Water bath issue when doubling a cheesecake recipe to make bars
I have a recipe for a cheesecake that I'd like to double. Of course I would have to use a 9 X 13 pan and make it into bars (which I don't mind). It will eventually get covered with a chocolate mint ganache. With that in mind, how important is the water bath? Can I forgo it altogether (since it will be a 9 X 13 pan and hard to water bathe)? Or should I put a pan of water below the pan to help keep moisture in the oven?
Best Answer
The water bath for a cheesecake is to control the temperature of the thick custard in the springform pan (cheesecake is technically a custard) - you don't need to worry about the moisture of the oven in the absence of a water bath.
The equivalency you stated of your pan volumes is a problem, though. The two pans are not as comparable as your volumes suggest. The area of a 9" round pan (your springform) would be ? x r² = 3.14 x (4.5")² = 64 in.² (roughly). The area of a 9" x 13" rectangular pan would be 9" x 13" = 117 in.² which is roughly twice the area of the springform pan. What that means is that the same volume of cheesecake filling would fill a 9" x 13" pan roughly half as full as a 9" springform pan.
Unless you have a huge amount of filling, the custard should set-up much more quickly in the larger pan and should not be as much of a problem to bring-up to temperature evenly like a thicker cheesecake in a springform pan. As long as you aren't planning to bake your bars in a scorching-hot oven and you remove them from the oven before they look fully set, you won't need the water bath.
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Do you have to bake a cheesecake longer in a water bath?
Because cheesecake batter is basically a rich custard, it needs to be treated delicately. Without the moist heat of a water bath, the custard can take on a rubbery texture. With cheesecake, your primary goal is to bake it slowly and evenly without browning the top.How do you keep a cheesecake from leaking in a water bath?
The cakes need to be on different racks to enhance the air flow and heat distribution in the oven. Put them off center but not too close to the sides. One of the cake on the middle rack and the second cake on the bottom rack of the oven.Leakproof water bath baking - Intro to The Perfect Cheesecake Bakeware Water Bath Pan Protector
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