Pre-heat & temperateure
 

How much pre-heating should one do?

I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct temperature, or
is just a 10 min wait enough.

Also

What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about 1.5",
some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.

Thanks

"Xanadu" <.> wrote in message ...
> How much pre-heating should one do?
>
> I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct temperature,
or
> is just a 10 min wait enough.
>
> Also
>
> What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about
1.5",
> some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.

Pre-heating for baking assumes that you bring the oven to the proper baking
temperature regardless of how long it takes. I always follow the time and
temperature recommendations in the recipe and then adjust them as necessary.

The answer to both questions is that it depends on:

what you use to make the cakes rise - I am assuming double acting baking
powder

how long you are willing to bake them...

----

You can actually start baking with the oven cold and the oat cakes in
the oven, as long as you know what you are doing, use the correct amount
of baking powder, watch the oven, and learn how long it takes to rise to
the height you want and bake to the 'doneness' you want.

If you bake at the lower temperature, the outside will stay softer and
be closer to the middle in texture. If you bake at the higher
temperature you will bake for a shorter period of time and get a cake
that is harder on the outside and softer on the inside, again if you get
the timing right.

In other words, it all depends on you and your measurements and tools,
and how you want the baked cakes to be, texture wise.

RsH
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Tue, 6 Sep 2005 16:08:06 +0100, "Xanadu" <.> wrote:

>How much pre-heating should one do?
>
>I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct temperature, or
>is just a 10 min wait enough.
>
> Also
>
>What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about 1.5",
>some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.
>
>Thanks
================================================== =====
Copyright retained. My opinions - no one else's...
If this is illegal where you are, do not read it!

Xanadu wrote:
> How much pre-heating should one do?
>
> I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct temperature, or
> is just a 10 min wait enough.
>
> Also
>
> What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about 1.5",
> some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.
>
> Thanks

If the recipe specifies a preheated oven it means heated to baking
temperature.

You can start baking earlier but will need to adfjust the baking time
and you may get some changes to texture.

> wrote in message
oups.com...
>
> Xanadu wrote:
> > How much pre-heating should one do?
> >
> > I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct temperature,
or
> > is just a 10 min wait enough.
> >
> > Also
> >
> > What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about
1.5",
> > some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.
> >
> > Thanks
>
> If the recipe specifies a preheated oven it means heated to baking
> temperature.
>
> You can start baking earlier but will need to adfjust the baking time
> and you may get some changes to texture.
>

In addition, some electric ovens use both the bottom baking elements and top
broiling elements to reduce the pre-heating time. If you put something in
the oven while it is in pre-heat mode, you might be putting it under the
broiler and exposing the bottom of the item to a prolonged, continuous
heating creating a "rising heat" effect.

Thanks for the info.

Is there a general rule about using baking powder.

I'm just making oat cake, quite thick.

I've been using baking soda, which I think has a rather bitter taste, not
sure if its that or not enough sugar.

What's double acting baking powder, and why use it.

Thanks



"Vox Humana" > wrote in message
. ..
>
> > wrote in message
> oups.com...
>>
>> Xanadu wrote:
>> > How much pre-heating should one do?
>> >
>> > I like to make oat cakes, should the oven be at the correct
>> > temperature,
> or
>> > is just a 10 min wait enough.
>> >
>> > Also
>> >
>> > What temperature is best to cook at for a quite thick oat cake, about
> 1.5",
>> > some recipes say 280 degrees, and some 320 degrees.
>> >
>> > Thanks
>>
>> If the recipe specifies a preheated oven it means heated to baking
>> temperature.
>>
>> You can start baking earlier but will need to adfjust the baking time
>> and you may get some changes to texture.
>>
>
> In addition, some electric ovens use both the bottom baking elements and
> top
> broiling elements to reduce the pre-heating time. If you put something in
> the oven while it is in pre-heat mode, you might be putting it under the
> broiler and exposing the bottom of the item to a prolonged, continuous
> heating creating a "rising heat" effect.
>
>

"Xanadu" <.> wrote in message ...
> Thanks for the info.
>
> Is there a general rule about using baking powder.
>
> I'm just making oat cake, quite thick.
>
> I've been using baking soda, which I think has a rather bitter taste, not
> sure if its that or not enough sugar.
>
> What's double acting baking powder, and why use it.
>

The general rule is to use what the recipe specifies: Baking POWDER or
Baking SODA. They are NOT interchangeable. Baking POWDER has a balance of
acid and base and will produce CO2 without regard to the rest of the
ingredients. Baking SODA requires an acidic ingredient or nothing happens.

Double acting baking powder is a combination of two acid salts and baking
soda. The first acid is soluble at room temperature and reacts with the
baking soda immediately to produce CO2. The second salt only becomes
soluble at an elevated temperature (in the oven) producing a second reaction
and more gas. Double acting baking powder assures that the CO2 production
is not exhausted before it is needed. This is especially true if you park
the item outside the oven for an extended time (like when you forget to pre
heat the oven) before baking.

Be sure to observe the expiration date on the baking powder as it will
eventually become inactive. Replace as needed. Baking powder is far less
expensive than the cost of one ruined cake.

Simplification but fairly accurate. Others may wish to provide more
detail.

Baking soda works when a liquid acid hits it to activate it, and then
it produces gas. Once used up it is gone, and, if you haven't gotten
the mix into the oven in time, the mix can collapse before you even
bake it.

Baking Powder is a mixture of baking soda and other chemicals that
include the acid. It is formulated to produce gas when HEATED in the
oven, so it is far more effective in giving gas when it is really
needed, when the baking is starting. Therefore one uses baking powder
instead of baking soda for certainty in getting that gas to actually
generate when baking the mixture.

The double acting refers to the action based on the generation of gas
when liquid hits [first action] and the generation of gas when the
heat hits [second action].

RsH
--------------------------------------------------------------
On Wed, 7 Sep 2005 08:27:25 +0100, "Xanadu" <.> wrote:

>Thanks for the info.
>
>Is there a general rule about using baking powder.
>
>I'm just making oat cake, quite thick.
>
>I've been using baking soda, which I think has a rather bitter taste, not
>sure if its that or not enough sugar.
>
>What's double acting baking powder, and why use it.
>
>Thanks
================================================== =====
>
Copyright retained. My opinions - no one else's...
If this is illegal where you are, do not read it!