Beyond the essentials, there are many pieces of equipment that I value because they make baking more efficient and enjoyable. I didn’t put ovens on my list of essentials because I consider them to be the very definition of baking. People are always asking me what my preference in ovens is, and it’s getting harder to answer by the year because so many improvements are constantly taking place. However, there is some common wisdom that I can share:
- It’s often not safe to assume that the oven recommended by a friend will be exactly the same as one now being manufactured, even if it has the same model number.
- When installing a new oven, make sure that the area where you place it is level, or your cakes won’t be. Because ovens can lose their calibration, check them if it takes more or less than the recommended time to bake a cake. If a cake bakes too quickly, it will dome and crack. If it bakes too slowly, the texture will be coarse and the center may dip. Manufacturers recommend lowering the temperature 25°F/15°C when using the convection setting. I find that with countertop models, it works to use the same temperature, up to 400°F/200°C, as a conventional oven.
- Cakes generally bake most evenly as close to the center of the oven as possible. This is usually accomplished by setting the oven rack in the lower third of the oven. The exception is for one-inch-high sheet pans, for which the rack should be in the middle position. Unless the oven has a turntable, turn the cake halfway around after three-quarters of the estimated baking time.
- For proper air circulation, the sides of the cake pan should be no closer than one inch from the sides of the oven or from each other.
- If you have an oven with sufficient internal height, set the racks just below and just above the middle position; two pans can be staggered so that one is not directly on top of the one on the rack below. About three-quarters into the estimated baking time, quickly reposition the cakes top to bottom and turn halfway around for even baking, but only if you are making a layer cake. A sponge cake will collapse if moved at this point. Baking more than one layer at a time will slightly increase the baking time.
- Preheat the oven for a minimum of 20 minutes ahead of baking.