FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - pre-heat the oven

Janet Bostwick

On Tue, 04 Mar 2014 10:40:00 -0400, wrote:

>On Mon, 3 Mar 2014 20:39:26 -0600, "Polly Esther"
> wrote:
>
>>I was reading some Alton Brown and he has this to say about pre-heating the
>>oven. IF you set the oven for a temp and it dings and tells you it has
>>reached temp, it has. BUT when you open the oven door, much of that nice
>>hot air will escape. IF you're baking something that must have the correct
>>temp, you need to pre-heat for at least 20 minutes. That way, the oven's
>>floor, walls, ceiling, back and assorted other parts will be heated enough
>>to maintain temperature even after you open the oven door and insert the
>>'grand recipe'.
>> Of course, some of you already know everything but it seemed to me that
>>this might be helpful to those of you who are hoping to duplicate the
>>perfect cornbread, pound cake or meringue like Moma used to make. Polly
>
>
>He probably has shares in a power company - I might consider it vital
>to heat the oven up to temp for a souffle, but anything else isn't
>going to matter much.

When attempting to get a good crust on an artisan type bread, you
might want to heat the oven for 30+ minutes. If you are using a stone
or cast iron pan somewhere in your baking process, that amount of time
allows complete heating. After you place the bread dough in the oven,
you have approximately 10 minutes to get the oven spring and begin the
Maillard process. This way you get a thin, crispy crust with
appropriate shine and color. You don't want to mess that up with the
oven cycling on and off.
Janet US