Serious question, who else bakes with a cold oven instead of preheating?

I used to always preheat my oven for 15 or 20 minutes before sliding in a cake, total rule follower style. But about 4 months ago, I forgot to turn it on before starting a batch of muffins in Portland and they came out way more tender on the inside. Now I put the batter in cold and let the oven work up to temp with the pan inside, which adds about 5 or 6 minutes to bake time. The rise is slower so the top doesn't crack as much, and my banana bread has been consistently moist since. My neighbor thinks I'm nuts and swears it throws off her crumb structure every time she tried it. Has anyone else compared this side by side, or is my kitchen just weird? I'm curious if this only works for quick breads or if someone does it for yeast doughs too.

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alice24221d agoTop Commenter

Portland baker here too. My sister tried the cold oven trick with sourdough and it flattened out, so I think it only works for quick breads and muffins, not yeast stuff. I did it once with a loaf of banana bread and the crumb was nice and tight, but my chocolate cake came out dense and almost gummy in the middle. The extra 5 minutes might not be enough for anything with a lot of butter or sugar, since those need the heat fast to set the structure.