Do I need to preheat the oven

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Many of us are used to preheating the oven in advance whenever we use it. It takes time and electricity. However, in some cases, unnecessary waste can be avoided. It all depends on what kind of food you have to cook.

In many recipes, the instruction to preheat the oven to a certain temperature takes the first line. We often do this automatically, without even thinking about the need for this procedure. Some people do not understand at all what is the difference between the concepts of "warm up" and "warm up in advance". Others express concern about the environment and believe that it is not worth wasting electricity. And as you know, her oven really consumes a lot.

So is there a need to turn on the oven at full power when there is still nothing in it?

Depends on what you are going to cook.

When to preheat the oven in advance

Take bread, for example. The heat the oven warms up to helps the yeast raise the dough as high as possible before the loaf takes its final shape. If you put the dough in a cold oven, the bread will be flat, dry and hard to chew.

The same applies to the preparation of flour products from different types of dough, to which baking soda and / or baking powder (for example, muffins or cookies) are added for splendor. In order for the baking soda and baking powder to work properly, you also need to quickly place the dough in a temperature-controlled environment.

The same principle works in the preparation of any food of a complex shape, which under some conditions can fall apart, for example, soufflé, meringues or soft biscuits. Use it also when dealing with pie dough. In this case, the flour must acquire a certain structure before all the butter melts, and this also requires heat. In short, if flour or eggs are used in what you are cooking, then the oven must be preheated.

When food can be put in a cold oven

If cooking is not your favorite hobby and you don't really like to bother, then you are unlikely to be attracted by the need to preheat the oven for baking. Don't worry: in many cases, this is not necessary at all.

Roasts, lasagna and many other delicious dishes don't have to be lush. They just need to be kept warm for a while until they are cooked. The same applies to all recipes in which the ingredients must be infused and saturated with each other.

In the same way, you can make delicious macaroni and cheese. Just put them in the oven, turn it on and come back after a certain time. Baked apples? Don't wait for the oven to heat up. Feel free to put them inside and bake until tender.

This is not always indicated in recipes, but it is best to rely on your eyes and nose for such controversial issues. Does the dish smell good? Is it golden brown? Voila, it's done. And you didn't spend a single minute preheating the oven!