Calibrating your Commercial Oven

Over time, the thermostat in your commercial oven can get off track and will need to be recalibrated. While a temperature difference of 5°F or 10 °F may seem small, it can be the difference between perfectly cooked food and bunt food. Calibrating your commercial oven needs to be done in order to keep your cooking times consistent.

However, if your commercial oven is off by 40°F or more, please do not attempt to calibrate the commercial oven. An offage of this size is typically indicates an issue with the commercial oven's control system, and should be repaired by a professional.

The fist thing you should do to determine is your oven needs to be recalibrated is to check the actual temperature of the commercial oven. To do this place an oven thermometer inside the oven cavity while the oven is cooking. Check to make sure the temperature on the oven thermometer matches the temperature setting of the oven. Be sure to keep the commercial oven thermometer at least one inch away from the interior of the oven.

If you find that the temperature on the oven thermometer does not match the commercial oven’s temperature setting then you will need to recalibrate your commercial oven. Determine the number of degrees that your commercial oven is off, and then remove the knob used to set the commercial oven’s temperature from the commercial oven.

Once you have removed the knob, turn the knob over. You should find an adjustment know on the back side of the knob. Consult your commercial oven’s instruction manual for the correct way to make adjustments to the knob. Once the adjustments have been made, re-install the knob on the commercial oven and check the actual temperature of the commercial oven.

It is generally recommended that you should check the calibration of your commercial oven every three months. If you notice that your food seems be over or under-cooked then you may need to check the calibration more often, or consult a professional regarding a potentially more serious issue.