What to Do When Frozen Pastry Stays Raw in the Middle

If frozen pastries such as börek, poğaça (savory rolls), or croissants come out of the oven raw in the middle, the fix is usually to lower the oven temperature and bake a little longer, since high heat browns the outside before the center has a chance to cook through. Why does the center of frozen pastry stay raw?Frozen dough starts out far colder at its core than dough left at room temperature, and oven heat moves from the surface inward. If the oven is too hot, the outside browns quickly while the middle is still doughy or even icy. The same happens when pieces go straight from the freezer into a hot oven, leaving less time for the heat to travel through. Crowding the tray also slows things down, since the gap between pieces narrows and hot air cannot circulate evenly around each one. How do you fix a pastry that is raw in the middle?Lowering the oven temperature by about 20°C / 36°F and baking a few minutes longer lets the outside reach the same golden color while giving the center more time to cook. If a pastry looks ready outside but you are unsure about the middle, loosely covering it with foil and leaving it in the oven a little longer finishes the inside without burning the crust. Leaving at least two finger-widths of space between pieces and using the middle rack lets hot air move evenly around each one. For larger items, letting them sit at room temperature for fifteen to twenty minutes before baking narrows the gap between the core and surface temperature. Does it differ by pastry type?Puffy poğaça (savory rolls) have a thicker core than layered ones like croissants, so their center takes longer to cook, while a croissant's thin layers conduct heat faster. Borek filled with cheese or potato tends to need slightly more time at the same temperature than a plain dough, because the filling has a higher moisture content. Fan, or convection, ovens spread hot air evenly around a pastry, so the center cooks faster and more evenly than in a static oven; if you are using a static oven, turning the tray front to back once halfway through helps. Next time, treat the baking time on the packaging as a starting point only, and check the actual center with a toothpick to be sure. Checking whether the product has stuck to the parchment paper is another useful sign; if the base stays wet and clings to the paper, that usually means the inside is not fully cooked yet. In ovens with weak bottom heat, moving the tray to the lowest shelf helps the base get enough heat too. With cheese-filled pastries, cheese leaking out and browning can give the false impression that the whole piece is done while the center is still raw; treat the leaked cheese separately and check the pastry itself with a toothpick.