How to set Cook time on GE oven

If you haven't been cooking all your life, and you've just started to try your hand at it, all of those oven settings can be confusing. Here is a quick primer on what each button does on a basic oven and why you would use it.

Table of Contents Show

Broil/Grilling
JB and Quick Set Models
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Bake

This button is pretty self-explanatory. It's for simple, straight-forward baking. You tap on this button and then enter the temperature. Some ovens have arrow buttons to higher or lower the temperature while others have a keypad.

Timer

I would highly suggest you use your oven's built-in timer whenever you cook. Some ovens have a bake timer and a regular timer. They work the same, but the difference is the bake timer only works when the baking mode is engaged and the regular timer can be used to time anything, even non-cooking tasks.

Press the bake time or timer button, then use the arrow keys or the keypad to enter in the baking time. Once you have it set, press the start button. Some ovens don't have a start button. In this case, you'll need to tap the timer button again. When the alarm sounds, either press the timer button again or the clear/off button to shut off the alarm.

Clock

Don't get the timer button confused with the clock button. The clock button is used to set the clock that displays when the oven isn't in use. To set the clock, tap the clock button, use the arrow keys or the keypad to type in the correct time and then tap the clock button again. When the electricity turns off or the oven gets unplugged, the clock will go back to reading 12 o'clock and will need to be reset.

Broil/Grilling

Depending on where you live, this button's name could vary. In the US, this button is labeled as broiling. In the UK it is labeled as grilling. Either way, they work the same. These buttons activate only the overhead heating element. This setting is used to cook, toast or brown foods quickly. Since the top heating element is only being used, the top portion of your food will brown while the bottom will not.

Most ovens allow you to control the amount of heat provided by the broiler. Some simply give you the option of a high or low setting, while others let you enter a more specific temperature using the arrow buttons or the keypad.

If you choose the high setting, be warned. The broiler can turn a loaf of garlic bread into charcoal in less than just a few minutes, so watch your food carefully when using this button and lower the rack so that it isn't close to the heating element.

Warm

The warm button is just what it sounds like. Tap that button and your oven will warm up your food or keep your food warm until you are ready to serve. Basically, it just sets your oven to a low temperature.

If you have been cooking in the oven and it is still hot, though, pressing warm will not instantly lower the oven's temperature to a warming level. The oven will still be hot and may over cook your food. Switch to warm when the dish is a few minutes from being done. It will finish cooking using the remaining heat from the cooking mode and will stay warm.

Clean

Most ovens have a self-cleaning mode. This name is only half right. While it does make the oven easier to clean, you still need to do a little work.

When you activate this mode, the oven door locks itself shut. Then, the temperature in the oven rises to a very high temperature to turn any food particles inside to dust.

This process lasts around 3 hours, so don't make any plans to use your oven during this time. Also, the burning of food particles can make your house smell awful, so be sure to open some windows while the self-cleaning mode is on.

Afterwards, let the oven cool down, then wipe the inside clean with a damp cloth. Leave the oven door open to air it out for a few hours before cooking in it again.

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So you've brought your new GE electric range home, installed it in your kitchen and used it to bake cookies once or twice. Now you have to take the kids to soccer practice this afternoon, but you're serving baked potatoes for dinner and you want to eat right away when you come home. What to do? Your new oven has a timed bake feature that will bake the potatoes for you while you're out, but how do you know you've pressed the right buttons? You definitely don't want to come home and find those potatoes still raw. You can learn how to use the time bake on a GE electric range by following these simple steps.

JB and Quick Set Models

Press the "Bake" pad on the oven's control area.

Set the baking temperature using the "+" and "-" pads. If your model has number pads, use those instead. Press the "Cook Time" or "Cooking Time" pad.

Set the cooking time using the "+" and "-" pads or the number pads. Press the "Delay Start" or "Start Time" pad.

Set the time you want the oven to turn on, using the "+" and "-" or number pads. Press the "Start" or "Start/On" pad, and then place the food in the oven.

JC Models

Press the "Bake Time" pad. Use the "+" and "-" pads to set the baking time.

Press the "Stop Time" pad. Use the "+" and "-" keys to set the time you want baking to END (unlike on other models, where you set the start time instead).

Press the "Bake" pad. Use the "+" and "-" keys to set the baking temperature, then place the food in the oven.

Tips

Add extra time to allow for preheating, since the oven timer starts as soon as the element turns on, not when the oven reaches its cooking temperature.
The food will keep cooking even after the element has turned off, so set the timed bake to end close to the time you expect to be home.