Why Your Oven Rack Location Matters | America's Test Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Does oven rack placement matter? ›

Is oven rack placement important? Yes. Depending on how many rack placements are in your oven, positioning racks closer or farther from the heating elements has a direct impact on how your food cooks. Most standard, or conventional, ovens have heating elements located at the top and bottom of the oven.

For home chefs looking to maximise bench space, placing your ovens under bench is a safe bet. This oven arrangement also opens up options in terms of kitchen layout. The oven or pair of ovens could be located under a window, directly beneath the cooktop – the choice is yours.

The middle zone is a go-to when baking, and is typically a safe bet for foods like casseroles, cookies and pies. The bottom zone of the oven is ideal for roasting and baking crusty bread or pizza, while the top is ideal for broiling and toasting.

Most (if not all) ovens are hotter at the top than at the bottom. Thus, if you have two baking sheets in your oven, one on a higher rack and one on a lower rack, the one on the higher rack will cook faster. Therefore, it is important not only to rotate your pans from front to back, but also from top to bottom.

Make sure there is at least a 35 cm distance between the cooktop and the wall oven in order to prevent heat damage during cooking and ensure safety when doing so. Alternatively, oven placement in the kitchen below your cooktop creates an integrated cooking area.

Ovens. Electric ovens can be placed virtually anywhere you want and can even be placed in cupboards at waist height for added convenience. You just need to have a plug socket available for the oven to plug into and possibly its own ring main too. It may be worth consulting an electrician first before relocating it.

' For example, 'Wall ovens are typically installed at eye level within kitchen cabinets or within a wall niche,' says Nathaly Vieira, founder at Inspire Clean. 'This placement offers a seamless and ergonomic design, allowing you to access the oven without bending over.

Classic Pizza

Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Place pizza on middle rack. Do not use a pan or cookie sheet to bake pizza. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pizza is golden brown.

Rack positioning is key: Roasting your vegetables in the center of the oven will cook more evenly. Putting the pan on the top rack usually browns the food more. Putting the pan near the bottom rack gives the food more of a sauteing effect.

Bake muffins on the center rack in a preheated oven. Muffins require a hot oven, between 375°F and 425°F. Follow recipe directions. When baking more than one pan of muffins, allow enough room around each pan and between the pans and the sides of the oven for the heat to circulate.

Where to put cake in the oven? ›

The middle oven rack is the happy place where air is circulating, the heat sources are evenly distributed, and tops and bottoms aren't in danger of burning or browning too quickly. It's the perfect place for cakes, cookies, and brownies to stay and bake.

You would use the middle racks when you set your oven to "bake" for baked goods that you want to feel an even heat (not too hot on top, and not too hot on the bottom). The bottom rack is for recipes that require more directed heat on the bottom.

Because hot air rises, the top of the oven tends to be consistently hotter. However, the lower heating element heats in bursts so it may swing hotter, then cooler as you cook.

But, of course, the converse holds true, as well: if the top of your pie is browning too quickly, place it on a lower rack. Likewise, if the bottoms of your cookies are browning too quickly, put them on a higher rack. For most baking, positioning the food in the center of the oven is ideal.

The top oven rack is great for things you'd like a crusty brown top on… things like pies and casseroles. The middle oven rack is the happy place where air is circulating, the heat sources are evenly distributed, and tops and bottoms aren't in danger of burning or browning too quickly.

In a fan oven, you can typically cook on any shelf, but the ideal shelf placement may vary depending on what you're cooking. It's a good practice to follow the recommendations in your recipe or the oven's user manual.