Unpopular opinion: Grandma's oven thermometer trick ruined my bread

My grandma swore I didn't need to spend money on a fancy digital oven thermometer. She said just put a cheap metal one in there and adjust the dial until it reads 350. I tried that for a month and my sourdough loaves kept coming out with gummy centers and burnt crusts. Finally I bought a ThermoPro for like 15 bucks and found out my oven runs 40 degrees hotter than the dial says. Now I'm wondering if grandmothers just get used to eating mediocre bread or if there's some secret technique I'm missing. Anyone else have a family member give you baking advice that was totally wrong?

2 comments

2 Comments

henry_kelly5416d ago

My buddy Jacob had the same thing happen with his grandma's pie crust recipe, swore by ice water but she never measured it and his always came out like cardboard until he figured out she used like half a cup less flour than the recipe said. Turns out grandmas just eyeball everything and forget they've been doing it for 50 years.

noahs8215d ago

Subbed out half the flour with almond flour once. Made it way easier to handle the dough without it getting tough. Also learned to chill the butter in the freezer for ten minutes before cutting it in. Little things made a bigger difference than I expected.