Exact Oven Temperature
How important is it to know exactly what temp your oven is at? I have a Bakers Pride hearth series deck oven. It has an anolog temp control dial with a 17 position index, 150-550 degree F. With an oven therometer, I've verified that the dial index is accurate. Are the 25 degree index increments small enough for precise bread baking control?
I ask because I've noticed that digital control ovens often have 1 degree read outs. I can fix a digital thermometer probe permanently in the oven, so I can see the internal oven temp, but is this knowledge worth the effort? The element cycle itself is probably about 25 degrees maybe even a bit more. Would knowing that the oven temp is 410 degrees inside when the dial is half way between the 400 degree and 425 degree indexes, be of any value?
I appreciate your expert thoughts. Jim
A 25 deg F difference will be noticeable in the baked bread. But in the end, it's the bread that will tell you if you have the temperatures right. Whatever the recipe calls for, whatever another baker uses, may not be right for your oven, recipe, etc. for any number of other reasons. I think it's worth surveying the oven and its uniformity, and possibly even getting the temperature dial well-calibrated, but even after that it's going to be the bread itself that tells the story.
Jim,
I think your assessment of the way ovens cycle is exactly right. Add to that the placement of the built-in probe and there is an inherent variation in temperature. That is why many bakers depend on stones or Dutch ovens or baking steels with relatively large mass to moderate this effect. My personal method is to use an IR thermometer to read the temperature of my stone, and adjust the oven setting just below where the bread would burn on the bottom of the loaf.
I prefer the stone to the other options because ceramics hold temperature more evenly than metals. The downside is that it takes an hour to reach temperature.
-Brad
Thanks Brad. My oven does have a stone deck, 21" x 21" granite slab that weighs 55 lb. I've had a hard time figuring out exactly what the temp of the deck is. I get different reading with and infared thermo depending whether I "shoot" the deck surface or the the front (exposed) edge. BTW the deck surface seems to be hotter than the oven chamber.
I think the prob fitment probably isn't worth the effort, but if anyone else has thoughts, please do comment. Jim
Retrofits are usually not worth it. I think the point is that you don’t need to know the “actual” temperature, just a relative temperature as long as it is consistent bake to bake.
-Brad
Bake at whatever temp you need (at least 350F) - go from there. Too much precision is not needed - for a home baker that is. Enjoy!
This thread made me imagine a Quaker woman checking the bread coming out of a wood-burning hearth fretting over a 5-degree temperature variance.
I have three old-school undamped bimetallic-strip high-temp thermometers, one made for ovens, two for woodstoves. I adjusted them so they agree at ~350º when placed next to each other on a wire rack.
It is instructive to watch the temps swing as the oven tries to "maintain" it's set temp. Swings of + and - 25ºF or more are quite normal. There is no such thing as an "exact oven temperature".
I am increasingly of the opinion that air temp is not the most important thing in an oven. The thermal mass of the volume of air inside an oven is miniscule compared to the mass of the object being baked. That is a recipe for poor heat transfer. Most of the heat transfer is direct radiant from the heating element(s) and oven interior surfaces, and conduction from direct contact with them. The exception to this would be dedicated convection ovens with no exposed heating element, metallic-colored interior walls, and with significant circulation of the hot air. (I have one such, and baking in it is definitely different.)
I mostly bake in pans so I pay attention to pan temps. An infrared thermometer is a good way to monitor them.