It's very common here that people store stuff inside their oven (usually oven trays and other stuff that you would usually use in an oven). But I've never heard of people leaving stuff there when their actually using the oven. Glad you were able to make it work.…and the problem is solved. Science, FTW!
Let me start at the beginning: first, I went to my trusty owner’s manual, and there I found a handy-dandy chart that told me my oven should reach 450F in 20-25 minutes. Mine clocks in at 39 minutes and some seconds.
Hmmmm…
Reading through the possible causes…is the door seal leaking? Nope, no heat escaping around the door. Am I opening the door to watch it heat up (seriously?)? Nope, I don’t need to check how done the air is.
Is my kitchen unusually cold? Actually, yes it is much colder than the rest of the house, but I can’t really fix that. Are there other items in the oven that may be slowing down the heating cycle?
Wait a minute…
Further reading reveals that if you have other things in your oven, they can absorb heat as the oven is generating it, possibly significantly extending the heating time. They even recommend removing any racks not being used, which seems a little ridiculous to me, but that’s what they say.
What do I store in my oven? Let’s see…why, there’s a 7” cast iron skillet, that probably can absorb a bit, and a 12” cast iron skillet, that can probably absorb quite a bit more…and, oh yeah, my 2” thick 16-pound 16” square pizza stone!
Took out the skillets, wrestled out the pizza stone, set the cold oven to 450F, kicked off a stopwatch, and 17 minutes and 27 seconds later, oven was up to temp.
That’s what’s been causing my long preheat times all along. Funny thing is, all the pizza enthusiasts say to keep your stone (or steel) in the oven full time, because it helps the oven hold temp more evenly…but none of them mention the increase in heating time, and of course, I have a behemoth of a stone, not one of those thin department store stones, and I keep two cast iron skillets in there as well.
I’m surprised it only took 40 minutes with all that in there.
Good work. I wouldn't have thought of that. But...what are you going to do with the skillets and pzza stone?…and the problem is solved. Science, FTW!
Let me start at the beginning: first, I went to my trusty owner’s manual, and there I found a handy-dandy chart that told me my oven should reach 450F in 20-25 minutes. Mine clocks in at 39 minutes and some seconds.
Hmmmm…
Reading through the possible causes…is the door seal leaking? Nope, no heat escaping around the door. Am I opening the door to watch it heat up (seriously?)? Nope, I don’t need to check how done the air is.
Is my kitchen unusually cold? Actually, yes it is much colder than the rest of the house, but I can’t really fix that. Are there other items in the oven that may be slowing down the heating cycle?
Wait a minute…
Further reading reveals that if you have other things in your oven, they can absorb heat as the oven is generating it, possibly significantly extending the heating time. They even recommend removing any racks not being used, which seems a little ridiculous to me, but that’s what they say.
What do I store in my oven? Let’s see…why, there’s a 7” cast iron skillet, that probably can absorb a bit, and a 12” cast iron skillet, that can probably absorb quite a bit more…and, oh yeah, my 2” thick 16-pound 16” square pizza stone!
Took out the skillets, wrestled out the pizza stone, set the cold oven to 450F, kicked off a stopwatch, and 17 minutes and 27 seconds later, oven was up to temp.
That’s what’s been causing my long preheat times all along. Funny thing is, all the pizza enthusiasts say to keep your stone (or steel) in the oven full time, because it helps the oven hold temp more evenly…but none of them mention the increase in heating time, and of course, I have a behemoth of a stone, not one of those thin department store stones, and I keep two cast iron skillets in there as well.
I’m surprised it only took 40 minutes with all that in there.
Well, now that I know the answer, I’m leaving it all in there…besides, I have an air fryer if I’m in a pinch for time!
Seriously, they serve a purpose. You may like it, and they’re not so expensive as to break the bank if you don’t.
'No comment' is a splendid expression. I am using it again and again.
