How to cook rice in an electric oven meant for baking cakes?

Question

Are there any special precautions to be taken? About the water quantity, soaking and timing etc?

Answer 1

I make rice in the oven if I'm making a large meal and don't have a burner to spare for the rice. I bake it in an enamel cast iron Dutch oven (you can also use aluminum or stainless steel trays / hotel pans covered tightly with aluminum foil) using the same water-to-rice ratio (2:1) as when I make it on the stove. Cook at 350°F / 177°C for approximately 20-30 minutes, remove from the oven and let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve!

(Note: The cooking time will depend on whether you pre-soak the rice and also how good your oven is at maintaining a constant temperature. You can check if it needs more time by wiggling the pot/tray a little; if you hear water sloshing around, it needs more time, but if it feels like a solid mass, it's probably done.)

The only problem you might have with this: sometimes the rice on the bottom of the pot gets dried out and sticks to the pot. You can avoid this by boiling the water before you add the rice (on the stove, but I guess you could do it in the oven, too. If you have an electric kettle and you're making a relatively small amount of rice, you can heat the water in the kettle and just pour it over the rice, too).

Answer 2

There's a technique for pilaf (also pilau, pulav, pulao and lots of other names), which is finished in an oven ... it's possible that you might be able to get away with doing it in only an oven if you used the oven to pre-heat the pan and oil, didn't add vegetables to it (which would cool it down), and also pre-heated the liquid in the oven.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 177°C
2. Heat the pan with some oil or butter.
3. Sauté some onion, garlic, and whatever other vegetables you want (mushrooms, bell pepper, carrots, etc.)
4. Add the rice, and stir 'til it either gets lightly browned or smells nutty. (~3 minutes)
5. Add liquid (broth / stock / whatever), and bring to a boil.
6. Turn off the stove (if using a stove)
7. Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid
8. Place the pan in the oven for 15 minutes.
9. Remove pan from oven, still covered, and let sit for 15 minutes more.
10. Fluff with a fork & serve.

You can add dried herbs before putting it in the oven, as well as stuff that doesn't need a long time to cook (eg, corn or peas). If you want to add spices or nuts (pine nuts, slivered almonds, etc.), add 'em with the rice before you sauté it.

Answer 3

I have my special way to cook rice by oven: At the first keep rice in enough amount of water and salt (1 tablespoon salt for every cup of rice ) for 5 or 6 hours, then on the stove boiling water and rice, if you see some floating rice on top of the water means that the time you must turn off stove and take it's water away, then add enough butter or oil to rice then cover it and put it in oven for 15 mintes. You'll have very delicious cooked rice.