Oven Baking Unevenly? Let's Fix That!
It's time to get even with your oven...
Is food coming out of your oven undercooked in some areas, or just not as well-done as it should be? Suspicious that your oven is not heating properly? An oven that bakes or cooks unevenly is likely to be a huge issue for a lot of reasons, but we have good news! We may have cracked the code on why it happens!
What Can I Do First?
Before we get ahead of ourselves and start naming off parts to replace within the oven itself, let's go over a preliminary step you can take to find out more about your appliance.
Check for Hot-Spots: The Bread Test
The bread test is an easy and sure-fire way to figure out exactly where your oven is hottest and where it's not. Preheat your oven to 350F, then take a loaf of bread and spread slices over one of your oven racks. Set a timer and watch the bread cook for 5 minutes. Once the the 5 minutes are up, you can see exactly where your oven is hottest, and where it isn't! If there are any issues, or spots where the bread is hardly cooked, that's your signal to calibrate your oven sensor.
Next Steps to Fix Your Oven
Fix #1: You Need to Level Your Oven
Often times, an oven that's not baking evenly can be caused by something as simple but as subtle as your oven not being level. Now this can be either be an internal, or external issue. Internally, your oven racks can either be uneven due to improperly being put onto their respective rack-inserts, or the racks themselves can bend over time and use. Either way, you should likely make sure that your oven racks are not bent, and being put in correctly.
Externally, your oven's legs can be uneven, causing whatever's inside to gradually shift to one side, causing an uneven cooking of your food. We recommend just for own assurance that you place a level inside your oven to make sure it is level before making any alterations to your oven's feet. If, for whatever reason, your oven's feet are either broken or not present, you can find a genuine replacement part. But if your oven is level and you'd still like to get to the bottom of this situation, we'd recommend you read the next two steps to take for your oven!
Fix #2: Your Oven Thermostat is Defective
Oven thermostats are simple devices - yet they are also the most likely cause for why your oven is baking unevenly or not heating properly! In this case, we'd recommend getting a thermometer and letting it sit in your oven whilst it gets to a desired temperature (i.e. 350F). If the temperature isn't close, the sensor/thermostat could be the issue. You can calibrate your oven's temperature setting on the control board, but if needed, you can check out our wide range of OEM thermostats and sensors if yours needs replacing!
Fix #3: Control Board OR Gas Ignitor Have Failed
Either of these problems are not easily fixed, which is exactly why they're listed after the more simple and easy to remedy solutions. If your control board simply isn't getting your oven to the correct temperature with accuracy and precision like the previous step required, or if the gas ignitor in your gas oven has aged beyond the point of proper functionality - it may be time to call a technician to get them replaced.
What Now?
Well hopefully now you've solved your issue - just in time for an oven-heavy baking and cooking season! But if your oven is still baking and cooking unevenly after all that you've done up until this point - there's likely something else that could potentially be wrong. We recommend you take a look at our repair center for any possible DIY fixes you can do, otherwise we would recommend you certainly contact a technician before completely replacing your range.
