The importance of oven regulation cannot be overestimated. Good food can easily be completely ruined in baking. A tender, juicy roast can be changed into a tough, dry piece of meat. Perfectly made pastry may become tough and soggy in the baking. Breakfast breads will be light or heavy, depending upon the oven heat. All this has been realized by many stove manufacturers, and devices have been installed which will guide the housewife in the operation of the oven. Tables of temperatures refer to a thermometer placed inside the oven, as near the center as possible. These figures cannot always be followed exactly, with the attachments placed in oven doors, etc. But a very little study will soon enable the operator to know just what the indicator should register for the different heats. For example, biscuits require a hot oven, 450 degrees Fahrenheit. This would mean the degrees of heat registered by a thermometer placed in the oven. A thermometer placed on the oven door would be affected by the colder air of the room, so it would probably be necessary to allow the indicator to reach 500 degrees Fahrenheit. This can readily be determined after a few trials. For these attachments the table of temperatures will only serve as a guide.

For those who have no oven regulator, and who experience difficulty in managing the oven, I would suggest purchasing an oven thermometer. It will soon pay for itself in the saving of food, will give the inexperienced housewife more confidence, and enable her to attempt dishes she formerly felt were impossible.

A gas oven should not be lighted until just before it is to be used, depending upon how hot an oven is desired. With two burners lighted, 8 to 10 minutes should make the oven very hot, and 5 to 6 minutes is sufficient for a medium heat. Of course, this will vary somewhat, depending on the type of range and the quality and pressure of the gas.

All food materials are poor conductors of heat, and it takes time for the heat to penetrate. The length of time and temperature will depend upon the size and thickness of the food. A cake baked in a brick-shaped pan - producing a cake like a loaf of bread, high and narrow - will take twice as long to bake as the same cake baked in a shallow pan. The brick-shaped loaf also requires much more skill to bake than does the cake baked in a shallow pan. In baking flour mixtures, the larger the mass the lower the temperature must be in order to have the heat penetrate to the center before a crust has been formed. If a cake is placed in too hot an oven, it forms a crust before it has risen sufficiently. This affects the texture of the cake and produces a cake high in the center and thin on the edges. It can readily be seen that it is necessary to overbake the cake at the edges in order to bake the center. This will mean a waste, because the edges will be either burned or so crisp and hard it must be removed.

Thin loaves of bread or cake and small pieces of meat need much less time for cooking, because the heat penetrates quickly. Mixtures containing much sugar or molasses burn easily. Foods containing a large proportion of eggs require a low temperature, or they will become tough. An oven filled with food from which a quantity of steam is being given off requires more heat than when only one small dish of food is being baked.

When roasting meat, the careful housewife will plan to utilize the heat for other foods, too - potatoes, pudding, or even vegetables. If the meat is to be broiled, then advantage should be taken of the hot oven, having biscuits, cornbread, or a shortcake. A little study will work out all these problems and lessen both the fuel bills and labor.

Most housewives use too hot an oven, particularly when gas is used. One must bear in mind that if the gas is left burning high, the oven heat will increase very rapidly. After the oven has reached the heat desired - hot, medium, or slow - turn the gas down until just a small flame is visible. The oven will then maintain an even heat. Of course, it will be necessary to vary this rule somewhat, depending upon the size and quantity of the food and how long it is to be baked. Very few foods require a hot oven for any length of time. A tender roast of meat needs a hot oven to cause it to brown at once, so as to form a crust which will keep the juices from escaping. As soon as this crust is formed (10 to 15 minutes), the heat should be reduced and only a medium oven is necessary for the remainder of the cooking. Biscuits require a hot oven for the entire time of baking - about 18 minutes for the medium-sized ones. All other breakfast breads need a fairly hot oven. Cakes need only a medium oven, and the richer the cake batter, the slower the mixture should bake.

Wood and coal ranges are regulated in about the same manner, the oven being heated to the right temperature beforehand and adding more fuel in small quantities only as required to keep an even heat.

To test the oven without a thermometer, take a piece of white paper. Place in the oven after it has been heated 10 minutes, reducing the heat, if using gas. If the paper burns black in 5 minutes, the oven is very hot; if it burns a deep brown, it is hot. For the medium oven the paper should be a golden brown in 5 minutes. For a slow oven it should barely turn the most delicate brown in 5 minutes.

All of these tests need a little study, and each person will have to work out their own problem, but these guides are an aid in regulating the oven.

Oven Temperatures

These temperatures are for gas stoves, and should be lowered about 50 deg. F. for a wood and coal range.