What it is.
Baking cooks food with hot, dry air in a closed oven. The heat comes from all sides, so food cooks all the way through without you turning it.
Cakes, bread, cookies, pies and many dishes in a tray are baked.
Why it works.
The hot air dries the outside first. A dry surface can get hotter than wet food, so it browns and forms a crust. The inside heats more slowly and stays soft.
In a cake or bread, gas from yeast, baking powder or whipped eggs grows in the heat and makes the mix rise. Then the egg and flour set around the bubbles and hold the shape.
That is why the oven must be hot before the food goes in. A cold start lets the bubbles escape before anything sets.
What to look for.
- Edges turn golden and start to pull away from the pan.
- A cake springs back when you press the top lightly.
- A toothpick in the middle comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Bread sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.
Common mistakes.
- It came out flat or pale.
- Heat the oven fully before you start. Many ovens take 15 minutes or more.
- The middle sank.
- Keep the door shut for most of the time. Each opening lets the heat out.
- It is dry.
- Check at the earliest time the recipe gives. Ovens run hotter or cooler than the dial says.
- The bottom burned.
- Bake on the middle rack, not right above the heat.
