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 Back to John Storey's Ideabooks

Electric Oven Baking & Cleaning Tips to Save the Day

Comment1
Which one of the classic ovens do you use at home? Gas or electric? Today I am going to go over the electric type of ovens and speak in details about its characteristics as well as give you proper tips on how to cook it,clean and maintain it. For oven cleaning goes with stoves as peanut butter and jelly – it makes them more efficient and the meals turnout healthier.


You may have heard mixed opinions about electric stove burners. They tend to get too hot, the temperature is not easily controlled and don’t get me started on their cleaning – I personally never got used to scrubbing the plate – it never got as clean as the first time before use. I loved switching to ceramic stovetops, but for now I am keeping an electric oven. Why? Because it has a lot of advantages –keeps the heat steady and the cooking is even and it’s easier to brown my Sunday cappuccino cupcakes with breeze. As far as cleaning is concerned, though, I don’t see any specific differences between a gas and an oven chamber – it’s whole lot of elbow grease for both.


Let’s move on and check out some of the most important baking and maintenance tips for an electric oven.


How Does the Electric Oven Work?


One of the main characteristics of an electric cooker is an electric coil that resides beneath the floor of the chamber. The main function of the coil is to emit a steady and even flow of heat inside the cavity. It carries out the better part of the cooking process – it is the one that keeps the oven hot, even though there might often be a second heater, located on the chamber’s ceiling. It’s used for broiling,though.


What you are looking to avoid when baking is sudden plunges of temperature. It’s virtually impossible for that to happen in an electric cooker. What’s more,you’ll see any burnt-on food on the baking tray far less often, since the heat is not too intense. This is a very important advantage over gas ovens. Another one is that the chamber air in an electric oven is far less moist than the one in a gas oven, which makes it easier to crisp the food to a golden shine.
Of course, here we are talking about a general description of an electric oven behaviour, which might not always correspond identically to your own cooker’s.


Tips and Tricks for Electric Oven Cleaning & Maintenance


In order to function properly over longer periods of time, you oven needs proper care and maintenance, which mainly includes cleaning and washing of the grime and dirt that accumulate so easily after cooking. What I usually do here in Slough is getting a proper oven cleaner, most of the times I check the label if it’s eco-friendly, and apply lots and lots of elbow grease. Haven’t sought a different cleaning solution, as I had bad luck with baking soda and vinegar combination – it practically burned out the toilet channel so I’ve never used it since then. When things got too heavy to clean, usually once every half a year, I call Slough oven cleaning technicians, in order to give my cooker a proper slick clean.


Electric Oven Cooking Tips


1. Foil is Your Necessary Frenemy


We’ve heard about aluminium foil’s negative effects on food. Even no definitive scientific proof has been given, many prefer to skip aluminium. How I do it? I cook the meal in foil, but then I remove it as soon as it is ready, so that no aluminium particles can transfer over a longer period of time. This is how I don’t deprive my baked goods out of a very helpful trick – tenting the dish with foil will prevent any excessive over browning. The great thing is – you don’t need to put the foil from the beginning! Only after you notice any considerable over-browning at the edges of the baked dish before the food is thoroughly cooked.


Use the Appropriate Baking Tools


Having a steady flow of temperature means you can tweak it into your own advantage using a proper bakeware. You can decrease and increase the browning on your dish by cooking in different utensils. Dark metal ones will do a great job at crisping the bottoms and sides of your baked goods.Glass, silicone or ceramic utensils will decrease the browning –especially if you cook vanilla cakes.


Longer Preheats Than Gas Ovens


If you are used to the immediate gas oven warming up to full degree kind of hot, herewith electric ones is a bit different – not the typical instant heat. Preheat times here are longer than usual. If you are never sure whether you cooker’s fully heated, use an oven thermometer.


Bake out of the Hot Spots


Arguably the best spot to bake in an electric oven is the middle rack. This is where the heat will wrap up the dish in a hot blanket and your meal will cook at a steady pace. The middle of the oven won’t let any hot spots radiate and burn your dish. However, most contemporary ovens already come equipped with convection function, which means there is no best or worst spots to bake – they are all the same as the heat is blown away and spread out the same way by the convector fan.


Tired of the Dry Air in the Cooker? Add Water.


One of the best advantages of gas oven over electric one is ability to rise loaves of bread while baking due to the moist environment. But when you simply can’t crisp in a gas cooker, you can surely imitate the moist environment and deal with the dry air easily in an electric oven.Three quick and easy tricks for that – place a pan on the bottom of the oven chamber and pour a cup of water inside, or open the door slightly and spray some moisture inside with a spray bottle filled with water. Why not use a large pot which you can cover with a lid,or every baker’s favourite Dutch oven – they will keep the moisture inside the utensil. Just a clarification – you need the moisture only at the beginning of the baking, so uncover the lid or stop adding water around the middle of the cooking. I’ve also noticed that burnt stains soften when water is added and evaporated inside, sothat’s a plus one for oven cleaning!
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Amber Harding

Great ideas!

 Like     15 March 2016 at 7:18am
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