patb12•24d ago

Burned my brioche crust three times before I tried a cheap oven thermometer

I was at a farmer's market booth in Portland last fall giving out samples, and my brioche kept coming out with a blackened top even though I followed the recipe exactly. After ruining three batches, I grabbed a $8 oven thermometer from a hardware store on Hawthorne. Turns out my oven runs 50 degrees hotter than it says. Now I never trust the dial, and I check the temp before every bake. Has anyone else had their oven secretly lie to them like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

tarar2724d agoTop Commenter

I used to think oven thermometers were unnecessary, just something extra to buy. But after a year of wondering why my cookies spread too thin, I finally checked and my oven was running 25 degrees cold the whole time. That little thermometer changed everything for me.

elizabethtaylor24d ago

Gotta admit, I was exactly the same way. I thought oven thermometers were just another gadget people bought to feel like a real baker. Then I spent months wondering why my bread would come out doughy in the middle no matter what I did. Finally borrowed my neighbor's thermometer out of sheer frustration and found out my oven was running 30 degrees hot. My bread went from gummy to perfect in one bake after that. So yeah, I eat my words on that one.