Watch the video: Preheating the oven – when it really makes sense and when it doesn’t.
For many dishes it is recommended to preheat the oven.
The reason: In order to provide information about cooking time, cookbook authors and food manufacturers have to use a guideline.
More precise information can be given with a preheated oven.
But preheating the oven uses a lot of energy – and for many dishes it’s not even necessary.
Dishes where the crust only forms later can be put in the oven straight away without any loss of taste.
For cakes, home-baked bread, casseroles or frozen foods, you can avoid preheating.
We recommend preheating dishes that are prepared in a short time and at high temperatures.
These include fish and meat, soufflé and biscuit dough.
By the way: You can save even more electricity by using circulating air instead of top and bottom heat.
However, cooking on the stove requires the least amount of energy, as it only requires a quarter of the energy of the oven.