Are you tired of unevenly cooked meals from your electric oven? Before calling for takeout, consider other potential issues, such as improper rack positioning, not keeping the oven door closed, or even a burned-out bake element. Learn how to troubleshoot and fix the problem of your electric oven not cooking evenly for perfectly cooked meals every time.
Why is My Electric Oven Not Cooking Evenly?
If heat isn’t distributed evenly in an oven, it can cause your food to cook unevenly. Reposition your oven racks, keep the door closed, and test for hot spots to improve heat distribution.
How do You Distribute Heat Evenly in an Oven?
Changing a few simple things in your cooking routine can help distribute heat evenly in your oven.
Keep the Door Closed
An effective solution for uneven cooking in an oven is to minimize opening the door. To ensure even cooking, resist the urge to check on your food and keep the door closed as much as possible to prevent heat from escaping.
Use the Center Rack
For even airflow, place items on the center rack. If you’re cooking more than one thing, rotate them halfway through the cook-time. Take note of your oven rack placement and adjust the racks as needed for more even cooking. If adjusting the placement of your food doesn’t seem to help, your oven may have hot spots. Luckily, these are easy to test for.
Check Oven for Hot Spots
The easiest way to check your oven for hotspots is to test it with bread. Preheat the oven and place six pieces of bread on an oven rack and monitor. If your oven has hotspots, some pieces will be more cooked than others.
Broken Temperature Sensor
Another common reason for an electric oven not cooking evenly is a broken temperature sensor. The temperature sensor monitors the internal oven temperature, signaling the control board for more or less heat to maintain the set temperature.
If the sensor breaks over time or is faulty, the control board can’t read these signals and adjust the temperature.
Recalibrate Oven and Test the Temperature
Incorrect temperature settings or uncalibrated ovens can cause uneven baking. The manufacturer calibrates the oven control board to respond to your set temperature. Test the temperature and then calibrate the oven if needed.
To test the oven’s calibration, set it to a particular temperature, and use a separate oven thermometer to measure its accuracy. If it isn’t accurate, you may need to recalibrate it. Refer to your Owner’s Manual for instructions on calibrating your oven.
Inspect Bake Element
After checking the temperature calibration, inspect the oven’s bake element for visible damage such as breaks or blistering. The bake element, located at the bottom of the oven, works with the broil element at the top to provide even heat during cooking. If the bake element is burned out, only the broil element above will provide heat, resulting in undercooked food that is not browned on the bottom. A burned-out bake element cannot be repaired and requires professional replacement to fix the electric oven not cooking evenly.
Check Oven Fan
If your oven is not cooking evenly, check the fan. A broken fan in convection ovens can cause uneven cooking. The fan is responsible for circulating hot air, promoting faster and more even cooking. A professional may need to replace fan blades that don’t turn freely.
The oven repair experts at Mid America can help when you find your electric oven not cooking evenly. Call us for fast and reliable service!
