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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Tammy says
Haloo Mimi! After reading through your article I have still a question in my head.. Do I actually adjust the heat to up&down or for only bottom one?
Mimi says
I don’t quite understand your question. Do you mind explaining some more?
Beverly T says
Hi Mimi I’m not sure but I haven’t emailed with questions in a long while. Not sure who emailed you. I I hope you and the baby are doing awesome ❤️
Trish Sandoval says
Omg thank you so so much for this information on ovens!!! It has helped my macaron game so much! I was going crazy trying to figure out why mine were coming out hollow when literally everything I did I thought was to perfection. And the whole oven cycling, and keeping a stable temp has been the culprit all along. Thank you thank you thank you.
Mimi says
Hi Trish,
Thanks for your message! It’s so nice to hear that the oven guide has been useful for you! Happy Baking.
XOXO,
Mimi
Priscilla Baez says
Hellow Mimi! Thank you for all the advice on oven temperature. It’s very detailed and helpful.
I have an issue. I’ve made more than 10 macaron batches (Italian method) I get everything measured perfectly. I use food processor, sifter. I make a soft peak italian meringue and I think I get the macronage right too. I end up with what it seems to be a great macaron batter. I pipe the macarons as the recipe states and leave them to dry 30-40 min. I’ve tried all the temperatures from 300 to 350 F with their corresponding time (some batches with over developed feet because temperature it’s to hot)
My major issue is that no matter the oven temperature, my macarons get sticky bottoms and get stuck on the parchment paper before letting them completely cool. Also, they develop a feet every time (over developed feet at 320 or more) but every time I get them out of the oven the feet shrinks a little bit. Is that normal? I guess it’s also because the macaron is underbaked? (Is that why they are sticking to my parchment paper?
I see some tutorials and videos where they just pull the parchment paper from the macarons so quick and easy. But that part I can never achieved. Do you have any advice on that?
I have a home conventional oven since I just recently started practicing these!
Thanks so much!
Mimi says
It sounds underbaked since its deflating when you pull them out. I would bake them longer and get a better heat conducting pan so the insides bake sooner than it gets browned. You’re probably pulling them out before they get browned but that is not helping them bake fully on the inside.
XOXO,
Mimi
Sandra says
There has been so many attempts to baking macaroons that at this point I think its a temperature issue. I’ve tired using parchment paper and silicone mats but when using silicon mats (even though its been resting until they are not tacky) they seam not to fet feet as they do with the paper.
I’ve been baking on bottom rack using Italian method @ 260 degrees and playing with temperature but they seam to crack.
At his point I am using my mother’s conventional oven but I can not to turn this feature on below 300 degrees. Therefore I tried it at 300 and sure enough they burst and crack because its too hot.
Can you turn your conventional feature below 300 degrees?
Mimi says
Without watching your whole macaron making process, it’s hard for me to diagnose but I suspect your cracking issue can be resolved with a stronger meringue. For the italian method, that would mean pouring the syrup at the right (higher) temp and also whipping to a bird’s beak stage. Make sure they dry enough to form a skin. Properly prepared batters once piped, usually do not crack during baking.
XOXO, Mimi
Hiba Kamran says
Hi. It was a detailed post. However, I was wondering if we buy the almond flour, would it had to be the same quantity in grams you told in the recipe or a different?
Also I do face a lot of problem with browning top of the Macaron and hallows to prevent browning. I keep them in the middle rack.
One issue was that I do preheat and use oven thermometer, but it never shows the desired temperature.
I set the oven to 140C and the thermometer showed it at 100 during the whole time. 😐
And mine starts to burn after 11 mins at 140C shown by my oven thermometer at 100C.
The batter is right. I just can’t get the thermo state right.
Mimi says
Store bought almond flour will weigh the same as the almond flour made at home. For example, 65 grams of blanched almonds ground down will eventually yield 65 grams of almond flour which also equals using 65 grams of store-bought almond flour.
I would bake it at a lower temperature and just make sure this temperature is consistent throughout the baking process. The numbers don’t necessarily have to be 140C, you just need to find the optimal temperature that works for your own oven and make sure it remains consistent.
XOXO,
Mimi
Beverly says
Hi Mimi
You have been a main resource of information to me. After baking macarons for 2+ years I decided to open my own business. I have never been able to reach colors of pastels and soft tones. I’ve always had to go with darker tones. I finally purchased a basic convection oven with the hopes of that being achieved, but is still the same with no success. I’ve used Americolor allot, back and forth with Wilton; and even Cake Craft. But still can not make a soft pink or pastel blue. Is there any feedback you can help me with.
I have more concerns and questions but I’d thought I ask you this one.
Mimi says
Hi Beverly,
I am guessing that your problem with getting the soft colors is connected to the use of your oven since you are using the Americolor gel colours I use as well and you are obviously reading this post about home ovens. Many home bakers assume the convection setting will solve their macaron problems but in some cases, the convection setting may actually be administering too much heat to the macarons causing them to brown/yellow faster. You may want to bake without and/or try to lower your temperatures a bit and increase the time. Also, instead of adding less of a dark colour to create pastels, actually buy the soft colour in a bottle and use enough of it. While folding, you’ll see a bit of yellowing of the batter (due to the almonds) so add a bit more of violet (or navy blue) to get it back to the desired colour. XOXO, Mimi
Beverly says
Mimi! Thank you so so much for getting back to me about the pastel color issue I am having. I agree now that I’ve used the new convection oven since last I emailed you. For sure it has over cooked my macarons. I did a test run today, at baked at 290 for 5 minutes on convection mode. The the rest of cooking time on regular bake for additional 15 minutes. I didn’t use pastel though :/ but they didn’t over cook. There was a huge issue I wanted to email you about, but it was hard to explain.
I noticed you follow Natalia Mendonca @nat.mendonca
I emailed her with the major issues that I am having, she also emailed me back; and I returned to her the answers to the questions she’s asking me. Along with the pictures she requested. I have my own business and I have a big problem going on that started before the oven change. I have not been able to sell since them.
I will email you separately to ask you as well. I’m glad that you did respond to me I am grateful for your time you spend responding to me. Thank you!
Beverly says
Hi Mimi
Is Beverly again, I wanted to ask you. How long after the macaron batter is already in the piping bag ready to pipe. How long can it stay sitting there.
I ask because I would like to do a 2 toned macaron shells, like a swirl style of 2 colors. But I’m not sure how people achieve that. Most I’ve seen put to separate filled piping bags into a larger one.
Is this how is done ? and the macaron batter is still ok after sitting around ?
Please let me know thank you so much!
Mimi says
Here’s a tutorial on how to make 2-tone macarons. The two separate batters can be made separately (each can wait about an hour for the other) or you can separate the meringue in half after whipping and then fold it into 2 equal portion of halved almond flour.
XOXO,
Mimi
Beverly says
Thank you very much Mimi!
Beverly says
Hello Mimi is me again 🙂
I hope you are having a wonderful beautiful day. I just now got through making your chocolate shell macaron. It was looking beautiful in the oven.
Sadly I pulled them out and they got wrinkled on top. The strange thing, that I wanted to email you for was more them anything the fact that the
CENTER ROW OF THE BATCH CAME OUT PERFECT, but not all the rest ?
wonderful feet they are lush with dough, not shallow at all. BUT only the center row came out. So strange. What do you think it could be ?
Mimi says
Are you using Dutch processed cocoa powder?
XOXO,
Mimi