What Is The Correct Oven Temperature For The Dutch Baby?

Asked by TriciaM. Answered on 23rd August 2022

Full question

I love the Dutch Baby recipe - it's so delicious, and much easier than making pancakes. Just mix and whack it in the oven! But I have a worry about the temperature - in "Simply Nigella", the oven temp is 220C regardless, whereas the on-line recipe has 200C for a fan forced oven. Which is correct (I use 220c on my fan forced oven)?

Our answer

Nigella's version of Dutch Baby (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) is a large puffed-up pancake that is perfect for sharing for breakfast or brunch (or whenever the fancy takes you). The Dutch Baby needs a very hot oven, so that the liquid in the batter turns to steam quickly. This causes the pancake to puff up in a similar way to Yorkshire puddings.

When SIMPLY NIGELLA was published it did not include settings for fan (or convection) ovens, so the 220c is the setting for a regular oven. The extra fan temperature has been added more recently to the website version of the recipe. So it should be 200c for a fan or convection oven and 220c for a regular oven. We use the standard 20c adjustment for fan ovens. However, all ovens differ and some need less adjustment than others, so you may find that you get better results at a higher fan setting. We would mention that you need to be careful with a higher oven temperature, as the top edges of the pancake could darken too much before the underside is quite cooked properly. We tend to find that preheating both the oven and the pan thoroughly before adding the batter is the easiest way to ensure an impressively puffed, but still cooked though, Dutch Baby.