Calibrating Oven Temperature

It’s always annoying to deal with an oven in a new kitchen. Ovens are not very precise and well designed: temperatures can be off up to ±25 C (50 F) and there are hot and cold spots.

The good news is oven calibration is a one-time event and can bring your recipes back in line.

The sole requirement we will impose is that it must target typically oven baking temperatures: 150-230 C (300-450 F). The closer to 180 C (350 F), the better as this tends to be the median baking temperature.

Science of Sucrose

Sucrose (white sugar) is a molecule of glucose and fructose. It happens to conveniently have a caramelization temperature of 186 F (367 F). This is also colloquially referred to as sugar’s “melting” temperature.

How does this help us? We bake sugar at 180 C (350 F) and 190 C (375 F). We expect it to melt at one temperature and noop for the other.

Put it in a preheated 180 C oven for 20 minutes and see if it liquifies. Then preheat to 190 C and allow 10 minutes for temperature to settle. Repeat the baking exercise.

If it melts at “180 C”, the oven runs hot. You’ll need to attempt lower temperatures and find the delta from true temperature.

If it remains solid at “190 C’, the oven runs cold. Keep raising the temperature until it melts.

Why 350 F

Many recipes use 180 C (350 F) as the default temperature. This is close to the temperature when Maillard reactions take place.

Baking hotter will scorch the outside before the heat has penetrated to the inside. Baking colder will not develop the flavours from this reaction.

When working with lean doughs, it’s preferable to use high temperatures (200 C+). This minimizes the bake time and moisture loss. Wheat flour doesn’t readily undergo the Maillard reaction so aggressive heat is necessary. For bread baking, it also sets the structure in short order, benefiting from an aggressive oven spring.

When working with enriched doughs, it’s common to bake <190 C. This keeps browning in check, staying away from burning. These doughs have a lot of sugar that will readily caramelize.