Pre-heat & temperateure

Pre-heating for baking assumes that you bring the oven to the proper baking temperature regardless of how long it takes. I always follow the time and temperature recommendations in the recipe and then adjust them as necessary.

The answer to both questions is that it depends on:

what you use to make the cakes rise - I am assuming double acting baking powder

how long you are willing to bake them...

If the recipe specifies a preheated oven it means heated to baking temperature.

You can start baking earlier but will need to adfjust the baking time and you may get some changes to texture.

In addition, some electric ovens use both the bottom baking elements and top broiling elements to reduce the pre-heating time. If you put something in the oven while it is in pre-heat mode, you might be putting it under the broiler and exposing the bottom of the item to a prolonged, continuous heating creating a "rising heat" effect.

Thanks for the info.

Is there a general rule about using baking powder.

I'm just making oat cake, quite thick.

I've been using baking soda, which I think has a rather bitter taste, not sure if its that or not enough sugar.

What's double acting baking powder, and why use it.

Thanks

The general rule is to use what the recipe specifies: Baking POWDER or Baking SODA. They are NOT interchangeable. Baking POWDER has a balance of acid and base and will produce CO2 without regard to the rest of the ingredients. Baking SODA requires an acidic ingredient or nothing happens.

Double acting baking powder is a combination of two acid salts and baking soda. The first acid is soluble at room temperature and reacts with the baking soda immediately to produce CO2. The second salt only becomes soluble at an elevated temperature (in the oven) producing a second reaction and more gas. Double acting baking powder assures that the CO2 production is not exhausted before it is needed. This is especially true if you park the item outside the oven for an extended time (like when you forget to pre heat the oven) before baking.

Be sure to observe the expiration date on the baking powder as it will eventually become inactive. Replace as needed. Baking powder is far less expensive than the cost of one ruined cake.

Simplification but fairly accurate. Others may wish to provide more detail.

Baking soda works when a liquid acid hits it to activate it, and then it produces gas. Once used up it is gone, and, if you haven't gotten the mix into the oven in time, the mix can collapse before you even bake it.

Baking Powder is a mixture of baking soda and other chemicals that include the acid. It is formulated to produce gas when HEATED in the oven, so it is far more effective in giving gas when it is really needed, when the baking is starting. Therefore one uses baking powder instead of baking soda for certainty in getting that gas to actually generate when baking the mixture.

The double acting refers to the action based on the generation of gas when liquid hits [first action] and the generation of gas when the heat hits [second action].

RsH

-------------------------------------------------------------- >Thanks for the info.

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So many people don't want to wait! Give the oven lots of time to get up to temp. And, if you're using a baking stone, you should at least double the time!

My oven usually gets to the set temperature in about 15 minutes -- give or take, depending on the temp that is set. I usually try to give it some more time to settle down than just that.

'Course, it depends on what is going to be baked. If I'm putting in a casserole, then the pre-heat isn't critical -- just adjust the baking time a bit, if it looks desirable.

But, for baking bread, cake, pastry, etc. etc. I'm VERY careful to let the oven be pre-heated and all settled in before the things go into it. Those things are much more delicate, and the heat must be correct in order to get the desired results.

Alan Moorman

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I've never made oat cakes, but the sometimes bitter taste might be gone if you tried to find a yeast-rising oat cake recipe. Sounds like over-kill, but you might want to Google it and see if anything pops up.

Alan Moorman

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