Baking Times are Relevant

Never trust the baking time listed in a recipe. It may be right. Chances are, it’s not. A whole litany of factors may affect baking time. The obvious factor is the temperature of your particular oven. Other factors play a role: how cold your batter may be or where you place the item to be baked in the oven.

The pan you use may affect baking time greatly, as much as a third longer time. That’s an hour on your timer, not 45 minutes.

• Since the depth of the batter changes baking times substantially, the shape of the pan matters. The deeper the batter, the longer the time.

• Dark pans bake quicker than light-colored pans. Shiny, light-colored pans seem to take forever to bake.

• Dark metal pans bake quicker than glass or ceramic pans.

Someone once described a recipe as what happened in one kitchen at one time. Just because that recipe worked perfectly for you today, doesn’t mean that it will for Aunt Mabel next week. When we try a new recipe, we always set the baking time for less than what the recipe calls for and check the progress when the timer goes off. After we get to know a recipe, we can set the timer with confidence. It is convenient to carry a portable timer with you so that you can go about your tasks and know how much time is left. (See our Everywhere Timer.)