Cake & Cooking Baking Tips: Making the Most of Your Oven

One of the most rewarding feelings you could ever get is when you create something from scratch – making a delicious masterpiece that you and your family will cherish more than if you just went out and bought it from a shop.
Baking delicious cakes or meals is one of the most satisfying things you can do. In the modern era of YouTube videos, finding recipes and tips for baking some of the craziest things imagined has never been easier.

However, the recipe is not the only thing that guarantees you’ll bake successfully. Using the oven correctly goes hand-in-hand with knowing how to mix the ingredients.

Going out and buying some of the best ovens for baking by Wind Up Space will mean nothing if you don’t use them properly to get the best final product.

Here are a few tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of your oven.

Does the Brand Matter?

There are many types of ovens that you can choose from, but going for the most expensive brand won’t do you much good if you don’t know how to use half of the advanced settings.

For now, any old oven that’s in your kitchen will do the job. If you have mastered the basics and can get a perfect bake every time you make a cake, it won’t matter what brand or model of oven you’re using.
Unless you’re renovating your kitchen, there’s no need to go out and waste cash on the most high-tech appliances to help you increase the quality of your bakes. Stick with what you have, and try to make the best of it.
Focus on the most basic things you need to do or avoid doing when baking cakes for your loved ones.

Don’t Open the Oven

Yes, we’ve all been there at some point – the desire to check on how our baking is doing tempted us to open the oven from time to time. Well, it’s time to put a stop to that.

Opening the oven reduces the temperature and increases the baking, all of which reduces the quality of your cake. All household ovens have a glass window where you can peek inside without opening the door, as long as you keep the window clean.

Without doing that, the window will be impossible to see through, and opening the oven will be the only thing you can do at that point.

Overfilling

It’s in human nature to try and speed things up by killing two birds with one stone, but putting too many pans in the oven to try to reduce the time spent in the kitchen is the worst thing you can do.

When baking, the circulation of hot air in the oven is important to get an even bake from all sides. Putting pans in both levels of the oven is the correct way to do it.

However, stuffing them next to each other will ruin the whole process. Let the air do its job and deliver you a perfectly baked product.

Cleanliness

As mentioned above, cleaning your oven window is important. The window is not the only thing that should concern you – the cleanliness of the entire oven should be your priority.

Normally, ovens leave food residue after each cooking and baking, which can drip into your cakes and contaminate them, thus ruining the taste for good.

If you don’t properly maintain the oven, the layer of grease on the walls can create steam. Which will affect the taste of whatever you’re baking.

Remember, only a clean oven can bake some of the most delicious things.

Self-Cleaning Ovens

You followed our advice about cleanliness, and you went out and got yourself an oven with a self-cleaning option.
If that’s the case, you might think that your worries have come to an end. However, bear in mind that even for a high-tech oven like that, there will always be a part where self-cleaning will underperform. After every cleaning cycle, look for tougher stains that have survived the steam treatment and remove them by yourself.

Technology is there to help you, but it won’t do the job perfectly each time, so you’ll have to roll-up your sleeves and get your hands dirty.

Using Aluminum Foil

There’s a myth going around that you should use aluminum foil on the bottom part of your oven to prevent any spills from reaching it. While it sounds logical at first, it’s not actually a good solution.

Aluminum will reflect the heat in the wrong directions and bake your cakes unevenly. Taking shortcuts won’t help you make a perfect cake – it will only help you save some time though sacrificing the overall quality.
Baking is an art, and art takes time to create. If you want to get that rewarding feeling of putting a perfect cake on the table for your family, forget about silly shortcuts.

Do it the old fashion way. After all, a little bit of cleaning never killed anyone.

Baking With Love

Our last piece of advice is that you should invest all your heart into baking. If you have a strong passion, a touch of love will always be the most important ingredient in your cakes.

When you’re baking for your loved ones, the most satisfying feeling is when you see the smiles on their faces as they’re eating something you made.

Pour your heart and soul into your projects, take your time, keep trying, and you’ll be impressed at how much your cakes will improve in just a month or two.

Conclusion

If you love baking, creating a cake that your loved ones will fall in love with is the most rewarding thing you can do. Mastering the art and science of baking is no small feat, and you’ll have to take your time.

However, once you’ve applied the tips above and put in the work, you’ll really be amazed at the results. Soak up the knowledge we’ve presented in this article and improve your skills so that you can share great cakes and your own unique recipes with others.