How to Calibrate an Oven

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By KittyJ
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Did you burn that last batch of chocolate chip cookies, even though you followed the recipe precisely? Maybe that roasted chicken was undercooked, even though you left it in the oven longer than the recipe suggested? The problem may be an oven that is set too high or too low in temperature. Follow these instructions to calibrate your oven.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Digital oven thermometer
Screwdriver

Step 1

First, you need to determine how far off in temperature the oven is set. Get a good quality digital oven thermometer, install it in your oven, and set the oven to 350 degrees F. When the oven indicates it is at the proper temperature, check the reading on the thermometer.
Step 2

Once you know how inaccurate your oven is, you can attempt to adjust it. If your oven has a calibration gauge right on its knob, you can attempt to repair it. If it does not, call a qualified appliance repair person.
Step 3

Remove the oven temperature knob by pulling it from its shaft.
Step 4

Take note of the current setting, and move the directional arrow in either direction to adjust the temperature up or down. You may have to remove a few screws to do this. Moving the arrow one notch usually adjusts the temperature by 10 degrees.

Tips & Warnings

You may want to leave the thermometer in your oven permanently, especially if you bake often.

Comments

KangaNRoo said

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on 10/11/2009 Thank you! I found out that my oven is 75 degrees (!!!) too hot shortly after I moved into this place-and that was almost a year ago! Time to fix it!