Is there a difference between preheating temperature and baking temperature?
Many cake recipes say something like:
Heat oven to 350F, then bake the cake around 25 to 30 minutes.
What does this mean? After preheating the oven, what temperature do I bake the cake at for those 25-30 minutes? Is it same as the 350F preheating temperature?
I am new to baking. Please help!
Best Answer
There is no default temperature. The recipe is telling you the temperature: 350F. You preheat the oven to 350F so that it's already fully hot when you put the cake in, and then you leave it at 350F to bake the cake.
The whole point of preheating is to have the oven already at the temperature you want to bake at. If you preheated then changed the temperature, then you wouldn't have preheated properly: the oven would be at the wrong temperature.
If a recipe actually wanted you to change the temperature, it would explicitly say so, something along the lines of "preheat the oven to 550F, put the bread in, then reduce the temperature to 500F". That'd cause it to be baked at closer to 550F at first, then closer to 500F later once the oven cools down. But that's not something that comes up much; most things just get baked at a constant temperature.
Bottom line, just do what the recipe actually says to! If it doesn't say to change the temperature, don't.
Pictures about "Is there a difference between preheating temperature and baking temperature?"
Quick Answer about "Is there a difference between preheating temperature and baking temperature?"
The recipe is telling you the temperature: 350F. You preheat the oven to 350F so that it's already fully hot when you put the cake in, and then you leave it at 350F to bake the cake. The whole point of preheating is to have the oven already at the temperature you want to bake at.What temperature should you preheat the oven to for your recipe?
But because the majority of baking projects usually happen between 350\xb0F and 375\xb0F, 20 minutes is a good average time to get your oven up to speed.How do you Preheat an oven to 180 degrees?
: to heat (something) beforehand especially : to heat (an oven) to a designated temperature before using for cooking. Other Words from preheat Example Sentences Learn More About preheat.Why is 350-degrees the ideal baking temperature?
More answers regarding is there a difference between preheating temperature and baking temperature?
Answer 2
Yes, you should bake your cake at 350 degrees (F), this is what your recipe means.
The preheating step is essential to make sure that the oven has already reached the recommended temperature, including the rack, oven walls etc. Once your oven has "signaled" to have reached the temperature, you might even wait another five minutes or so to be really sure.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise1, the temperature given in a recipe is valid for the entire baking time.
1 Bread is the classic exception where you start at high heat and lower the temperature.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: SHVETS production, SHVETS production, Pixabay, Pixabay