PEK Academy
Guides to how temperature, steam, airflow, rack position, and time affect crust, edges, and the center of baked food. Helps distinguish proper browning from rapid drying or premature surface setting.
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Core guide
Bake bread as a sequence of phases rather than at one fixed temperature: preheat thoroughly, use strong initial heat and short early steam for oven spring, then vent moisture and reduce the heat so the crumb sets without…
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Start with 500 g wheat flour, 350 g water, 10 g salt, and 5 g instant yeast. Hold back some water with unfamiliar flour, build dough strength, end fermentation by visible progress…
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Convection is not universally better: moving air increases heat transfer. When converting a conventional-bake recipe, about 25°F (15°C) lower is a common US starting point, while…
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Manage moisture in two phases. Early in the bake, keep the surface humid enough that the crust does not set before oven spring is largely complete. Then vent the steam and finish in a drier oven.
Cut parchment to fit the pan, keep loose edges away from heating elements and follow the maximum temperature printed by the manufacturer.
Air fryer cake is least likely to dry out when the pan leaves room for airflow, the batter is not too deep and baking stops according to the centre rather than a universal time.
A water bath buffers direct heat around the baking pan and increases oven humidity, helping delicate egg-set mixtures cook more evenly and dry out less at the edges.
For a lean wheat loaf, start in a thoroughly preheated oven at about 230–250°C (446–482°F), then reduce to roughly 200–220°C (392–428°F) after the initial oven spring and vent or remove steam.
The most repeatable approach is a thoroughly preheated oven, steam early, a dry finish, and rack cooling. A covered Dutch oven is one of the easiest ways to create a stable steam environment at home.
Do not multiply baking time by the same factor used to scale the ingredients. If scaling the recipe into a larger pan keeps batter depth about the same, keep the recipe temperature and start checking around the…
Steam at the start of the bake keeps the dough surface moist and flexible, giving the loaf more room to expand, helping scores open, and preventing the crust from limiting oven spring too early.
Do not judge an oven from one reading. Place the sensor near the centre of the rack, observe at least three complete heating cycles after stabilisation, and average evenly timed readings.
Control crust color in phases: steam keeps the surface flexible early in the bake; after oven spring, bread needs a drier finishing phase.