Al Hornear

Baking is no simple matter in Mexico.  First, you're lucky if you find the ingredients.  For example, brown sugar here is not packable, it literally just looks like granulated sugar but brown.  So, how do I measure "1 cup of well-packed brown sugar"??  Also, the baking aisle?  There is no such thing.  Sure, they have a baking section (it's literally 1/4th of an aisle... at most).  It makes me realize how much Americans bake.  Not to mention that the flour only comes in a 2lb bag.  My double patch cookies require more flour than that... ok, not really... but it seemed ridiculous when I went to the store and saw that 2lbs was the only option.  Needless to say, I've had to get a little creative here and try some different things to make my recipes still turn out.

Second, the ovens are impossible here.  Of course they're all gas ovens, but they're not temperature controlled... which is probably why the dial reads 1-5 instead of temperatures.  So, once you light the gas oven, and figure out whether 1 or 5 is the highest (each oven is different), then you get to start the lovely guessing game of where 350 degrees would be. 

Here is one opinion on ovens in Mexico:

"In our limited but shall we say "exciting" experience with run-of-the-mill Mexican ovens yes, you'd better darn well have an oven thermometer and watch temperatures vigilantly. Set the temperature where you will, it usually goes up - way up - from there. Mexican cooking is pretty much always stovetop cooking; baking just isn't part of the culture. One either adapts, buys a very expensive oven, or discovers a newfound appreciation for the option of buying baked goods from bakeries with better ovens and/or more patience."

In the end, there is no such thing as setting the temperature, letting it preheat, putting in the food and setting a timer.  In order to bake something successfully, you must pick something that's somewhat forgiving (no cheesecake, cream puffs or similarly difficult recipes).  Then you have to watch it vigilantly.  You may have put the temperature at 2, but that doesn't mean it will bake in the time anticipated... and sometimes each batch is a little different.  I don't use a thermometer or anything, but I try to watch them carefully and I rarely depend on time, rather the look and a toothpick.  Nevertheless, the results are well worth it.  As much as I love Mexican cuisine, Americans do take the cake... literally... in baking. :-)