Several of you have praised your convection ovens. I've had one for 2 years, never used it b/c then
- Thread starter dianem
- Start date
desertjean
Well-known member
Now I don't feel so bad...
I had my stove for a year before I finally broke down, read the manual and tried the convection method. I must have done something wrong, instead of shortening the time it took an extra 10 minutes on a 12 minute cookie bake, so I gave up and went back to conventional baking.
Since the convection oven wasn't part of my "must haves" for the oven, I wasn't too disappointed, but if someone has tried and true tricks I'd be appreciate it as well.
I had my stove for a year before I finally broke down, read the manual and tried the convection method. I must have done something wrong, instead of shortening the time it took an extra 10 minutes on a 12 minute cookie bake, so I gave up and went back to conventional baking.
Since the convection oven wasn't part of my "must haves" for the oven, I wasn't too disappointed, but if someone has tried and true tricks I'd be appreciate it as well.
gayle-mo
Well-known member
Well now I feel better! smileys/smile.gif
I don't have one but will be buying a new stove in the next year or so. I have to say that when I go to my daughter's house and use her Viking oven I can not get the hang of the convection! (she never uses it, either!)
Does anyone like and use it or is it simply a selling point and no one uses them?
Sure glad you started this thread! Maybe we can get to the bottom of our questions. Thanks!
I don't have one but will be buying a new stove in the next year or so. I have to say that when I go to my daughter's house and use her Viking oven I can not get the hang of the convection! (she never uses it, either!)
Does anyone like and use it or is it simply a selling point and no one uses them?
Sure glad you started this thread! Maybe we can get to the bottom of our questions. Thanks!
I would never buy one. But that's just me personally....
I just can't see the purpose in it at all. I would think all that wind would dry food out. And ovens work so well (for centuries)...it ain't broke so why fix it? I'm having my own personal backlash to this rush rush faster faster world. I want to slow things down. To normal.
I just can't see the purpose in it at all. I would think all that wind would dry food out. And ovens work so well (for centuries)...it ain't broke so why fix it? I'm having my own personal backlash to this rush rush faster faster world. I want to slow things down. To normal.
desertjean
Well-known member
When I bought the oven my must haves were burner btu and
oven size. Self cleaning was also requirement. Convection was the "bonus" that came with.
It wasn't until the Christmas holiday hit that I decided to go for it and use the convection option. When I didn't have great success I just went back to using the conventional oven with the tiles inside.
For my small kitchen this oven works wonderfully and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I would like to be able to take advantage of the convection option.
I am so glad to find out I am not the only one who is behind the convection times smileys/smile.gif
oven size. Self cleaning was also requirement. Convection was the "bonus" that came with.
It wasn't until the Christmas holiday hit that I decided to go for it and use the convection option. When I didn't have great success I just went back to using the conventional oven with the tiles inside.
For my small kitchen this oven works wonderfully and I wouldn't trade it for the world, but I would like to be able to take advantage of the convection option.
I am so glad to find out I am not the only one who is behind the convection times smileys/smile.gif
America's Test Kitchen had a segment on them last week. Here's the info from their site & the link.
Very interesting information as when they are best used. I don't have one, btw.
Convection Ovens
In addition to the usual bake and broil, many new ovens now offer convection settings. Readers have asked when and how to use the convection option, so we decided to make a dozen of our recipes in the test kitchen's Wolf and KitchenAid ovens using both the convection setting and the regular bake setting.
How does a convection oven work? A built-in fan circulates the hot air, which helps to maintain a constant temperature and eliminate hot spots. This should translate to even browning and faster cooking because the hot air fully engulfs the food and conveys the heat more efficiently than it does in a standard oven, where the hot air does not circulate.
Most ovens with a convection feature are equipped with at least two convection settings: convect bake and convect roast. In the former, a majority of the heat is generated from the lower heating element to mitigate surface browning. In the latter, heat is generated from both the upper and lower heating elements to promote the surface browning desired in most roasted preparations. In our tests, we used the convection setting appropriate for the preparation and in some cases tested both. Manufacturers recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25 to 50 degrees when using a convection setting, and we incorporated these temperature adjustments into our tests.
The following is a review of our findings. Of course, these tests represent just the tip of the iceberg; we intend to make convection oven tests an ongoing project.
CAKES
We found no advantage to baking yellow layer cakes on the convect bake setting. In the convection mode, the cakes required a 25-degree temperature reduction to prevent the surfaces from becoming dry and leathery. This temperature adjustment slowed baking by several minutes, with no improvement in the cakes.
COOKIES
With the oven temperature reduced 25 degrees, cookies baked up nicely on the convect bake setting, but the baking sheets still required top-to-bottom shuffling. (When we lowered the temperature by 50 degrees and ex-tended the baking time, we found that the cookies browned evenly without switching the position of the baking sheets. We are, however, hesitant to recommend a universal 50-degree temperature reduction when baking cookies on a convection setting. Attempt this at your own risk.) We found that cookies that are better baked one sheet at a time in a standard oven--such as our Molasses Spice Cookies--can be baked two sheets at a time on the convect bake setting.
ROAST CHICKEN
Chickens roasted on the convect roast setting were done 10 to 15 minutes ahead of those roasted in a standard oven, and the skins were darker and more evenly browned. Chickens roasted on the convect bake setting also cooked faster, but they did not brown any better than in a standard oven. Stick with convect roast. No temperature adjustment is necessary.
YEASTED BREAD
When we baked free-form rustic loaves on preheated baking stones, the convect bake setting yielded a loaf with a slightly thicker, crispier crust. The loaves browned and rose on par with each other, indicating that no time and temperature adjustments are necessary.
PREBAKED TART SHELL
With the oven temperature reduced 25 degrees, tart shells lined with foil, filled with pie weights, and prebaked on the convect bake setting browned a bit more quickly than tart shells baked on the standard bake setting. Once the foil and weights were removed and the shells returned to the oven, the bottom of the convection-baked tart shells browned better and more evenly.
TO SUMMARIZE:
Convection settings do promote even browning and work well for preparations in which browning and crisp surfaces are desired. Temperature reduction is necessary for more delicate and sugary baked goods such as cookies and tart shells but not for sturdier, more savory foods such as roast chicken and yeasted breads.
http://americastestkitchen.com/foodscience.asp?foodscienceid=195&iSeason=6
Very interesting information as when they are best used. I don't have one, btw.
Convection Ovens
In addition to the usual bake and broil, many new ovens now offer convection settings. Readers have asked when and how to use the convection option, so we decided to make a dozen of our recipes in the test kitchen's Wolf and KitchenAid ovens using both the convection setting and the regular bake setting.
How does a convection oven work? A built-in fan circulates the hot air, which helps to maintain a constant temperature and eliminate hot spots. This should translate to even browning and faster cooking because the hot air fully engulfs the food and conveys the heat more efficiently than it does in a standard oven, where the hot air does not circulate.
Most ovens with a convection feature are equipped with at least two convection settings: convect bake and convect roast. In the former, a majority of the heat is generated from the lower heating element to mitigate surface browning. In the latter, heat is generated from both the upper and lower heating elements to promote the surface browning desired in most roasted preparations. In our tests, we used the convection setting appropriate for the preparation and in some cases tested both. Manufacturers recommend reducing the oven temperature by 25 to 50 degrees when using a convection setting, and we incorporated these temperature adjustments into our tests.
The following is a review of our findings. Of course, these tests represent just the tip of the iceberg; we intend to make convection oven tests an ongoing project.
CAKES
We found no advantage to baking yellow layer cakes on the convect bake setting. In the convection mode, the cakes required a 25-degree temperature reduction to prevent the surfaces from becoming dry and leathery. This temperature adjustment slowed baking by several minutes, with no improvement in the cakes.
COOKIES
With the oven temperature reduced 25 degrees, cookies baked up nicely on the convect bake setting, but the baking sheets still required top-to-bottom shuffling. (When we lowered the temperature by 50 degrees and ex-tended the baking time, we found that the cookies browned evenly without switching the position of the baking sheets. We are, however, hesitant to recommend a universal 50-degree temperature reduction when baking cookies on a convection setting. Attempt this at your own risk.) We found that cookies that are better baked one sheet at a time in a standard oven--such as our Molasses Spice Cookies--can be baked two sheets at a time on the convect bake setting.
ROAST CHICKEN
Chickens roasted on the convect roast setting were done 10 to 15 minutes ahead of those roasted in a standard oven, and the skins were darker and more evenly browned. Chickens roasted on the convect bake setting also cooked faster, but they did not brown any better than in a standard oven. Stick with convect roast. No temperature adjustment is necessary.
YEASTED BREAD
When we baked free-form rustic loaves on preheated baking stones, the convect bake setting yielded a loaf with a slightly thicker, crispier crust. The loaves browned and rose on par with each other, indicating that no time and temperature adjustments are necessary.
PREBAKED TART SHELL
With the oven temperature reduced 25 degrees, tart shells lined with foil, filled with pie weights, and prebaked on the convect bake setting browned a bit more quickly than tart shells baked on the standard bake setting. Once the foil and weights were removed and the shells returned to the oven, the bottom of the convection-baked tart shells browned better and more evenly.
TO SUMMARIZE:
Convection settings do promote even browning and work well for preparations in which browning and crisp surfaces are desired. Temperature reduction is necessary for more delicate and sugary baked goods such as cookies and tart shells but not for sturdier, more savory foods such as roast chicken and yeasted breads.
http://americastestkitchen.com/foodscience.asp?foodscienceid=195&iSeason=6