Baking instructions aren’t exact. They can’t be.

It’s ironic because the delicate nature of baking calls for a high degree of precision for the ingredient amounts and the mixing order and technique. But the provided baking time needs to be a range.

Why?

Variability.

Ovens aren’t exactly alike. The time it takes for brownies to bake in two seemingly similar ovens can easily vary by five minutes. And even in the same oven, there are local heat differences that can cause variability.

So rather than providing an exact baking time, recipes give a range.

But what about big establishments, such as Panera or Hostess?

That’s a different story.

With the right equipment and experimentation, these companies are able to engineer a process that results in the same product every time, as long as nothing goes wrong along the way. They precisely control the preheat condition, placement of the product in the oven, all of the surfaces surrounding the product, the movement through the oven, the time through the oven, etc.

And through this process, they can assure high-quality products.

In theory, you can do the same thing at home too. If you’re willing to experiment enough and recreate the same conditions everytime you bake, then you can eventually get to the point where you can trust the oven set temperature and a timer to tell you when your brownies are done.

But until then, you’re forced to use a different type of quality assurance.

In this case, a toothpick.

-Brandon