A gas oven does not bake well: why does the oven not bake from above and below and how can this be eliminated

Vasily Borutsky
Checked by a specialist: Vasily Borutsky
Author: Bedrentseva
Last update: November 2019

In order for the dish to turn out to be well-prepared, you need to choose the right temperature for cooking. But what to do if, with the right temperature, the gas oven doesn’t bake well - the food on the lower side of the pan burns, but does not bake on top? Agree, buying a new oven is not the best option. How can we correct the situation if the equipment has ceased to bake, fry and perform their work functions?

These are the issues we will discuss in our article - we will talk about the causes of poor baking and provide detailed recommendations for resolving various problems. We will also tell how using improvised means you can deal with a violation of the distribution of heat in the oven.

The main causes of poor baking

Each gas oven has a burner located at the bottom. This is where the main heat comes from. Some models are additionally equipped convection fans, and gas ovens of the old model do not have them at all. Such fans are designed to evenly distribute heat throughout the oven.

Almost all household appliances sooner or later fail, and pies and other dishes that the hostess so carefully prepares do not bake or burn. But, regardless of whether you get an expensive oven, or an old model, the problem of poor baking can be solved.

Problem # 1 - camera leakage

One of the reasons for the uneven baking of pies, cakes and other things in a gas oven, according to experts, is chamber leakage. In this case, the food will be cooked for a long time due to insufficient heat, which will gradually go away. The cake will not fry on top, since the main heat comes from the bottom, and when depressurized, it will completely disappear.

The problem may be related to broken glasslack of additional heat resistant glassinsufficient fitting door oven or thin factory thermal insulation.

Insulated Ovens
Some gas ovens have thin factory insulation, which allows heat to pass through. If a fact is discovered, it is better to seek the help of a specialist in order to replace the existing insulation material with better

But, do not rush to disassemble the oven, first you should exclude the weak contact of the oven door itself. The whole point of this malfunction lies in door clamping mechanism. It is simple and straightforward, so you can fix everything yourself.

The solution to the problem in this case is:

  • Disassemble the door. Care must be taken to avoid dropping individual parts, especially glass.
  • We clean the clamping mechanism from dirt, check for damage (defects). If everything is in order, then lubricate it and collect it.

These manipulations help to establish the overall functionality of the mechanism, making the clamp tight and the stroke soft.

Problem # 2 - automation does not maintain temperature

A lot of problems can be connected with gas technology - sometimes gas doesn’t flow well, the oven goes outburner burns badlyor leakage occurs. Therefore, it is extremely important to observe safety measures when operating gas-powered equipment.

Gas oven with electric grill
If your gas oven is equipped with a convection function, then it should bake food as it should. So, the reason for the poor functionality of the technique should be excluded, and look in something else

However, there are a number of malfunctions with which the problem of unsatisfactory cooking may be associated. So, many owners of gas ovens complain that automation does not maintain the set temperature. As a result, when choosing the right temperature, the food does not have time to cook. In this case, the situation can be triggered by various breakdowns.

These include:

  • wear of the insulation located in the walls of the oven;
  • deformation of rubber door seals;
  • burner breakdown;
  • violation of heat transfer of the bottom sheet of the oven;
  • weak fit of the door, etc.

Some of these failures are quite difficult and dangerous to fix on their own. Therefore, it is advisable to consult a specialist gas company. Diagnosis of these malfunctions is simple and consists in a thorough inspection of the equipment.

Problem # 3 - Thermostat Unbalance

If during the verification process it was not possible to identify any such defect, then the reason may be thermostat breakdown. So, when the knob is set to a certain position, the required temperature is set. If this does not happen, then the thermostat can be considered unbalanced.

It can not be repaired either independently or with the help of professionals. The only solution is to replace the thermostat.

A gas oven does not bake well: why does the oven not bake from above and below and how can this be eliminated
The gas oven thermostat is responsible for maintaining the desired temperature in the oven and the necessary heating - uniform and intense

Problem # 4 - violation of operating conditions

The food in the oven does not always burn, or does not bake due to technical malfunctions of the household appliance. These may be reasons associated with its improper use. Sometimes, for some reason, a gas oven does not bake from below - the food burns from above, but from below it remains raw. This is faced by most housewives.

Here are the main reasons why a gas oven sometimes bakes badly or burns the bottom of the dish during cooking:

  • Disruption of hot air circulation in the oven. With a normal distribution of heat in the “oven”, the bottom, for example, of the pie, should not burn, and the top should be blushed. The cause of poor heat circulation can be an extra (empty) baking dish / pan in the oven.
  • Unsuitable pan. Too large a baking sheet can cause spoiled food. It practically leaves no gaps, which means it disrupts the circulation of heat inside the oven.
  • Frequent “peeks” inside the oven. When you open the door, heat will escape. This will violate the optimal cooking temperature. Especially sad consequences of “peeking” for baking — the test falls off, does not bake inside and burns from below. The top in this case will remain pale.

It is also important to monitor the temperature. It is not enough to set a more intensive mode to quickly prepare a culinary masterpiece - if this is a dough, then it will not bake inside (it does not have enough time), but from below it will become burnt.

Simple solutions to the problem of burning

If all the operating conditions of the gas oven are met - there are no unnecessary empty baking sheets, the oven does not open during cooking - then you can use a simple solution to the problem - put a container of water.

The figure below illustrates this method.

Dish with water in the lower tier of the oven
Water prevents the burning of food by evaporation. Even if there are no additional heat dispensers in your oven, the container with liquid will fulfill this role, not allowing the bottom of the dish to burn from intense and localized fire

It should be said that this method is only suitable for fast food. Water tends to evaporate, so you have to top it up if necessary, which means opening the oven. But, since this is extremely undesirable, this solution is suitable for fast-cooking dishes. For them, this method is ideal.

How else to prevent burning from below?

If we consider the problem from a technical point of view, then, most often the problem lies in the improper distribution of heat. Perhaps your stove simply does not have additional heat stores or it does not have a top heater. This problem can be solved on their own. But for more serious situations, such as "fire attenuation", "no tanning", etc. a specialist from the gas company should be invited.

So that food does not burn during cooking, you can do the following:

  • Use stone. Many acquire stones and use them as an integral element in the preparation of many dishes.
  • Baking tray with salt. Another way is to place a baking sheet with coarse salt (rock) on the lowest level of the oven. It will take about 1.5 kg.

The properties of salt are heat absorption. This means that it resists incoming strong heat from below, and does not allow baking to burn. You can replace the salt with ordinary sand.

These methods are popular because they have proven their effectiveness in practice. They help better distribute heat in the oven. The food is cooked correctly: the bottom does not burn, and the top and the inside reaches full readiness.

But when using home methods for better heat distribution in a gas oven, one should not forget about fire safety.

Refractory brick in a gas oven
The stones mentioned above are not simple, and they serve as thermal buffers. Their structure is porous, and the heat capacity is high. Therefore, the stone contributes to uniform baking. They are made of fireclay clay, which was previously used for masonry
Uniform heat distribution for good baking
This trick - using bricks or salt - creates a 100% guarantee of good baking. However, the proven and best alternative to brick is salt.

But sometimes eliminating burning from below is not enough. It happens that when cooking does not bake the top of the pie in a gas oven. What to do then?

Some users, when faced with this situation, increase the temperature, thereby exposing the bottom of the dish to burning. It is important not to overdo it with the temperature - let the dish cook at the right temperature.

Important oven baking tips

It matters not only what we cook in the oven, but also the correct selection of temperature, utensils and taking into account other points. It is also important to study the manufacturer's recommendations and follow the basic rules for using a gas oven, as set out in the instructions.Perhaps there is a moment in it that you forgot about, and it can be the cause of poorly prepared food.

Before cooking, we recommend that you do not forget about the following rules:

  1. No need to increase the temperature to the limitif the cake is not baked - this is the most common mistake of the hostesses. Most likely, the cake will be spoiled by burning from below. Each dish has its own temperature. For example, if the pie is large, the temperature is lower, but there is more time, and vice versa. The optimum is considered to be 180 ° C for large cakes and 210 ° C for small.
  2. Do not place the pan too close to the heat.. If the temperature in the oven is distributed correctly, then you need to set the shape in the middle.

Modern models of gas ovens that are equipped with convection fans do not require special rules. In them, the food is prepared almost perfectly. However, their cost is significantly higher.

Gas-fired ovens are a fairly reliable technique. If the equipment has stopped working correctly without baking the top or bottom, it is not necessary to immediately call a specialist. You can start with a thorough examination - in fact, in most cases, this problem can be dealt with on your own.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

A video about why the bottom of the dish burns, but the top does not blush:

The article reflected the most common problems with gas ovens, which sooner or later every housewife may encounter. The main thing is to diagnose malfunctions, and only then proceed to eliminate them.

If during the inspection you find a burner malfunction or other serious breakdown, you should contact a specialist. And if detected gas leak - call emergency service immediately.

You know the problem of bad baking, like no other? Tell us which method you used to eliminate it. Leave useful recommendations, ask questions to our experts and other users - the feedback form is located below.

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