Tuesday’s Tip with The Kitchen Whisperer – Convention Oven to Convection Oven Temps and Times

So you finally decide to upgrade your oven OR your old oven decided to quit working at the most inopportune time and because you want fancy schmancy you go for a convection oven.  They are awesome and worth the money.  But you decide to make Aunt Millie’s secret family cake that you’ve made a thousand times in your own convention oven in your new fandangled convection oven.  You pull it out and it’s burnt and all kinds of nasty.  You’re angry, you blame the new oven as that cake as rocked a thousand times before.

While the new oven did bake it differently, aside from you screwing up the recipe (how dare I say that, huh… LOL), it’s honestly you’re fault for how you baked it.  See baking and cooking in a convection oven differs from a regular convention oven.  It’s not too hard to figure out but your recipes will need revamped a bit.  Never fear though as I explain it all below.  Who loves you guys? ♥

• For roasting meats, the rule of thumb for convection oven cooking is to reduce the time by 25%, but keep the temperature the same.
• For breads, cakes, and other desserts, the rule of thumb for convection oven conversion is to reduce the temperature by 25°F and keep the time constant. But ONLY if you can shut the fan off! I do not recommend using fan-based convection on these types of items
• For casseroles, potatoes, custards, and other baked foods slightly reduce both the time and the temperature. A good rule of thumb is the reduce the temperature by 15°-20° and reduce the time by 10%-15%.