Heard a pro baker say 'don't trust your oven's display' and now I check everything with a thermometer

I was at a workshop in Portland last Saturday and the instructor showed us how her oven was actually 50 degrees off from what the panel said. She said most ovens drift by at least 15-20 degrees after a year or two of use. Has anyone else had a similar experience with their oven temp being way off?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_emma19d ago

Wait, do you think the oven display is just bad or could it be that the actual temperature sensor inside is failing too? I've heard those cheap thermocouples they use can drift just as bad as the thermostat in the display. A guy at a repair shop told me he's seen ovens where the actual temperature swings 30 degrees even after you calibrate it because the sensor itself is worn out. That would make the display accurate but the real heat still wrong. So maybe the fix isn't just checking with a thermometer but replacing that little sensor probe thing that sticks into the oven cavity.

the_eva11d ago

Oh great, so now I gotta worry about the oven having a little temperature conspiracy going on inside. Like the display is lying to me and the sensor is just gaslighting me into thinking my cookies are done. "Oh yeah, it's 350 in here, totally fine." Meanwhile the real temp is throwing a rave at 380. I swear if I have to replace one more tiny probe thing on a kitchen appliance I'm gonna lose it. Next thing you know the oven will have a mood ring instead of a thermostat.

jenkins.reese19d ago

@the_emma that's a solid point, my old oven had the exact same issue with that sensor probe.