Why Recipes Differ
American recipes give oven temperatures in Fahrenheit; most of the world uses Celsius; UK recipes may use gas marks. Converting between them is the same offset-and-scale formula, but ovens also have their own accuracy, so a few degrees either way rarely matters.
Common Oven Settings
| Description | °F | °C | Gas Mark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very slow | 250 | 120 | ½ |
| Slow | 300 | 150 | 2 |
| Moderate | 350 | 180 | 4 |
| Hot | 400 | 200 | 6 |
| Very hot | 450 | 230 | 8 |
Practical Tip
Ovens cycle on and off, so the actual temperature swings around the set point. An oven thermometer is more reliable than the dial. For most baking, matching the nearest standard setting is good enough.