You’ll notice that when you are following a baking recipe that one of the first steps is usually to preheat the oven to the required temperature.
Why do we do that? Is it even really necessary? It seems like maybe it’s an extra step that really isn’t all that important, right?
Well…let’s talk about it.
Even Cooking
The first reason is a big one, especially for any baked goods. We want the items to be evenly cooked, not extra crispy on the outside and raw on the inside. By preheating the oven, we are ensuring that the temperature is correct and consistent across the entire oven, with an even temperature distribution. It also means that batch 1 and batch 5 will turn out exactly the same.
Consistent Timing
If you preheat your oven, then that batch 1 will take the same amount of time to cook as your batch 5. Or batch 27. Most of us don’t cook or bake professionally, so having timing down to an exact science is less critical. However, knowing that you can count on each batch to take the same amount of time is a great thing.
Proper Texture
A lot of baked goods need the appropriate temperature to ensure they rise correctly, and thus produce the correct temperature for that item. This might not be a big deal for say a cookie recipe, but for something like bread or cake might be a bigger problem. No one wants a cake with a weird texture because the oven temperature was not consistent throughout the entirety of the bake!
That said, there are items that are perfectly fine to not preheat the oven for. Let’s say you are making a roast and it needs to be in the oven for hours. It probably isn’t going to matter as much if the oven is preheated. Some specialty breads also may call for starting from a cold oven. But these are generally the exception and not the rule!
Do you always preheat your oven? If not, do you think you might start after this article? Let’s chat about it!