The Oven Rack Mistake Bakers Should Avoid According To Mary Berry

Perhaps more than any other form of cooking, baking is a science in which accuracy is key, and any rogue variable can lead to disastrous results. The humidity of the air, the heat flow of your oven, and even the temperature of your eggs can have a huge effect on baked goods, and can even mean the difference between a treat that is incredible and inedible. If you're a regular home baker, you may have already picked up on a few tips to make your recipes more precise, like weighing out your ingredients instead of using liquid measurements, and properly adjusting your oven temperature. Another way to ensure you get the best results from your baking is to place your creations on the correct oven rack. According to British celebrity chef Mary Berry, the middle rack is the right place for cakes.

Berry is best known in the States for her role as a judge on "The Great British Bake Off," so she knows a thing or two about baking things right. Per her website, if a cake is put on the top rack of the oven it may split open. She explains that this is because "the crust is formed too soon, the cake continues to rise, therefore the crust cracks."

Whether you're making cheffy pizzas with deliciously unexpected toppings or the perfect red velvet cake, oven placement matters. The closer food is to the bottom or top of the oven, the closer it is to the heating elements which may crisp up your dish by providing too much heat to those areas. That's fine for cuts of meat or casseroles that benefit from being charred, but it can seriously and unevenly overcook your delicate confections. Baked goods like cookies, cakes, muffins, and banana bread do best when heated evenly from all sides, which is why you should bake them on the middle oven rack.

In some cases, switching your food from one rack to another can make the end result better. For example, if you're baking a pie, start by putting it on the middle rack until it's cooked through, then place it on the bottom rack for a few minutes to give the crust a more solid texture. The world of baking can be complicated, but thankfully star bakers like Mary Berry are there to make it a bit easier. As long as you're following her advice, try out Berry's go-to technique for softening butter, and never underestimate your oven's middle rack.