Preheat oven as directed in your cheesecake recipe, and adjust an oven rack to the middle or lower-middle position.

Make the crust according to your cheesecake recipe instructions and press it into your springform pan. If your recipe calls for pre-baking the crust, bake as directed.

Tear or cut two large pieces of aluminum foil, and lay one on top of the other. Set the springform pan (be careful if it’s hot from the oven!) on top of the foil, and tightly wrap the foil around the outside of the pan. This will prevent any water from leaking into the cheesecake. *You can also wrap the pan before pre-baking the crust, if you’d like.* Place the wrapped springform pan inside your large roasting pan.

Fill a kettle or pot with water and set over high heat to bring the water to a boil. You need 1 inch of hot water in your roasting pan for the water bath, so make sure you boil enough.

Pour/spread your cheesecake batter into the crust as directed in your recipe.

Place the entire roasting pan with the cheesecake inside it onto the middle or lower-middle oven rack. Carefully pour the boiling-hot water into the roasting pan, so that the water is about 1 inch deep. Close the oven door quickly to trap the steam inside.

the cheesecake as directed in your recipe.

Turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven with the water bath as it cools down for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and the water bath, and set the springform pan on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cooled to room temperature, refrigerate the cheesecake as directed in your recipe.