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Zanussi | Help and Support

Poor baking / roasting results


If you are experiencing poor baking / roasting results, refer to the suggestions below for step by step instructions.

  • If you have just got a new oven, it may have different baking and roasting features to the one you had previously.
  • A non-uniform baking result can occur if the oven settings are not correctly set to the type of baked goods.
  • You may need to adjust a few settings, such as the oven function, temperature, shelf level, location of the baking tray in order to achieve the desired results.
  • Refer to the table below or your user manual of your oven for extensive baking tables. (If you do not have your user manual, refer to Where can I find the user manual for my appliance?).

Depending on the type of baked good, these tables contain information on the recommended type of heating, the temperature setting and the insertion level.




Bread, buns and soft cakes are flat.

Baked goods rise and collapse afterwards.

Temperature too low.

Raise the temperature.

Too little yeast or baking powder is used.

Too little amount of raising agent.

Use more yeast or baking powder next time.

The fat or liquid mixture has been too hot.

Hot liquid.

The temperature must be 37°C for fresh yeast and 45-50°C for dried yeast.

The dough has been proving for a long time. If the proving time is too long, flat bread is produced.

Long proving time.

Let the dough prove for a shorter time.

Bread, buns and soft cakes become dry.

The baked goods have been in the oven too long.

Temperature too low.

Raise the temperature.

Flour absorbs differently. There can be a difference among the individual brands or types of flour. Additionally, it may depend on whether the flour is new or old. The amount of flour may vary every time you bake.

Too little liquid or too much flour.

Don’t add all the flour at once. Keep a third back and knead the dough well. Only add more flour if the dough can absorb it.

Baked goods / dishes become too dark or too uneven when cooking in convection mode.

If baked goods / food items are placed randomly among one other on the baking tray, it will result in the air not being able to circulate properly in the oven compartment.

The food placed randomly / unevenly.

Place buns and similar items in straight rows. Oblong items like baguettes, cake bars and sponge cake should be placed with the ends against the back wall and oven door. 

When cooking with two trays at the same time in the oven, they have been put on the wrong shelves. The air cannot circulate freely in the oven compartment.

The baking trays are in the wrong place.

See the recommended shelf locations for the oven in the user manual

When convection mode is used, reduce the temperature by 15–20% in relation to cooking using the top and bottom elements.

Wrong temperature.

Lower the temperature. When cooking with convection mode, the temperature should not exceed 175°C.

When cooking with convection mode, the results are generally more uneven than when cooking using the top and bottom elements. Convection mode is less suitable for baking items with a high sugar content. For instance, biscuits should be baked using the top and bottom elements.

Buns and cakes made of yeast dough are misshapen when baked in convection mode.

If the baked goods are still rising, when they enter the oven, the circulating air will blow it at an angle.

Proving time too short.

Let the dough prove for a longer time. As a rule, the proving time must be slightly longer when convection mode is used for baking. The dough is already proved when, after pressing it gently with a finger, it rises immediately back.

The baked goods / food are too light.

The food is not cooked / baked until its outer surfaces start to brown.

Temperature too low.

Raise the temperature.

A light metal tin or glass or porcelain dishes are located on the rack.

Tin or dish in the wrong place.

Place light metal tins and glass and porcelain dishes on a baking tray.

The baked goods / food are dark on the bottom and light on top.

The food has been heated too little by the top heating element.

Position too low.

Place the baking tray and shelf higher up in the oven.

If a dark metal plate is placed on a baking tray, it may be heated too much by the bottom heating element and the food will be too dark on the bottom.

Dark metal tin in the wrong place. 

Place a dark metal tin on the rack.

The baking time is too long.

If baked goods are exposed to too much heat, the baking time will be too long. The items will dry out instead of baking.

Temperature too low.

Raise the temperature.

Large amounts of condensation water, which runs down the oven door and out onto the floor during roasting.

If you use the large roasting tin and too much water when roasting a small joint of meat, the water level will be too high. The water evaporates too fast and the joint is roasted dry.

Using too much water.

Use a small roasting tin or an appropriately-sized ovenproof dish. Alternately, place the roast on the rack and put a dish in the roasting tin under the roast to collect the juices. The dish has to be in the same size as the roast.

Optional: add a little water, no more than 200-500 ml. Do not add any more water during roasting.

Hot circulating air generates more steam in the oven compartment. When hot air is used for cooking, the food will also dry out more.

Using hot air for roasting will cause greater evaporation.

When preparing dishes which generate a lot of moisture, use the heat from the top and bottom elements.