Its rise was uneven – much greater in the centre – and there were lots of surface cracks. The surface colour was too dark and the cake was burnt around the edges. Using exactly the same recipe, we baked four cakes at different temperatures, ranging from 20☌ under the recommended temperature to 40☌ too hot. To test how much difference an oven with poor temperature controls can make to your cooking, we ran a test in which we baked a classic Victoria sponge. Some have even veered more than 40☌ above the set temperature. We've tested hundreds of ovens and found that many don't stick to the temperature you set them at. How oven temperature affects cooking and bakingĭo you blame yourself when your sponge cake fails to rise or you burn your biscuits? It might not be you. But if it's a larger gap – or the temperature fluctuates a lot during cooking – you could be in for some disappointing results. You can adapt to an oven if it averages just a handful of degrees away from the correct temperature, by turning it up or down a little. Just make sure you leave the thermometer in each area for at least 10 minutes before checking for changes. You can position the thermometer in different areas of your oven to test the temperature and find hot or cold spots. The best way to verify the accuracy of your oven's temperature is to check it with a separate stainless steel oven thermometer. The amount by which the least accurate ovens we've tested exceed the set temperature Oven thermometersĪll ovens have built-in thermometers. One of the ovens we've recently tested was set for 180☌, but we measured the temperature in part of the oven to be just 150☌. While it's more common for an oven to overshoot the temperature you set it at, we do also find models that struggle to get up to the right temperature. We sometimes come across ovens that soar to 220☌ when set at 180☌. But, unfortunately, this doesn't mean they get the basics right. Ovens often have all sorts of hi-tech features including steam cooking and self-cleaning, and some can even be controlled remotely by an app on your phone. How can I check if my oven temperature is accurate? Some will offer two, though – a hotter temperature for traditional ovens and a cooler one for fans. It's always worth double-checking your recipe, as not adjusting the temperature to account for this effect can cause the outside of your food to cook too quickly and spoil your dish.Īs most ovens are fan assisted these days, you can usually assume that a recipe that only suggests one oven temperature is referring to fan ovens. This is because the fan circulates hot air around the inside of the oven and into the food, ensuring a more even temperature and food that's cooked more quickly. Why are fan oven temperatures lower?įan oven cooking temperatures are typically around 20☌ less than conventional ovens. Using our chart, you can quickly see that 180☌ is gas mark 4 and 200☌ is gas mark 6. If you own a gas cooker or gas oven, you will sometimes need to convert oven temperatures when cooking a recipe, which is when our oven temperature conversion chart will come in handy. The gas mark is a temperature scale used on gas cookers and gas ovens in the UK, Ireland and some Commonwealth countries. Gas mark: what gas mark are 180 or 200 degrees Celsius? For cakes, bakes, biscuits and more, see BBC Good Food's baking recipes.

Want to put your oven to best use? If you're looking for weekend ideas, see BBC Good Food's roast recipes.

Temperature conversion table