"Peter Cook" > wrote in message thlink.net>...
> Anyone encounter this? My electric oven is lined with quarry tiles since I
> bake a lot of bread. I use a Taylor thermometer to measure the temp, and
> when the tiles are in the oven, the thermometer reads significantly lower
> than the oven's digital readout after preheating. At lower temperatures
> (300), the difference is about 60 degrees. At higher temperatures (475),
> it's about 25 degrees.
>
> When the tiles are removed, the readout and the thermometer are within 3 or
> 4 degrees. I keep the thermometer close to the oven's temperature sensor, so
> they are measuring temperature at the same location in the oven.
>
> All readings are taken after the oven has preheated for at least 45 minutes.
>
> Obviously the heating characteristics of an oven change when there are tiles
> involved. But why would they cause the thermometer and the oven's
> temperature sensor to behave differently? And most importantly -- which one
> is right??
>
Did the oven manufacturer recommended that tiles be put into the oven?
If you just personally modified the oven but the equipment does not
have an allowance for the corresponding difference of heat due to the
absorption of the ceramic surfaces which behaves as a heat sink..
The main issue here is not temperature difference which is academic
from the point of the baker. Rather how does the oven perform in the
baking process.
Are ypu getting excellent bread with that set up even if the dual
temperature readinds are not equal. If the answer is affirmative then
do not worry about temperature fluctuation. As you already know how
to determine tthe desired heat requirements for a certain baked
product
I have seen ovens in commercial setting that register temperature that
is low to be considered suitable for crusty bread baking ; but what
is surpising is from the hands of capable ba,ker the breads comes out
excelllent. who sense the heat through experience. Meanwhile an
apprentice who do the same task usually is unable to get consistent
results..
I was wondering if the ceramic tiles is hindering the flow of radiated
heat from the hot ooils resulting that the registered temperature
fluctuates.
Sometimes slight modification of the temperature sensors distance
will improve the temperature display to corresponds with the portable
thermometer.
Usually its a common occurence the in built oven thermometer does not
give similar value as the portable thermometer probe you are using.
The manufacturer has calibtated the thermoter to register the
appropriate um of the convective, radiative and conductive heat in the
oven atmosphere. They did not have an allowance for modifications just
as you had done.
Therefore if you modify the oven by placing tiles then you should
correspondingly adjsust the tempereature sensing coil to be elevated
or lowered in the same level as your portable taylor thermometer.
But if you had baked bread consistently with even that temperaure
difference ; then you do not have to worry about it.
Let your baking experience be the guide in obtaining consistent result
and ignore the temperature difference.
Remember baking is not just by following the temperature settings as
given by a recipe book but how your commonsense make you adapt the
recipe to your system.
Roy