My Oven

Since moving here, I have been trying to figure out my oven. I know that every oven cooks differently so I was all sett to have a couple of first frustrating baking experiences before I figured it out. I just didn't expect what I got.

Everything burned! Or came out on the dark side and dry if I pulled it out when it started to smell done rather then when the timer went off. I had the feeling that it was running a little hot so I started with just turning the temperature down 25 degrees from whatever the recipe called for. It didn't seem to be enough.

Remembering the sage advice of my sister-in-law Marrisse, I got an oven thermometer so I could see what was actually going on. On Friday I braved the heat, turned on the oven and did some testing. Here are my results:

Where it's set The Actual Temperature

150 225

200 275/300

250 350

275 375

300 425

350 450

Well no wonder I kept burning stuff. I didn't go any higher because when do you need to cook at a higher temperature than 450? What surprised me with these results was that the temperature didn't stay a simple 75 degrees too high, it was more like a sliding scale. I think I'll post my chart next to the oven so I'm not swayed by the numbers on the dial.