Some recipe instructions seem like no-brainers: mix ingredients together, you gotta do that. But others, such as pre-heating the skillet, washing your salad greens, or moving the oven rack around, might not feel as mandatory. While there are some steps we're okay skipping, most of the instructions in recipes are there for a reason. Pre-heating your skillet, it's soo key for proper browning. Lettuce washing, you should probably do that unless you want a mouth full of dirt. And moving your oven rack around, well, there's also a pretty good reason do do that too.
In fact, that last one, especially in baking, can make or break a recipe. Try baking a pizza on the top rack of your oven and you just won't get that crispy bottom crust. Bake a tray of cookies on the bottom rack, and it's pretty likely you'll have burnt bottoms. But move the rack into the right place, and your food will be more likely to cook right, too. When in doubt (or when your recipe fails to mention a rack location), here are some general guidelines to follow.
For rich, even browning, stick with the top rack. Once the oven is preheated, the heating element on the bottom of the oven turns off and on throughout baking to maintain an even temperature. Meanwhile, heat rises from the heating element at the bottom of the oven and collects at the top, so it's actually more consistently hotter up there. All that top-level heat is ideal for dishes you want to brown on top, like casseroles, gratins, and crisps. For even more color, turn the broiler on during the last minute or so of cooking.
When in doubt, stick with the middle ground. For most baking and cooking situations, the middle rack will cook and bake food more evenly. But keep in mind, this rule applies only when you're baking on one rack at a time. For baking on multiple racks, consider...
When baking two baking sheets at once, arrange the racks on the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Halfway through cooking, rotate the trays and swap to ensure even cooking. This move is especially useful when baking multiple batches of cookies.
If you want to brown the underside of your roasted vegetables, bread, or crusty pizza, move the rack to the lowest position, which is closest to the heat source. Food Director Rhoda Boone especially likes to start fruit pies on a preheated baking sheet in the bottom rack, because it helps the bottom crust get nicely browned! Just one more win racked up for the rack.
