What's the best way of turning over multiple items in the oven? For example when baking french fries or meat balls I turn them over halfway but it can be a bit tedious to rotate one at a time. Has anyone had luck just shaking the pan or is it really supposed to be a 180 degree flip?
Baking – How to turn over large number of items halfway through baking oven
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(1) Are you baking them upper/lower or side-by-side?, (2) Is your oven's outside width 24" or 30"?, & (3) Gas or electric?
My guess would be that either you have a 24" oven and you're baking upper/lower or you have a 30" oven and you're baking side-by-side. Either way, I think the ultimate culprit is heat circulation - certainly you wouldn't be having this problem in a convection oven, right?
If you're baking them upper/lower in a small oven, I believe that heat absorption would probably create areas of lower temperature above both pans that wouldn't even out well without convection. If you're baking side-by-side in a larger oven, I believe that the total area of your pans would create a heat block and a temperature differential between the top and bottom of your oven that would not dissipate well without convection. And while I think the circulation problem would be less of a problem with gas, I'm pretty sure it's going to present a problem in either type of oven you use.
Being the owner of a 24" electric oven myself (so the interior of my oven is 18" x 18", not including the ribs that support the racks), I can't even bake two 9" circular cake layers at the same time (either diagonally or upper and lower) without grotesque deformations in the tops of my cakes. And two 9" round pans with a thin layer of cake batter are going to be less of a heat magnet and obstruction than a thick layer of apple cake batter in two 9" x 13" pans.
Ultimately I think the problem is not one of time but of maintaining temperatures above and below your pans - and adding time to the bake won't resolve the problems caused by such a differential. Alas, I believe that your best option is to give each cake its own space and time in the oven. Whether it's a heat conduction issue or a circulation issue or some combination of both, I think the variables involved are WAY too complicated to ever lead to a general baking time extension guideline when doubling-up a recipe.
Bake them separately - and, yes, I realize that's not a very satisfying recommendation.
Stack them, like this:
Rotate them 1/3 and 2/3 the way through cooking, figuring perhaps 25% longer cooking time than each would call for separately. Use an instant read thermometer, look for about 165F (74C). Also look for a bit of browning and bubbliness. It may be that they won't be done at exactly the same time, but they'll be close enough that they can be served at the same time.
I figure you might as well stack all three, and remove a shelf from the oven, but to do two and one (rotating each third the way through baking time) would accomplish pretty much the same thing.
If you can fit 2 pans on one shelf and one on another (like normal), that would be fine too, but you might have to rotate even more often. Swap shelves and front to back.
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Best Answer
Yes, it is supposed to be a 180 degree flip, you want both sides to be heated evenly.
If you are using a flat or low-rimmed baking sheet, and have a second one the same size: oil the second sheet with only a very thin layer of oil. Take the first sheet outside, cover with the first. Grasp at the two sides, flip both sheets with the food sandwiched between them. Bake in the second sheet (which is now on the bottom).
Of course, this has its downsides too. You cannot use baking sheets with too high a rim (else the food will slide inside too much), you have a second sheet to clean, and there is the danger of burning yourself while you wave a hot baking sheet around. But especially for large amounts of food, or multiple batches which are done in two sheets anyway, it might be less hassle than turning with a spatula.