Can we talk about the whole 'never open the oven door' rule?

My grandma always told me opening the oven door while baking bread would ruin the rise. I followed that for years until my buddy, who runs a bakery in Denver, said I was being too careful. He said I should peek after 10 minutes to check color and adjust temp if needed. Last week I tried his way with a sourdough loaf and it came out fine, maybe even better than usual. But now I'm wondering if I just got lucky or if the rule is actually overblown. Anyone else gotten conflicting advice about oven door timing and had different results?

2 comments

2 Comments

danieltaylor28d agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, I once opened the oven to check on cookies and the whole batch turned into frisbees. That rule might be overblown, but I still treat my oven like it's a sacred temple.

schmidt.amy28d ago

Nah, I peek all the time and my cookies turn out fine.