait to bake the rest
Kathleen R. Mitchell says
Thank you so much! This was very helpful. Solve my problem.
Linda says
Paula, I need to do this. I think using the oven as often as I do makes a difference in the accuracy. Thanks for the reminder. BTW I adore your pound cake recipes.
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda