Took me 5 hours to realize my oven was 50 degrees off

Ngl I spent an entire Saturday trying to figure out why my chocolate chip cookies kept spreading into flat discs. I adjusted the recipe, chilled the dough, swapped baking sheets, the whole deal. Finally checked with a separate thermometer and my oven was running 50 degrees hotter than the dial said in my apartment in Portland. Has anyone else had a similar issue with a wonky oven temperature messing up their bakes?

3 comments

3 Comments

blair_dixon1mo ago

My oven in my old Chicago place was 50 degrees cold, actually. For months I was wondering why my banana bread came out raw in the middle even though the top was burned. I got a thermometer and it explained everything. But here's my thing, I honestly think the off temperature gave me more control once I knew about it. I started roasting vegetables at what the dial said was 400 but was really 350 and they came out way better than before. Maybe I just got used to cooking with a broken oven and now I'm scared to move somewhere with a properly calibrated one.

lunakim1mo agoMost Upvoted

Same thing happened to me in my old apartment. Oven said 350 but it was really 400. Ruined so many batches of cookies. Best investment I ever made was a cheap oven thermometer from the grocery store. Just hang it on the rack and check it before you start baking. Now I know to set my oven 25 degrees lower than the recipe says. Also found out the hot spots in my oven that way. Top right corner always burns things faster. Worth the five bucks to save your baked goods.

tessa_clark741mo ago

Ngl I gotta respectfully disagree with @blair_dixon on this one. My oven was 30 degrees off in my last place and it drove me crazy. I kept thinking I was losing my baking skills because everything came out either overdone or underdone. The thermometer helped but I just felt like I was constantly guessing and second guessing myself. Honestly the inconsistency was the worst part, some days it would be 25 degrees off other days 35. I'd rather just have an oven that works right from the start than have to become some kind of oven detective every time I bake.