The first time you use a convection oven, it can be a little bit confusing. What is the setting for? How do I bake at different temperatures? Where do I put my food to cook it evenly?
If you’re having these questions, don’t worry! We are here to help. This article will give you tips and tricks for baking all sorts of delicious desserts in a convection oven.
Baking Settings For Convection Ovens
First, let’s talk about the settings. The first setting to understand is convection bake. This mode has a lower temperature, but will actually cook food quicker. Use this mode for cakes and cookies that are dense and need to cook all the way through.
The second setting is convection roast. This mode has a higher temperature, the oven will cook food in a shorter amount of time. Use this mode for things like casseroles, whole chickens, and even lasagna.
The third mode is convection roast, which is also higher in temperature.
This mode is for meats and poultry that need a higher temperature to cook thoroughly.
You can use the convection roast mode, but don’t put the meat in until the oven has preheated to be sure that it’s going to get hot enough for you to actually have a roast with this setting.
The last setting is convection self-clean.
This setting cleans the oven for you!
All you have to do is turn on this setting and the oven will do all of the work. However, it is not necessary if you planned to use the oven later.
More Tips
The next thing you need to do is get your pans ready.
There are all sorts of pans on the market today, but I find that glass pans are my favorite to use with convection cooking because they’re much easier to clean.
When baking though, you need to make sure that the baking pans you use are clean and dry. Take the time to wipe your baking sheets, cookie sheets, and cake pans with a paper towel.
Then take a second paper towel and dry them off again. They should be completely dry and ready to go when you put them in your oven.
Now you’re going to want to put the pan in the bottom rack of your oven.
The convection ovens have a special feature where the heating elements are installed in the back and near the bottom of the oven.
This allows for more even heating across the food, but you need to make sure that you put your pans on the bottom rack.
The next thing I want to talk about is cooking sheets and cookie sheets!
When using these, you also need to make sure they are completely dry.
Otherwise they will stick to the bottom of your oven and you’ll need to clean them off and risk ruining all your cookies!
Tips for Baking Cookies In A Convection Oven
So, now that you have the baking pans ready and the oven preheated, it’s time to bake some cookies!
Start by preheating your oven for five minutes to get it nice and hot. When using a convection oven, you want to lower the temperature.
So, place your cookie sheets on the bottom rack, which is going to be where your food will be cooking on because of the heating elements in the back.
I find that baking cookies in a convection oven is a little bit faster, so if you’re making a full batch of cookies, watch out! If you open the oven and they look done, they probably are done.
Baking at Different Temperatures In A Convection Oven
The next thing I want to talk about is baking at different temperatures. This is actually really important because it’s not the same as baking in an old-fashioned oven.
When you bake in a convection oven, the temperature should be lowered by 25 degrees!
Muffins
Muffins are one of my favorite things to bake, so let’s talk about how to bake them in a convection oven. For best results, you want to preheat your oven for five minutes. Then you’ll place your muffin tin on the middle rack.
Cakes
Now let’s talk about cakes. Cakes are another thing that I really enjoy baking in my convection oven! If you’re going to be cooking a cake in a convection oven, preheat it for five minutes.
You’ll then want to put your cake in the middle of the oven. The middle rack is going to be where you put your food because it has the best air flow.
Conclusion
I hope that this article helped you learn more about how to bake in a convection oven! Baking is a lot of fun, but it can be pretty frustrating when you don’t use the right temperature or put the food in the right place. Just take a few minutes to read through this article and make sure you’re using your convection oven correctly.