A lot of my friends ask me for advice or cooking tips that I can give them to help their cooking or baking. Most of what I know is from trial and error, or a random factoid that I’ve heard somewhere and tucked into my brain. So when I thought about what I could pass along through my blog, this was the first thing that came to my mind: oven temperature.

More specifically why you should wait a bit after the oven has preheated instead of immediately throwing in whatever it is you’re going to cook or bake or roast.

There’s a reason that most recipes start with “Preheat your oven to….”

While your making and prepping everything, it allows time for your oven to come up to temperature…But also for it to cool down to the right temperature.

Let me explain…When you turn your oven on, it has to rise hundreds of degrees really quickly. So your oven goes full blast, putting out a bunch of heat until it gets to temperature. But as soon as the thing dings or chimes to say it’s ready, chances are that it’s way hotter than you want it to be. If you wait a bit, it’ll give the oven temperature a chance to even out.

So if you forget to preheat the oven before making whatever it is you’re going to bake, don’t freak out! Just wait about 10-15 minutes after your oven has come up to temperature, then bake away!

If you have any cooking questions, feel free to ask and I’ll answer to the best of my knowledge. Also, a new recipe will be posted in the next few days.