Use two baking sheets and both oven racks. I have 5 places for racks in my oven so I place them on the second and forth position. When a recipe leaves you hanging, Alice's rules will save you. In a fan oven, the position should not be important. However, there are slight differences to each rack. Why should the oven rack be in the middle position when baking the cookies Why from NS 415 at Kaplan University In most cases having the oven rack in the center will also allow the food to be in the center. Here I should note that you should never move an oven rack that has a baking dish or pan on it. If you don’t know it by now, baking can be tricky. The oven heat does not stay on consistently throughout baking, but rather works in bursts of heat. The position of the rack in the oven is almost as important as the baking temperature! Usually the oven rack goes in the center of the oven. You want your food to be in the center of the oven, which usually means the oven rack should be in the center of the oven. The correct rack position will ensure even baking. My Angel Food cake recipe goes on the third rack down because of the height of the cake and pan. Baking 101: a series of how-tos and what’s-what when it comes to home baking.The small stuff, explained. For safety’s sake, it is best to adjust the racks before pre-heating the oven. The middle rack is generally the safest option. What’s tricky is that, when you read a recipe (and you should totally read a recipe before you get in the kitchen) it’s hard to know which steps are super important, and which steps you can flub a bit. When baking cookies or biscuits, in an oven with no fan, use rack positions near but not at the highest position in the oven. So many finicky details make the difference in baking. And pan rotation is important for even baking too. The racks should be set in the next-to-highest and next-to-lowest levels. The short answer is Yes! If you have to move a rack once the oven is hot, make sure to use oven mitts or thick oven pads, and use both hands to re-position the rack. Shop the Story. CENTER RACK: MOST OF THE TIME. Try baking a pizza on the top rack of your oven and you just won't get that crispy bottom crust. Bake a tray of cookies on the bottom rack, and it's pretty likely you'll have burnt bottoms. For two trays of cookies space them evenly. (Not recommended) Using Both Racks. Today: Oven rack position can make or break your cakes and cookies.