The 9 best tips to get the most from your oven

We already know that our loved ones ovens they are best for roasting a whole chicken to juicy and crispy perfection, cook chocolate chip cookies and make the best cheese lasagna, but what else can they do?

Apart from the most obvious uses, some Things Simple, time-saving items will help you get you through the busy holiday season and beyond without breaking a sweat or burning anything.

Here there is nine tips and tricks for the ovenFrom how to cut down on your preheat time to why you should readjust your oven racks, they’ll help make that kitchen workhorse work for you.

1. Use the grill to reduce the preheating time.

If you’re in a rush to get dinner on the table and completely forgot to preheat the oven, you shouldn’t panic. Instead, run the grill for three to five minutes to raise your oven temperature. Then, once you’ve set it to the right temperature for your recipe, it will only take a fraction of the time to heat up (rather than starting with a completely cold oven).

2. Revive stale bread

Do you have a loaf of stale bread? Before turning it into crumbs, croutons or pudding, you might be able to preserve it with this simple trick: quickly put the bread in cold water to wet the outside, then bake for five minutes in an oven at 200 ° C or 350 ° F. You will be surprised to find that your rock hard wand becomes fluffy within minutes.

3. Caramelize large batches of onions (or others)

Instead of spending an hour or more standing on the stove, stirring the onions until caramelized, put them in the oven and let them do the work.

Spread four large, thickly sliced ​​white onions, or any ally of your choice, on a baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with about five tablespoons of olive oil. To give your onions even more flavor, do not hesitate to add aromatics like garlic cloves or thyme sprigs, as well as a few tablespoons of brown sugar, to promote the caramelization process.

Toss the onions with the other ingredients on the baking sheet until lightly coated. Cover the pot with foil and broil for about 50 minutes at 375 ° F, stirring two to three times during cooking. If your onions haven’t fully reached the desired caramelization after about an hour, use the grill to speed things up (just keep an eye out to make sure nothing is burning).

4. Adjust the temperature of your recipe when using convection

The temperature your recipe calls for is useful when using a convection oven, which can cook food up to 20% faster than a conventional oven due to its greater airflow capacity. You will need to take this into account when determining the appropriate temperature to set your oven.

Generally, you’ll want to lower the temperature 20 ° F to 25 ° F from your standardized recipe. You should also check for doneness three-quarters of the baking process to make sure you don’t burn or bake the baked goods. Unless the recipe specifically mentions it, the recipe was likely written using a conventional oven rather than a convection oven.

5. Do not open the door to keep the heat inside

It may seem obvious, but do not open the oven while cooking. That little peek inside can quickly lower the oven’s internal temperature by 25 ° F to 50 ° F every time. Let the oven light do the work for you!

6. Readjust the racks according to what you manufacture

In case you didn’t already know, the location of your oven racks can be a deciding factor when baking anything in the oven. So be sure to readjust the grates to expose your plate to the right amount of heat.

Here are the general rules: You’ll want to place the oven racks near the top of the oven when broiling. The middle part of your oven, on the other hand, is ideal for baked goods like cookies, layer cakes or casseroles. Meanwhile, the lower racks are ideal for grilling larger, tougher cuts of meat. If you are using multiple louvers, try to space them evenly to allow even air circulation. Whatever you do, LG Studio’s extendable zipper racks help prevent spills and burns when taking items out of the oven, basting a turkey, or turning a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

If you are using a convection oven rather than a traditional oven, you may not need to change the location of the racks as often. This is because the fan of a convection oven will help circulate hot air between the racks continuously, which will result in a dish cooked more evenly and evenly.

7. Use it for sourdough bread

Once the weather starts to cool, it can be harder to find a warm place in your kitchen to ferment the bread dough. Quickly transform your oven into a fermentation box by creating a perfectly warm and humid environment to promote yeast activity.

If your oven does not have an automatic “test” setting to maintain the ideal temperature, place a rack in the middle of the oven and a second rack at the bottom. With the oven off, place an empty bread pan on the lower rack and fill it with three cups of boiling water. Finally, place the dough in a covered container on the top rack, then close the oven and let the dough rise. Use an oven thermometer to periodically check the internal temperature; It should be stored at around 75 ° F (you may need to replace the hot water during the process, depending on the length of the test).

8. Choose the right baking dish

While you can have reliable pots and pans you swear by, not all cookware is created equal. Choosing the right type of pan for what you are doing is very important in ensuring the best results. Cooking times and the level of browning achieved can vary widely depending on the color, finish and material of your baking dish.

Dark coated metal pans absorb more heat, resulting in darker browning; Shiny, heat-reflecting pans result in a lighter, more even browning. If you are looking to bake cakes or cookies, look for shiny pans that won’t burn the surface of your dough too quickly.

Excellent conductor of heat, glass baking dishes should be reserved for more gourmet recipes such as cobbler, lasagna or bread pudding. Be sure to lower the cooking temperature of the recipe from 20 ° F to 25 ° F to better account for this extra heat retention. Likewise, ceramic baking dishes conduct heat evenly, which means they’re great for cinnamon buns and hearty, flavorful dishes.

9. Make it a powerful air freshener

Do you need your kitchen to smell fresh and inviting in minutes? Use the old open door trick and infuse your home with decadent smells that radiate straight from your oven. But unlike the traditional cookie baking trick, you don’t need to make a batch of dough to flavor your home. Instead, all you need is a strong essential oil or extract, like lemon or vanilla.

Place a tablespoon or two of the oil or extract in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 300 ° F, for a house that smells like heaven.