Baking in a conventional gas wall oven

[verizonbear]

Hello, I am sure I can get some expert advice on using my old school, non convection gas radiant wall oven with a broiler drawer on the bottom. I am finding dishes like pizza and lasagna that the cheese takes longer to brown than what I am used to in electric ovens I have used. I know the bake and broil elements cycle on and off independently on an electric. I always use the mid rack position, use a dish small enough so the heat can convect up along the sides etc.

Am I missing something ?

 

[norgeway]

Personally!

I like baking in a old fashioned gas oven, but since there is no heat source at the top, try raising the rack, the reflected heat from the top of the oven should brown your food nicely.

 

[wayupnorth]

I had an avocado Brown built in gas unit at one time and the Whirlpool 30" I have now has the same setup with the bottom broiler. What I do is bake the regular way and then stick in the broiler for a little while just to brown the top. Sort of a pain to watch constantly so it doesnt burn, but that works for me. But the nice thing is if the power should go out, I can still cook.

 

[launderess]

Our Range Has A Simple Gas Oven As Well

If you make lots of pizzas you may wish to invest in a good quality pizza stone. You can bake pizzas, rolls, breads and other items right on the stone and it give near "Papa John's" results. Plus if you leave the stone in the oven (it goes on the lowest rack,not the oven floor), it helps to equalise the oven temp.

Using a thermometer will allow you to see if your oven is properly calibrated as well. If you set the dial for say 350F and the thermometer reads above or below by more than a few degrees then your oven's internal thermostat is off. Usually owner's manuals will speak to how to make adjustments.

For baking I find things are best done at the lowest or center rack position. If you haven't done so already get a good quality oven thermometer and check the temp of your oven at various levels. All non-convection ovens have not and cold spots to some degree. This can work well if you know where they are so you can tailor the area to suit whatever you are baking/roasting.

For gas ovens such as these remember heat comes from the bottom of the oven (under the floor) and rises, thus the lower part of the oven is usually a bit warmer due to natural convection air flows.

F

 

[wayupnorth]

My neighbors have one of those stones and it does a do a great job on pizza, Laundress. I have thought about getting one sometime. I also have 2 oven thermometers in different places in the cavity and my oven thermostat is right on the money