Stupid oven!!

[Elli&Chris 1]

Okay.. is it just our oven or do all the American ovens burn the food from under?? It happens every time, no matter what I make or bake. All the ovens I've seen have that weird shaped metal thing at the bottom which when you turn the oven on turns all red and hot and, it seems to me, that's what eventually warms up the whole oven... In Finland the heat came from all over the oven, not just from the bottom.. What can I do to bake pies and cakes that aren't burnt?

[Kevin and 10]

Okay.. is it just our oven or do all the American ovens burn the food from under?? It happens every time, no matter what I make or bake. All the ovens I've seen have that weird shaped metal thing at the bottom which when you turn the oven on turns all red and hot and, it seems to me, that's what eventually warms up the whole oven... In Finland the heat came from all over the oven, not just from the bottom.. What can I do to bake pies and cakes that aren't burnt?

Are you Preheating the oven before you cook?

[Marilyn. 340]

maybe your oven is too hot.. mine isn't hot enough so if something needs to be set at 350 I set it at 400..

maybe you could try the opposite..like turn the heat down a bit...

[Elli&Chris 1]

maybe your oven is too hot.. mine isn't hot enough so if something needs to be set at 350 I set it at 400..

maybe you could try the opposite..like turn the heat down a bit...

Hmm.. I have thought about that, maybe I should try.

And yes, I do preheat the oven.

[Marilyn. 340]

you could always buy one of those inexpensive oven thermometers at a dollar store and next time you used the oven stick it in there and see how hot your oven is getting...

[Dan J 277]

maybe your oven is too hot.. mine isn't hot enough so if something needs to be set at 350 I set it at 400..

maybe you could try the opposite..like turn the heat down a bit...

Hmm.. I have thought about that, maybe I should try.

And yes, I do preheat the oven.

Especially with gas ovens, you probably want to have a thermometer in the oven to see what the actual temp is.

[payxibka 10,044]

you could always buy one of those inexpensive oven thermometers at a dollar store and next time you used the oven stick it in there and see how hot your oven is getting...

My thoughts exactly because many things can cause the oven to be off including barometric pressure and elevation. If you are in New Orleans or Denver your oven will work very differently. Also you should bake on the rack in the middle of the oven...

Edited August 7, 2008 by fwaguy

[prince 2]

Okay.. is it just our oven or do all the American ovens burn the food from under?? It happens every time, no matter what I make or bake. All the ovens I've seen have that weird shaped metal thing at the bottom which when you turn the oven on turns all red and hot and, it seems to me, that's what eventually warms up the whole oven... In Finland the heat came from all over the oven, not just from the bottom.. What can I do to bake pies and cakes that aren't burnt?

moi, dear baker...

well u preheating the oven, so seems you are doing everything right.

maybe you should change the temp of the oven.

first bake it at hight temperature 400F/350F ?and then lower 325F ? the temp and open the oven to cool down ?, and continue baking at that lower temperature.

what part of your product gets burned? top or bottom?

if the top, maybe you can cover it half way though baking process with tin foil, this might help preventing the top to be burned.

then if it is down part that is getting dark.. are you baking pies in the light tin foil pans? try to put the pie on a metal sheet tray.

the location of the rack of the oven is important also. Where is the rack located ?

closer to top? you will get top of ur product well done..

closer to bottom? it might get burned on the bottom..

the middle of the oven is the best.

if u have two racks. rotate your product. first bake it on the bottom, then move it to the top.

continue trying! don't give up!

it might be the best you ever baked!!!

[Amby 490]

I agree with Marilyn that you should get an oven thermometer that stays in there to check the temp. You can buy them at all sorts of places and it will clip onto one of your racks and stay in there. If the temp is off you can have the oven calibrated.

[MargotDarko 0]

Also the type of baking sheet or tray whatever can effect it - both the shape and the material. I had a baking sheet once that always made cookies go kind of black on the bottom. Sorry I can't remember what you should have, but that's something to look into.

[Reba 2]

get an oven thermometer so you know the exact temperature is correct, and when baking use light coloured baking sheets and cake tins etc. Dark baking pans will cause whatever you're baking to be darker, and burn if your oven is too hot.

The red thing at the bottom is called the element, that's where the heat comes from. There's also one at the top. I'd hazard a guess that at home you had a convection oven, which produces heat all around, not just top and bottom like here. You can buy convection ovens here, and they cook quicker and more evenly, by all accounts. I've never used one though, so have no idea if it really does or not.

The gas oven I had in our other house the temperature dial was off by about 50F, so after I got a proper thermometer for inside the oven, I never burned anything again. I knew to set the temp 50 degrees less than the recipe called for, which was actually just the right temp. And I got rid of most all our dark coloured baking pans.

[filirican 3]

maybe just the tempreture im using the typical american oven but never had anything burned..goodluck!

[raphandarrin 0]

Happens here, as well, but it's the old one that the landlord "lends" us, and it's probably 20 years old, we just bought that little over the counter oven and has been working just fine, I even like cinnamon rolls now, that I started hating coz the bottom was always black and hard like a rock lol

those lil ovens are about 30 bux and work pretty good, I'd try it if the other options given don't work, I'm very happy with mine.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

All good suggestions. Thermometer, reduce heat, grease pan and flour pan well if baking. Altitude also affects cooking. Let us know what you figure out.