Yeah, I know it’s Thanksgiving, and I’m cooking up a mess of food. But I’ve been having this problem with one of my ovens since I moved into this house in May. Whenever I try to make some baked goods, the bottom starts burning before the middle is done. Even when the temperature is set according to the recipe. I am using the 3rd rack out of 4 down from the top. I’m using 9" non-stick cake pans for a cake today, but I’ve had the same problem with other pans.
What can I do to eliminate this? Should I use a higher rack? Increase the temp? Decrease the temp?
My suggestions:
[ol]
[li]Get an oven thermometer and confirm that the setting on the oven dial is the actual temperature of the oven. The oven’s thermostat might be messed up, the oven may be out of calibration, or it could be a replacement oven dial that doesn’t quite match the actual settings.[/li][li]Use a rack closer to the center of the oven rather than closer to the bottom.[/li][li]Use baking sheets that are “double layered” to insulate your baked goods from hot spots on the sheets.[/li][/ol]
Definitely check/do all that has been posted, plus:
-Is the oven quite an old one? As they age ovens tend to burn hotter.
-Is the oven unclean? Dirty patches can cause hot spots, leading to burning.
-If you use glass baking ware, it does cause premature browning. Cut the temp.
by 25 degrees to compensate. Might be a good idea anyway, considering.
-Don’t overcrowd the oven. Air must circulate in order to bake evenly and
thoroughly. One cookie sheet, or two layer cake pans at a time is a safe bet.
About which oven racks to use:
-For cookies and cake, the higher the better. You want nice golden tops and pale
bottoms[sounds dirty,I know, sorry] I always use the top racks for cookies, and
the next one down for cakes.
-The lower racks give a more intense bottom heat, better for more liquid-y things
like stews and casseroles.
Are you using the proper size pans, and not over-filling. This is very important. An
8" pan might look similar to a 9", but the capacity is quite different. Putting the
same amount of batter in each will give you vastly differing products.
For cookies, make them the size the recipe calls for. Try flattening, slightly, the rolled or scooped kinds, like CC or snickerdoodles. This gives the dough more contact with the pan, leading to better edges, and more thoroughly cooked middles. I always underbake cookies anyway. I tend to make them smaller to begin with, and the softer cookie has better flavor, although more limited keeping qualities, as if… Make sure rolled cookies are the proper thickness. They sell rolling pins with interchangeable rubber bands on the ends to ensure a quarter-inch, three-eighths, etc.
Don’t get discouraged. Baking IS much more of a science than other areas of cooking. Once you understand the physics[I guess that’s the proper analogy] you’ll be much more comfortable and successful with it. Including being able to know when and where to cheat and substitute. Tales for another thread. Good luck