28. REGULATING THE OVEN.--When the ingredients have been properly
combined, the mixture is ready to be baked. With the exception of
waffles and griddle cakes, the baking of which is explained in
connection with the recipes, all hot breads are baked in the oven;
therefore, while the mixture is being prepared, the oven should be
properly regulated in order that the temperature will be just right when
it is time to start the baking. Particular thought should be given to
this matter, for if no attention is paid to the oven until the mixture
is ready to be baked, it will be necessary to allow the mixture to stand
until the heat of the oven can be regulated or to put it into the oven
and run the risk of spoiling the food. To prevent either of these
conditions and to insure success, the fuel, no matter what kind is used,
should be lighted before mixing is begun, so that the oven may be
heating while the mixture is being prepared, unless, as is sometimes the
case, there are steps in the preparation of the mixture that consume
considerable time. For instance, looking over raisins and cleaning them
or cracking nuts and picking the meats out of the shells should be done
before the rest of the ingredients are prepared or the oven is
regulated.
29. CORRECT OVEN TEMPERATURES.--Quick breads that are to be baked in the
form of loaves require an oven temperature of from 350 to 400 degrees
Fahrenheit. Muffins, biscuits, and the smaller varieties of these breads
need a higher temperature, 425 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit being best. As
they are not so large, the heat has less dough through which to
penetrate, and consequently the baking can be accomplished more quickly.
30. DETERMINING AND REGULATING OVEN TEMPERATURE.--Regulating the oven
and testing its temperature present very little difficulty to the
housewife of experience, but they are not always easy problems for the
woman who is learning to cook. However, if the untrained and
inexperienced cook will observe her oven closely and determine the
results of certain temperatures, she will soon find herself becoming
more successful in this matter. To assist the housewife in this matter,
as well as to help in the saving of much loss in fuel and in underdone
or overdone food, many stoves are equipped with an oven thermometer, an
indicator, or a thermostat. The thermometer is more likely to be
reliable than the indicator, as it has a column of mercury like that of
any other thermometer and is graduated; also, a certain kind may be
secured that can be used with any sort of oven. The indicator is in the
form of a dial with a hand attached to a metal spring. This spring
contracts and expands with the changes in the temperature of the oven
and thus causes the hand to point out the temperature. The thermostat is
a device that automatically regulates the heat of the oven. On a stove
equipped with a thermostat, it is simply necessary to set the device at
the temperature desired. When this temperature is reached, the device
keeps it stationary.
31. If neither an indicator nor a thermometer is available, the heat of
the oven may be determined in other ways. Some housewives test the oven
with the hand, and while such a test is more or less dependent on
experience, those who use it find it very satisfactory. If the hand can
be held in the oven while 15 is counted slowly, the temperature is that
of a moderate oven and will be right for the baking of loaves. An oven
that is of the proper temperature for muffins or rolls will permit the
hand to be held in it while only 10 is counted slowly. Those who do not
test with the hand find that placing a piece of white paper in the oven
is an accurate way of determining its temperature. Such paper will turn
a delicate brown in 5 minutes in a moderate oven, and a deeper brown in
4 minutes in a hot oven.
32. PROPER PLACING OF THE MIXTURE IN THE OVEN.--As is pointed out in
_Essentials of Cookery_, Part 1, the top of the oven is hotter than the
bottom. This truth and the fact that in an oven, as in any other space,
air expands and rises on becoming heated, are points that have much to
do with the baking of quick breads, for these are mixtures that rise
after being placed in the oven. So that they may rise properly, they
should be placed on the bottom first; then, as they become heated, they
will have a tendency to rise as the air does. If the food is placed near
the top first, the heated air will be likely to press it down and retard
its rising. As soon as the rising is completed and the food has baked
sufficiently on the bottom, it should be moved up so that it will brown
on the top.
33. TESTING THE BAKED MIXTURE.--Recipes for baked dishes usually state
the length of time required to bake them, but such directions cannot
always be depended on, because the temperature of the oven varies at
different times. The best way in which to judge whether the food has
baked the necessary length of time is to apply to it one of the reliable
tests that have been devised for this purpose.
Probably the most satisfactory test is to insert a toothpick as deep as
possible into the center of the loaf. The center, rather than some other
part of the loaf, is the place where the testing should be done, because
the heat penetrates a mixture from the outside and the center is
therefore the last part to bake. If the toothpick comes out without
particles of dough adhering, the mixture is sufficiently baked in that
place and consequently throughout the loaf. In case the dough sticks to
the toothpick, the baking is not completed and will have to be
continued. Since this is a test that is frequently used, a supply of
toothpicks, preferably round ones, should be kept in a handy place near
the stove.
Another fairly accurate means of testing baked mixtures that do not form
a very hard crust consists in making a dent in the center with the
finger. If the dent remains, the baking must be continued, but if it
springs back into place, the baking is completed.