KylinarockaFrom the oven: a home baking guide

An independent reference on home baking and oven cooking. It does not sell food or appliances and is not connected with the former site on this domain.

Tips

Cooking tips

Baking often goes wrong not because of the recipe but because of something small: the door was opened too soon, the tray was in the wrong place or the pie was cut while hot. Below are short tips to help you avoid these traps.

Get to know your oven: many run hotter or cooler than the dial says, and knowing that correction is worth a dozen new recipes.

— Editor's note

A tip makes it into this section if you can try it out the very first time and don't need to buy anything special for it.

Tips

Six habits that make your oven easier to understand.

Don't open the door too soon

While a cake or sponge is rising, cold air from an open door can make it sink. Do your first check close to the end of the time given in the recipe.

Turn the tray

If one side is browning faster, turn the tray round halfway through baking. You'll also find out where your oven's hot corner is.

Cool on a wire rack

Air circulates under a rack, so the bottom of your baking doesn't go soggy from steam. On a solid plate, a hot pie quickly turns damp underneath.

Cut baking paper to size

A sheet hanging over the edges of the tray can touch the heating element. Trim it so it lies flat inside.

Keep oven gloves dry

A wet oven glove or tea towel gives almost no protection from hot metal. Hang dry oven gloves next to the oven before you switch it on.

Taste the filling first

Check the salt and sugar in a filling before it goes into the pastry. Once it's baked, there's no way to fix the flavour.

Catalogue of articles for English-speaking readers

This catalogue will feature standalone articles written specifically for the English version of the guide. Each one is reviewed by our editors before it is published.

What our editors are working on

  • Shortcrust pastry: why cold hands and cold butter matter
  • Scones and soda bread: quick bakes without yeast
  • Roasting a full tray of vegetables for a family dinner
  • Fruit crumbles and cobblers through the seasons
  • How to bake when your oven heats unevenly

Editorial rules

  • Articles in this catalogue are written separately for each language version and are not translations.
  • Some articles link to third-party websites, including gaming services; we do not control their content, prices or terms.
  • We do not publish advertising for food products, appliances or shops, rankings, prices or reviews.
  • Techniques

    Oven modes, preheating, rack levels, baking paper and tins, plus three ways to check that food is done.

  • Recipes

    An open apple pie, herb-roasted vegetables and a simple homemade loaf, with weights and timings.

  • Ingredients

    Wheat flour, yeast, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, butter, eggs and cheese: choosing, storing, using.

  • Questions

    Answers to common questions about dough, oven modes, cooking meat through and kitchen safety.

  • Pizza dough (in Russian)

    Our yeast dough for two pizzas: how to knead it, how to tell it has risen and what to do with any leftover dough.

  • Seasonal

    Summer vegetables on a tray, autumn apple and pumpkin pies, winter baking and the festive table.

What we draw on

  • cookery reference books and home recipes
  • the guide's own editorial material

Times and temperatures in our recipes are a guide, not a rule: every oven heats in its own way, and flour and other ingredients behave a little differently each time. Go by the colour of the crust, the smell and the signs of doneness, not just the timer.