Those ivory tower types whose work we often showcase in this space are not all intellectual snobs as the stereotype makes them out to be. We previously featured a scientific study about boiling eggs. Today, new findings about the ‘correct’ temperature to bake cookies…
Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies: The world’s most-beloved cookie – whether baked crisp or chewy…
I’m completely serious – and so are they. Because, if they’re right, we’ve been baking our cookies wrong all along. And it’s not just the temperature. You have to adjust the length of time they spend in the oven…
What they did
Food scientists at the University of Guelph (Canada)(UG) – my Alma Mater! – have determined the temperature that, “makes cookies bake better every time.”
“In a series of controlled bakes, scientists at the University of Guelph measured how quickly cookies changed in size, colour, and moisture — data that helped them map the key physical reactions that determine a cookie’s texture,” a recent Food & Wine article reports.
The methodology was simple, according to an article in Food Technology Magazine. A standard dough recipe was made, and three batches of cookies were baked at three different temperatures – 185 C, 20 C, and 225 C – for up to 12 minutes. Shape, colour, size, and moisture were measured while the cook-ies were baking. “We [were] basically mapping reaction kinetics of the different phenomena we’re interested in,” Maria Corradini, an associate professor in the University of Guelph’s Department of Food Science, explained.
For the duration of the baking, the researchers took two cookies out of the oven every 2 minutes to measure their moisture levels. Temperature was measured every 2 minutes using an infrared thermo-meter at the exterior of the oven. The changes to the cookies’ shapes – thickness and radius – were measured using an electronic calliper.
What they found
If you’re like me – and most of the home bakers I know – you always keep, in the back of your mind, the caution not to leave the cookies in the oven too long. They’ll get hard and might burn. And we’re talking pre-heated temperatures of 350 to 375 F. A few recipes for specialty cookies call for oven temps as high as 400 F. But they’re definitely an exception.
Now, the Guelph team has determined that the ideal cooking temperature for crispy but tender cookies is actually 400 F / 205 C.
“We are assuming every reaction in food is linear,” Corradini say. But that assumption is flawed. “It [baking] is a complex reaction; we have to separate each reaction into stages, and each has to be characterized.”
The takeaway
The findings are not just for the home baker, alone. The researchers say their new formula could also improve commercial production by helping ensure consistent doneness, better texture, and more efficient energy use. And, to tell the truth, that’s probably why the team undertook the research challenge in the first place…
My take
Corradini emphasizes, 400 F / 205 C baking temperature does not guarantee a perfect cookie every time. Nor is it perfect for every cookie type. But it does strike a happy medium ensuring optimum structure and moisture content for the majority of crunchy cookie recipes.
I must also mention that you should expect to do some test-baking yourself if you decide to try UG’s 400 F prescription. Because, like the research team, you’ll want to determine the baking time in your oven to produce the optimum crispy-tender cookie. And how much shorter the time should be to produce the coveted chewy version!
~ Maggie J.