Scientific Home Baking
Introduction
No branch of the art of cookery brings more nourishing food to the home table than that of baking. Many women say "I can cook but I cannot bake." This is due to lack of information as to the right heal of the oven, rather than to the mixing of the materials, and can be entirely overcome by the use of a Taylor Oven Thermometer. With it the beginner can produce excellent results, ranking with the experienced housekeeper. Once used, old and uncertain methods of oven-testing will be put aside, for with the thermometer one will always know the exact heat of the oven and get the best results. It means standardized baking. Further, an oven thermometer is a means of saving fuel and material, by eliminating guesswork, an economic feature not to be overlooked.
Home-made baked goods are agreed by all authorities to be more nutritious and, counting material and fuel, cost one-half to one-third less than bakery goods. The wise and thrifty housekeeper will use the scientific way of home baking which is so simple, and brings better food to her family at less cost. She will be amply repaid for her efforts in the returns of health and happiness.
All cook books acknowledge the need of a practical oven thermometer for home use. They confess the impracticability of the chemical thermometer inserted in the top of the oven, which is so easily broken, and the unreliability of the oven door thermometer, or so-called "thermostat," which is sluggish and, being made of springs, loses form and deteriorates with age, and further cannot give oven temperature correctly, as tests have shown.
The Taylor Oven Thermometer overcomes these objections and, as proved by repeated experiments. if placed in a fixed position will accurately register the heat of the oven.
Fixed Position of Thermometer
This is a most important consideration in the use of a thermometer. Like results can only be obtained by maintaining a fixed place for it. The Taylor Oven Thermometer must be placed on the floor of the oven six inches back from the door at either the right or left side, according as the light is best. If the grate of the gas range strikes the top of the thermometer, insert thermometer sidewise through the grate.
All the temperature tests have been made with a gas range oven. If a portable oven is used on the top of the stove over an open burner, the thermometer must be placed on the grate approximately four inches from the floor on the first grate and at either the right or left hand side of the oven, according as the light is best, six inches hack from the door.
If a coal-range oven is used the thermometer must be placed on the floor of the oven six inches back from the door at either the right or left hand side, according as the light is best. The indications on the thermometer in a coal-range oven are approximately 85 degrees lower than the temperature indications noted in the recipes, for example: Temperature noted on recipe 460 degrees F.; deduct 85 degrees and we have 375 degrees as the correct temperature for a coal-range oven.
Become Familiar with Reading the Thermometer
Before heating the oven become familiar with reading the thermometer, so that the temperature may be seen at a glance when the oven door is opened. Heat is lost at the rate of 50 degrees to 70 degrees F. per minute with an open door. If the oven has a glass door this difficulty is overcome.
Care of the Thermometer
If the glass tube of the thermometer becomes browned, cleanse with warm, soapy water, but under no conditions use a cleanser of gritty nature which, coming in contact with the metal, would dim the figures.
Location of Material in the Oven
Place material to be baked as near the center uf the oven from the top and bottc n as possible.
Construction of Gas Range Ovens
Gas range ovens are alike in construction in regard to the heat, which is supplied through burners underneath the oven door. Metal asbestos and air space separate the upper, or bake oven, from the lower oven in which the burners are located.
The arrangements of the burners varies in the different makes of gas ranges. Some have a front and back burner, each controlled by a separate cock. Other makes have a burner at the right and left, each controlled by a separate cock, and still others have a series of three burners controlled by one cock.
The hot air rises in the sides of the oven and passes through slots, or hole perforations, into the lop of the oven.
Heating the Gas Oven
After placing the thermometer in the fixed position and learning to read it as directed on the previous page, light the gas and turn it on to full heat. When within about 40 degrees F. of the desired temperature, turn out one burner, or lower the gs and allow the oven to heat gradually to reach the desired temperature.
Approximate Time Suggestions
The following table is given that the rook may know at what point in her operations to prepare the oven:
| Time in minutes | Desired Temperature |
|---|---|
| 5 | 200 to 350 degrees F. |
| 7 | 350 to 400 degrees F. |
| 10 | 400 to 450 degrees F. |
| 12 | 450 to 500 degrees F. |
Economy of Fuel
Uniform heat can be more easily maintained in an oven when it has been operated for sometime (one-half to three-quarters of an hour) as there is then less loss from radiation and conduction. It is therefore an advantage in baking to plan successive operations, baking the food requiring the least temperature first.
Control of Heat in the Bake Oven
It will be found difficult to control the heat to the exact point desired, but if the heat goes 20 degrees F. above the point desired, or 20 degrees below, the products will not be spoiled. However, the time will be longer or shorter, as the case may be, and the browning not so perfect.
The Temperatures in This Book May Stand as Guides for Other Recipes
The recipes given here were selected as typical of the different kinds of doughs, batters and meats which appear most frequently on the home table. The determined temperatures may stand as guides for other recipes of similar nature which form the cherished files of every housekeeper.
For Success with the Recipes Observe the Following Points
- All measures are level.
- Sift the flour before measuring.
In following baking instructions of other cook books these general temperatures may be suggestive.
| Descriptive Term | General Temperature |
|---|---|
| Slow Oven | 250 to 300 degrees F. |
| Moderate Oven | 300 to 350 degrees F. |
| Hot Oven | 350 to 400 degrees F. |
| Quick Oven | 400 to 450 degrees F. |
| Very Hot Oven | 450 to 550 degrees F. |