Although dramatically different aesthetically, both macarons are from the same batch but baked at different temperatures.
I wrote this post because I found that there wasn’t much information about how to use your home oven properly when baking macarons. Unlike spacious and sturdy commercial grade ovens with even heat distribution, home ovens can be temperamental and seem to need a lot of coddling. For any home baker, it’s very important to know their own oven well in order to achieve success with any recipe. You will need to experiment under different baking conditions like rack position, temperature and bake time to find the optimal conditions for successful baking. When you learn to trust your oven, it will love you back ♥
When I started making macarons, I was more concerned about feet development and just making sure that the macarons actually looked like macarons. Needless to say, I was not too picky back then. But as I baked more of them, I realized that all the faults like hollow shells, crispy over baked bodies etc. would actually manifest itself in its outer appearance. In other words, you are essentially showing the world all your macaron’s faults just by its visual presentation. I started to demand more perfection from these little sweet treats.
You won’t be good enough for everybunny but you’ll always be the best to the one who deserves you
Even when you follow a macaron recipe religiously, you can still end up with ugly or underdeveloped macarons just because you used your oven incorrectly. Almost all the recipes I’ve ever read would simply teach you to bake the shells in the oven for so and so minutes at so and so temperature. It drove me crazy when I ended up with overly brown or undercooked macarons. It really drove me to experiement with my oven in order to get my macarons just right.
I’m not saying which method will work the best since all ovens are different. Every baker should know their own oven well. This post highlights the different ways to adjust your oven to perfect the baking process. You may need to use a combination of these adjustments to acheive the results you want depending on your own situation.
All of the scenarios below are in reference to the average baking time, temperature and rack position of the two methods below:
♥ FRENCH Method: 320 F for 12-14 minutes on the middle rack ♥
♥ ITALIAN Method: 260 F for 20-22 minutes on the middle rack ♥
❤ Oven Adjustment Methods
♥ Bake Time and Temperature
Macarons can be over baked/under baked and feet development can be overdeveloped/underdeveloped if the baking time or temperature is not well aligned. For over baked shells or over developed feet, the temperature is probably too high causing it to bake too quickly. You will also find that feet which develop quickly and outwards are also victims of over folding and overly hot oven temperatures. The high heat forces the feet to develop much too quickly and it has nowhere to go except up and out. On the other hand, under baked shells and under developed feet (not a lack of feet due to wrong folding techniques, just underdeveloped), cannot fully reach their full potential when the oven temperature is not high enough.
Learn to adjust the temperatures in your oven. To compensate for adjusted temperatures, you will also need to readjust the baking time and vice versa. For temperature increases, baking time should be decreased. For temperature decreases, baking time should be increased. However, baking at lower temperatures may sometimes result in an undercooked shell and baking at higher temperatures may cause shells to brown. If that is the case, try adjusting the rack position as outlined in the next section.
Baking Time and Temperature Relationship
↑ Increase temperature – ↓ decrease time
↓ Decrease temperature – ↑ increase time
As a starting point, for every 25F, compensate with a 2-3 minutes change in the inverse direction.
Some Recommended Baking Temperature and Times:
350F for 10 minutes – suitable for spacious large ovens
325F for 12-14 minutes – standard starting point for my recipe
300F for 16-18 minutes
275F for 18-20 minutes – suitable for smaller ovens with small compartments
♥Rack Position
The middle rack is often the “default” position in any oven. It’s ideal for most foods since it allows the hot air to circulate evenly around the food, resulting in balanced heat distribution. Most recipes recommend that you bake your macarons on the middle shelf. However, you may need to adjust this depending on where your heat source is coming from and your own individual problems.
Browning of shell top due to broiler’s heat source from the TOP of the oven without convection fan:
If the tops of your macarons are browning too fast before the centre is fully cooked, try moving your macarons to a lower rack until the feets develop. Then, place an empty tray on the rack above the shells to shield them from the heat.
Shells browning on bottom due to heat source from the exposed bake element at the BOTTOM of the oven without convection fan:
If your macarons are browning on the bottom before the centre is fully cooked, try moving the macarons to a higher rack. If that alone doesn’t help, you can try adding an extra tray immediately below the current tray to prevent it from heating up too quickly.
♥ Convection vs. True Convection
A regular convection oven features a fan which helps to distributes the air around the oven. A “true convection” (a.k.a European convection or third-element convection) utilizes an additional heating element behind the fan to blow heated air to your dish. This method produces more even heat distribution and better baking results.
Using the convection fan:
I have become a recent convert to the convection fan since I have found that the temperature remains consistent throughout the baking process with only a 5 degree variance. The fan helps to distribute heat more evenly throughout the oven cavity so you may even be able to bake several trays at once. The heat reaching your macarons may be increased and you may need to decrease the temperature or baking time.
On the flip side, some bakers may find that their convection fan is a little too strong and causes the macaron shells to become lopsided. You can consider turning on convection cooking during the latter part of the baking period since your shells will already be stronger at that point than when they were wet. If that doesn’t help, you may need to skip using the fan altogether.
♥ Hot-Preheat Method
If you’re still having trouble using a slow and consistent temperature method, try the hot-preheat method. Increase the oven temperature 50 degrees more than the usual baking temperature during the preheat. Once it has reached that temperature and you’re ready to bake, turn it down to the regular baking temperature once you place your trays inside. You will need to compensate for this increase in temperature by baking it a shorter amount of time.
This method allows your shells to develop feet from the exposure to the initial high heat but lets them finish off at a lower temperature to avoid browning and over baking. You’ll need to be careful of this though as home ovens can cycle hot and cold before it ever reaches your desired temperature so adjusting the temperature mid-way in the baking process may not really change the temperature as you’d hope it would. Read this post on finding a consistent oven temperature.
♥ Reduce Oven Moisture
In Pierre Herme’s Macarons book, he advises to open the oven door near the end of the baking time after the feet have developed to let out the steam. If this is an area of concern for you, you can keep the oven door ajar for the whole or a duration of the baking time by propping a wooden spoon in between the door. You will need to compensate for the loss in heat by increasing the oven temperature.
❤ Good Oven Practices for Baking Macarons
♥ Always Pre-Heat Oven and Use an Oven Thermometer
Always Pre-heat your oven to the correct temperature before placing your trays inside. Place an oven thermometer inside the oven to ensure that the temperature is correct. Many bakers assume that their ovens are at the correct temperature when in fact, it has increased or decreased during the baking process without their knowledge. Did you know that the temperature during the initial period of pre-heating is the most unstable? Read my other post on Maintaining a Consistent Oven Temperature.
♥ Identify Hot Spots in Your Oven:
If you are getting uneven results from the same tray of macarons – some are browner than others or some are under baked – you may be facing an issue of hot spots in your oven. You’ll need to avoid placing macarons in those areas and rotate your tray throughout the baking time to achieve more even heat distribution.
A great way to identify the hot spots in your oven is to bake several slices of white bread on a tray until it turns brown. You can then see if they have all browned at the same pace or if some are browner than the others.
♥ Bake One Batch at a Time:
I do not recommend baking several trays at once until you have already found the optimal conditions in your oven to bake a perfect batch. Until then, it would be difficult for you to determine why your macarons did not bake successfully. When you bake several batches at once in a small home oven, sometimes heat cannot be evenly distributed to all the shells at the same time. Also, if you are baking on different racks, you would be forcing your macarons to be closer to or further away from a heat source than you’d like.Although not advised for new macaron bakers, if baking several batches at once, try to: alternate the trays midway into the baking time or bake 2 trays on the same rack instead of on different racks. If you have a true convection oven, baking several trays may be easier with the convection setting.
♥ Avoid Hollows ♥
Same batter but 2 different results! If your folding technique is correct and your meringue is strong, you can still end up with hollows if your temperature is not high enough or your cooking time is not long enough. The fully set shell was baked with oven cyclying between 300-325 F for 14 min. The hollow one didn’t reach its full potential as the temp. hovered between 275-300 for the same amount of time. Readers often ask what temperature to use for macarons, I’d say start with 320 and adjust from there according to what works for you.
❤ Summary of Macaron Troubleshoots Due to Oven Conditions
(full macaron troubleshoot here):
Macaron shell is browning due to high heat or proximity to heat source
• Shell top is browning:
– move further away from heat source
– decrease temperature, increase time
– shield macarons with empty tray on rack above
Macaron shells browning on the bottom
• Shell bottom is browning:
– move further away from heat source
– decrease temperature, increase time
– add double pan on bottom
Macaron Shell is Undercooked
• Shell is undercooked or feet is under-developed:
– move closer to heat source
– increase baking time
– increase temperature
Dry Overcooked Macaron
• Shell is overcooked/dry or feet is over-developed:
– let macaron mature 24 hours or more after filling
– brush same flavoured syrup or milk on bottom of shells
– next time, turn down heat or move away from heat source
– stop whipping egg whites once it reaches stiff peaks
Lopsided macarons
• Shell is lopsided:
– avoid using convection fan if thats the culprit
– avoid using fans the blow directly onto macarons while waiting for skin to develop
-use the range hood fan instead to dry out piped macarons
– consider using a silpat mat instead of parchment paper
– incorrect piping techniques
Baking too many trays at once can yield inconsistent results
• Inconsistency in the same batch:
– identify hot spots in your oven
– bake only one tray at a time until you find the optimal baking time/temperature
– for trays baked on different racks, alternate the trays midway into the baking time
– ensure batter is fully incorporated before piping
Let me know how yours went. Happy Baking to You!
XOXO,
Mimi
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Lisa says
Hi Mimi,
I have a recipe that makes 72 cookies (36 pairs). I want to make several (6) colors of shells with this recipe. I think that this would be hard to do if I need to add the color while whipping the egg whites (it would be hard to divide the egg whites into 6 very small separate bowls and then whip them). Can I wait until the beaten egg whites have been mixed with the almond flour/confectioners sugar, divide that batter into 6 portions, and then add color to each portion. I’m using gel color.
Or is there a better way to make several different colors with one recipe?
Thanks for your help!
Mimi says
Hi Lisa,
You partly answered your own question. I do agree that it is more challenging to divide the mixed batter into 6 portions and then add the color. It is more risky because you might have to fold the batter too much to ensure the color is well incorporated. I would whip the egg whites until stiff, and then divide into 6 portions, then gently fold the gel color into the whipped whites to incorporate fully, then fold that into each of the 6 portioned almond flour, respectively. Let me know if you have any further questions.
XOXO,
Mimi
Alex Villarreal says
If I’m using a silicone mat does that require extra time cooking?
And does the Italian Method require a higher temp to form feet on silicone mat? Any advice for baking times for Italian on silicone mat. I’ve read these mats add like 5mins to bake time is that true. They always stick unless I over cook them
Mimi says
I actually prefer a lower temperature for the Italian method. As for silicone, it doesn’t conduct heat as much as parchment paper so yes, I do agree to give it a few more minutes, use a better conducting pan (like the USA pan I have in my SHOP) or place a pizza stone on the rack below the tray.
Xoxo, Mimi
Martha says
Hi Mimi,
I’m a beginner at this but can’t wait to try baking some macarons! My oven is regular size but I bake with one half sheet at a time. I do have a full sheet but it doesn’t allow for even baking for some reason. Maybe not enough room around the edges for the air to circulate.
My question is: if I can only bake one sheet of macarons at a time, will it be okay to keep the batter in the piping bag? Or should I pipe it out onto another sheet and let it sit until the first batch is done?
Thank you so much!
Mimi says
Yes, you can definitely bake them one sheet at a time. I do it all the time. I recommend piping it onto the mat and then letting it rest while the other trays are baking. Try not leave the batter inside the piping bag when you are waiting.
XOXO, Mimi
Linda says
Hey Mimi, I have a new Cadco convection oven and its great! The only issue I have is that my feet arent straight. Like, ruffly. But its only ruffly on one side, the way the fan blows. Sometimes it spreads out alot too but the. Macarons are still round, its just the feet thats the problem. I use a silpat mat what do you think i can do,?
Mimi says
Have you tried looking up your issue in the Macaron Troubleshooting guide? There is an area targeted for lopsided macarons.
XOXO,
Mimi
Wendy says
Hi mimi! Just wondering, does it work with baking macarons in a Countertop Comvection oven? Or does it need a regular home oven? Hope to hear from you soon!
Mimi says
I haven’t tried myself but I heard it is possible. The heating elements might be too close to the macaron though making it easier to brown. Let me know how it goes.
Mj says
If I want to make multiple colours, When is the right time to divide my mix ??? I’ve tried dividing it but it dries in me and I end up with rough looking macarons……
Mimi says
You can divide the almond into 2 parts and then make the meringue. Then divide the meringue in half using a kitchen scale to measure, then fold into each. I wouldn’t recommend dividing my base recipe any further than 2 parts unless you double or triple the amount. The base recipe is so small that it is hard to divide any further without making a mistake. XOXO, Mimi
Ana says
Hi Mimi,
Could you recommend me a good oven for baking macarons?
Thanks.
Mimi says
I have baked with both convection and non-convection and found both to be equally good. I am currently using a double oven from Fridigaire Gallery and it has True European convection in both compartments. XOXO, Mimi