An Intro to Gas Ovens
A gas oven can be a bit tricky if you’ve only used electric ones. All gas ovens have a main burner at the bottom of the oven compartment which is usually shielded by a sheet of metal with vents on the sides. This provides intense radiant heat upwards into the main oven compartment. However, the temperature can fluctuate more widely and the overall heating can be less even. If you’re wondering why some muffins aren’t browning on top or a cake is baking unevenly, try these helpful tips.
Rotate trays. It’s important to rotate trays once or twice during cooking to ensure that everything bakes as evenly as possible. If you’re baking multiple trays of pastries, try swapping the top and bottom trays as well as rotating them. If you’re baking cakes, breads or muffins try rotating them 90 degrees midway through.
Move trays upwards to brown. Gas ovens can retain more ambient moisture which can result in foods taking longer to brown on top. Place the tray at the top of the oven or place a second tray directly above it so the heat will bounce off and help brown your foods more quickly. If a broiler is built into your oven you can also run it under that for a minute or two.
Increase the temperature to crisp. If you’re looking to achieve a crispy crust, try turning up the oven heat by 25 degrees F. This will affect the cooking time slightly so be attentive to visual and aromatic cues that your food is done.
Avoid dark metal cookware. Since heat in a gas oven is radiating from the main burner, the bottoms of your bakeware absorb more heat and speeds up cooking. This can result in the bottom of your food burning while the top isn’t done. Light colored metals, glass and silicone are great choices for baking in gas ovens to reduce the risk that bottoms burn.
Cosmo Appliances are built with a variety of fuel types to match whichever needs you may have. Our line of Electric Ovens can be built into cabinetry for a seamless look. If you prefer a Cosmo Gas Range or Dual Fuel Range, check out our available models here. A better home starts with Cosmo.
Source: the Kitchn