A baking device for a wafer coated with a coating containing a solvent is described, having a baking chamber, a support for the wafer, an inlet for a purge gas, and an evacuation for the purge gas charged with solvent evaporated from the coating. The inlet is formed as a diffusion element arranged above the wafer so as to admit the purge gas evenly over substantially the entire surface of the wafer, and the evacuation is formed as an evacuation ring which radially surrounds the diffusion element and is arranged at a ceiling of the baking chamber.