Have you ever put something into the oven only to come back 30 minutes later and find that one section is completely burnt and another section is still not cooked through?
When we moved into our current house a few months ago, our VERY old {but still functional} wall ovens were giving me all sorts of problems because there seemed to be specific “hot spots” so my food wasn’t cooking properly. Then I saw an article in the Reader’s Digest that offered a very simple way to find oven hot spots.
1. Heat the broiler and line a cookie sheet with a layer of bread slices. Put pan into the oven.
2. When all the slices start to brown, take the pan out of the oven and snap a photo.
3. You’ll know where the hot-spots are based on the darkness of the bread.
You could even tape that photo by your oven to remind yourself where the hot spots are — and then rotate the baking pan accordingly. Even though you’ll most likely have to throw the bread away when you’re finished — this was a really simple way for me to find where exactly my oven “hot spots” are, and now I know that all I have to do is rotate the pan 180 degrees half way through the cooking process. Do you have any other clever ways of finding {or fixing} oven hot spots? Eventually, the plan is to redo our kitchen and get all new appliances…eventually 🙂
Donna says
Never throw it out. So many uses. Croutons, breads crumbs, add to meatloaf, sprinkle on casssaroles, etc.
Andrea says
Good point Donna!
However, I had a few pieces of bread that got pretty “crispy” and burnt so those had to go for sure!