An Placement, Baking Guides, Cookies, Cakes, Pies

an Placement

For even cooking and proper browning, there must be enough room for air circulation in the oven. Baking results will be better if baking pans are centered as much as possible rather than being placed to the front or to the back of the oven.

Pans should not touch each other or the walls of the oven. Allow 1- to 1 X-inch space between pans as well as from the back of the oven, the door and the sides. If you need to use two shelves, stagger the pans so one is not directly above the other.

Baking Guides

When using prepared baking mixes, follow the package recipe or instructions for the best baking results.

Cookies

When baking cookies, flat cookie sheets (without sides) produce better-looking cookies. Cookies baked in a jelly roll pan (short sides all around) may have darker edges and pale or light browning may occur.

Do not use a cookie sheet so large that it touches the walls or the door of the oven. Never entirely cover a shelf with a large cookie sheet.

For best results, use only one cookie sheet in the oven a time.

Cakes

When baking cakes, warped or bent pans will cause uneven baking results and poorly shaped products. A cake baked in a pan larger than the recipe recommends will usually be crisper, thinner and drier than it should be. If baked in a pan smaller than recommended, it may be undercooked and batter may overflow. Check the recipe to make sure the pan size used is the one recommended.

Pies

For best results, bake pies in dark, rough or dull pans to produce a browner, crisper crust. Frozen pies in foil pans should be placed on an aluminum cookie sheet for baking since the shiny foil pan reflects heat away from the pie crust; the cookie sheet helps retain it.