where am I?
Baking in a Two Oven Aga
Answer
Dear Gill
BAKING IN A TWO OVEN AGA
You are right - the top oven is good and hot, which is exactly what you need for roasting and cooking certain baking day goodies. A hot oven is essential for puff, flaky and choux pastry. Fruit pies benefit from a hot oven too, but are best cooked low down to allow them to brown at a slower rate. If their fruit filling started off raw, once attractively browned, transfer to the simmering oven for 40 minutes to finish off the fruit. But not all baking needs such a hot oven, so what do you do? It`s very simple: with an Aga you don`t set the heat....you find it. So positioning food at the correct level in the oven is the way to obtain every possible temperature you might need.
For moderate and very moderate temperatues in the roasting oven you use a low down position (either the lowest set of runners using an Aga roasting tin as a "carrier" for your muffins or whatever, or on a sheet on the grid shelf on the floor of the oven, using a cold plain shelf above on the second set of runners down to cut off top heat (the browning effect from the very top of the oven). Here are some pointers to help you get started. As always, check the Aga Book for a similar recipe to see where to cook different cakes.
Scones cook brilliantly near the top of the oven, and a Swiss Roll is a star turn baked in the coolest part of that oven, which is on the grid shelf on the floor of the oven.
Cakes requiring a more moderate temperature just need to be cooked there on the grid shelf on the floor with the COLD plain shelf slid in on the runners above (this should always be stored in a the cool, never in the oven). This has the effect of shielding food underneath for 20-30 minutes from the browning effect that the top of the oven provides. A cold large Aga roasting tin will also serve. Foods requiring a higher heat may be cooked at the same time, in the top of the oven.
When having a baking session, start with foods needing the hottest treatment e.g. save biscuits until later.
Another method for some cakes is to start off in the top oven with the cold plain shelf above, and after say 20 minutes transfer the hot plain shelf to the simmering oven WITH THE TRANSFERRED CAKE TINS ON IT to finish off. The Aga Book gives examples of these.
Large cakes needing longer than 45 minutes should really be baked in an Aga Cakebaker on a two oven Aga. It doubles up as another saucepan and has 6", 7" and 8" tins. Preheat, and add the cake and cook as required. The internal temperature is roughly the moderate temperature of the Baking Oven on the larger three and four oven Aga cookers. You can cook high temperature food in the oven at the same time.
For very large rich fruit cakes, e.g. Christmas or Wedding, you can slow cook these in the bottom oven for the whole time, but do this during the day so you can keep an eye on things.
HAPPY BAKING
Best Wishes
Richard Maggs
THE AGA COOKERY DOCTOR
Related articles
-
Question Dear Richard, While on holiday in Brittany we visited Pont Aven. We bought a delicious local cake there but I don`t know the name and I`d love to find a recipe. It was rather like a danish pastry dough but very buttery,
-
Question Judy Elkins whats to know: I have recently moved and am now a new owner of an Aga. We have a number of Bramley apple trees and would like to know how to do the perfect baked apple. Many thanks Answer Richard Responds:
-
Basic Cookware Kit for Aga Cookers
Question Dear Richard, We are in the process of moving to a house which has an Aga and need some advice on cookware. What do you suggest is the basic kit we need for cooking on an Aga, having never used one before? Many thanks
-
Question Dear Richard, I am waiting for my first `Aga` to be installed in the next few weeks (a re-conditioned two-oven model). It will arrive with shelves, large and small roasting pans and the toaster. I already have a
-
Question Richard Can you tell me what Lamb Henry is please? <br>Thank you<br>Michael Smith Answer Dear Michael LAMB HENRY Lamb Henry is a delicious casserole. It is important to include the pieces of bone
Question
Dear Richard, I am new to Aga cooking and most things are turning out brilliantly, but I could do with some help on the baking front. I am using a 2 oven Aga and the top oven seems awfully hot. Any tips? Gill Jones, Lincoln