Your RV Kitchen: Top Tips to Bake in Your Oven
09-27-2017
Author: in The Road Less Traveled
For many people, being able to cook in an actual kitchen while on the road is one of the many perks of RV ownership. Not only does it allow you to control the health and quality of your food, it reduces expenses. Plus, you get to embrace your inner campsite chef. Most people have their favorite methods from roasting on an open flame to grilling or even crock-potting. How many, however, claim to love their oven?
How It Works
First, your RV oven is generally smaller than the typical household equivalent. They're often about 17-inches wide by 15-inches high, but since this varies it's a good idea to actually measure the interior dimensions of yours. Expect to need smaller baking tins than you're used to. Plus, you probably won't be able to bake more than one item at a time so plan accordingly.
Third, you actually have to light your RV's oven with a lighter or match. Although the stovetop burners have a spark-light option, you have to manually light the oven. Just turn the gas on to the oven and bring your flame to the front of the rod where it comes out. If it doesn't light after a couple of minutes, turn off the gas and let it air out for a bit before trying again.
RV Oven Tips
There are several simple adjustments you can make to your cooking techniques and additions to your kitchen that greatly improve your success rates using an RV oven.
Use a Heat Stone. One of the biggest issues with the RV stove, is with the reduced interior height, it's easy to burn the bottom of whatever you're cooking because (unless you adjust the rack placement) it's fairly close to the heat source. By placing a heat stone on top of the metal plate at the bottom of your oven, you ensure the heat is evenly distributed throughout the oven. Just don't cover the ventilation holes on the sides.
Use an Oven-Safe Thermometer. You place these directly within the oven. This enables you to verify how close the actual temperature of your oven matches the setting. After you know this, you can adjust accordingly. For example, if your oven heats 10-degrees higher than the setting indicates, you can begin adjusting the setting to 10-degrees less than recipes suggest.
Make Sure to Preheat. Typically, it takes about 15-min to preheat an oven, but this is another reason to use an oven-safe thermometer. Preheating ensures the oven is properly heated to the correct temperature before you add the food. That way, you can more accurately time the dish. If your oven is heated less than 100% of the desired temperature, your 10-minute cookies are going to take a lot longer than 10 minutes, etc.
Rotate Your Food. Make sure your food cooks evenly by rotating your dish periodically. You can do this at specific increments throughout the cook time but it should at least be done halfway through. The dish should cook for the same amount of time facing front and back so both the left and right side (essentially the whole thing) is cooked to the same degree.
In Conclusion
As you can see, your oven doesn't have to be intimidating. With just a few precautions, you can easily be whipping up the best cookies in the campground. You may even decide to try your hand at a small turkey for Thanksgiving in your RV. Have fun and Bon Appétit!
Related Read: 10 Tips for Cooking in Your RV Kitchen (without losing your patience)
For one thing, it's suspiciously small. It's propane and it isn't always immediately evident how to light it, which makes it a bit scary. In fact, some people use theirs for purposes other than baking or remove them altogether. There's no reason to avoid the RV oven. If you baked when you were at your brick or stick house, you can enjoy that culinary activity on the road. Let's get to know your oven!How It Works
First, your RV oven is generally smaller than the typical household equivalent. They're often about 17-inches wide by 15-inches high, but since this varies it's a good idea to actually measure the interior dimensions of yours. Expect to need smaller baking tins than you're used to. Plus, you probably won't be able to bake more than one item at a time so plan accordingly.
Related Read: Baking in an RV Oven
Second, the oven uses propane. The flame comes out along a rod "heating element" from the rear to the front of the oven. Above the rod is a thin metal plate that is supposed to transfer and distribute the heat. It's not terrible efficient, but we'll get to that in a bit.Third, you actually have to light your RV's oven with a lighter or match. Although the stovetop burners have a spark-light option, you have to manually light the oven. Just turn the gas on to the oven and bring your flame to the front of the rod where it comes out. If it doesn't light after a couple of minutes, turn off the gas and let it air out for a bit before trying again.
RV Oven Tips
There are several simple adjustments you can make to your cooking techniques and additions to your kitchen that greatly improve your success rates using an RV oven.
Related Read: 10 Tips for Cooking in Your RV Oven (without burning everything)
Use a Heat Stone. One of the biggest issues with the RV stove, is with the reduced interior height, it's easy to burn the bottom of whatever you're cooking because (unless you adjust the rack placement) it's fairly close to the heat source. By placing a heat stone on top of the metal plate at the bottom of your oven, you ensure the heat is evenly distributed throughout the oven. Just don't cover the ventilation holes on the sides.
Use an Oven-Safe Thermometer. You place these directly within the oven. This enables you to verify how close the actual temperature of your oven matches the setting. After you know this, you can adjust accordingly. For example, if your oven heats 10-degrees higher than the setting indicates, you can begin adjusting the setting to 10-degrees less than recipes suggest.
Make Sure to Preheat. Typically, it takes about 15-min to preheat an oven, but this is another reason to use an oven-safe thermometer. Preheating ensures the oven is properly heated to the correct temperature before you add the food. That way, you can more accurately time the dish. If your oven is heated less than 100% of the desired temperature, your 10-minute cookies are going to take a lot longer than 10 minutes, etc.
Rotate Your Food. Make sure your food cooks evenly by rotating your dish periodically. You can do this at specific increments throughout the cook time but it should at least be done halfway through. The dish should cook for the same amount of time facing front and back so both the left and right side (essentially the whole thing) is cooked to the same degree.
In Conclusion
As you can see, your oven doesn't have to be intimidating. With just a few precautions, you can easily be whipping up the best cookies in the campground. You may even decide to try your hand at a small turkey for Thanksgiving in your RV. Have fun and Bon Appétit!
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Author: Carrie Todd
