Oven baking and grilling

Oven baking

The basic rule with ovens is that an increase in temperature does a lot more than a short increase in time. That means you shouldn't mess with temperatures to get things cooked faster as you are likely to destroy the outside of a dish while the inside is potentially still uncooked.

In general, food that needs reheating or cooking for a half hour will tend to be ok at 180 C; however frozen oven chips will need 220 C and Yorkshire puddings will need as hot as you are prepared to go! Most cake recipes are clear on their requirements - follow the recommendations.

Fan ovens cook at an equivalent 20 C higher so you will often see recommendations for fan ovens 20 C lower. The fan cover at the back of the oven should be used for most foods but removed for cakes.

Grilling

Grilling is particularly suited for melting cheese or getting a topping crispy and golden. It applies heat only to the top of a dish so will not cook a deep dish of food well but will be excellent for thin dishes.