Can you cook food on bottom of the oven?

[Loginmystery]

This is something I’ve been wondering about for a while. I have always used the oven shelves like a normal person but the last few months I’ve been sneaking things into the oven and placing directly on the bottom. I have a large family and I’m very worried about energy bills. I will get around to buying an air fryer at some point but for now when I heat the oven I’m trying to use it to capacity.

So can I ask- is this space in the oven ever used? Is it supposed to be used? I know it won’t get the circulation of heat and probably not optimal cooking but none the less do people use this space?

(When I use it I swap things about to make sure things are cooked properly)

Absolutely you can

I think it depends on the oven. If there's an element in the bottom then no - you'll probably end up burning the bottom of whatever you put there. You can put a cooling rack, or the rack from a grill pan in there to lift things off the base.

But you said you've been doing it in your oven so you know it's fine!

If it’s a fan oven absolutely I do it all the time

I've often put stuff down there that isn't an issue if it doesn't cook through thoroughly, so crusty bread etc. Not sure I'd be brave enough to do anything else , but maybe I should!

Definitely. We use it eg for garlic bread.

Absolutely fine.

If I didn’t use the bottom of the oven Sunday lunch would never get done, let alone Christmas!

I don't find it the best place, but I'll do it when needs must. If I need to do this I usually swap trays around during cooking time to let them cook more evenly.

If I am cooking 3 pizzas for example I put one on each oven shelf and then put the grill tray in the bottom of the oven and put one on there. They cook fine. You could also buy an additional oven rack if you are not cooking bulky things so you can get more oven trays in, although if you have loads in the oven it may change cooking times?

I do but need to swap things around to cook properly. You could always buy an extra shelf for your oven - you can get standard/universal ones online cheaply.

I have always done this. As a pp said I put the grill rack on the floor of the oven as a sort of third shelf as otherwise I find the bottom of some dishes either burn or don't cook properly.

I've got a double oven. When using the main oven I move the shelf of the top oven down to give an extra shelf as needed.

Yes, just don’t cook stuff that needs very consistent heat - eg cakes or meat. Often do potatoes yorkies or pizzas on the bottom. Some ovens (non fan) it can vary in heat a lot.

I don't put things directly on the floor of the oven because of the lack of circulation. But I do use either a cooling rack or the shelf from the top grill oven to create an extra shelf

Not in ours, ends up black on the bottom. Buy an extra shelf, they are not cheap which I find pretty annoying.

Well I’m so glad I asked now! And I can’t believe it’s taken me 35 years as an adult using an oven to think of this. And furthermore- I can’t believe I had not considered using a grill rack or similar on the bottom!
Thanks all!

We cant in ours as there is a heating element at the bottom. Check your handbook (or online for your oven model)