Is your oven secretly sabotaging your meals? It’s supposed to be the heart of your kitchen, but suddenly cakes are flat and chicken is dry. The truth? It’s not you, it’s your appliance. Before you doubt your cooking, check for these common oven problems that steal flavor and joy.

Temperature lies

Your oven says it is preheated to 350 degrees. You trust it. But the dial can lie. An oven that runs too hot or too cold is a common trouble. If it is too hot, your cookies burn on the bottom before they are done. If it is too cool, your bread turns into a dense brick. An inexpensive oven thermometer can show you the truth. If your thermometer confirms a problem with the temperature, an LG oven repair Edmonton professional can fix it.

Uneven heat

Do you have to turn your baking sheet halfway through? This is a sign. Many ovens have hot and cold spots. Heat might pool at the back or focus on one side. This causes a tray of roasted vegetables to cook unevenly. Some pieces are perfect, others are charred or hard. Moving your food during cooking helps fight this.

The seal is broken

Look at your oven door. The rubber seal around it is very important. If this seal is cracked, loose, or dirty, heat escapes. Your oven must work harder and longer to stay hot. This leads to longer cooking times and dried-out food. A simple test: close the door on a sheet of paper. If you can pull it out easily, the seal might be weak.

Steam where it shouldn’t be

Some moisture in the oven is good for bread. Too much is bad for crispness. A faulty seal can let kitchen steam inside. A more serious issue is a broken vent. This steam makes potato skins soft and soggy. It stops pizza crust from getting crunchy. Your food loses its pleasing texture.

Broken heating elements

Electric ovens have coils that glow red. Gas ovens have a burner at the bottom. If these are damaged, your food suffers. A broken bake element means no heat from below. Your casserole top browns, but the inside stays cold. Food takes forever to cook, or it cooks only from one direction. This creates strange, unappealing results.