Whats the difference between bake and conventional bake

So you bought your beautiful new convection oven, looked at all of the settings, and are now a little confused. It’s challenging enough to keep track of what separates convection cooking from traditional cooking, let alone all of the differences between different convection cooking methods!

Table of Contents Show

Differences Between Convection Bake and Convection Roast
Heat Supply
Temperature Range
Heating Elements
What Is a Convection Oven?
Why Should You Use the Convection Setting?
When Should You Use the Convection Setting?
When to Use the Convection Setting
When Not to Use the Convection Setting
How to Use the Convection Setting
More on Convection Ovens
Should I use bake or convection bake?
What's the difference between conventional bake and just bake?
When should you use conventional bake?
When should I not use convection bake?

But, it’s okay, we can help you! Today we’re going to analyze and dive deep to give you the lowdown on the main differences between convection bake and convection roast. You don’t have to rely on just the manual, we’ve simplified things for you. So let’s dig into the meatier stuff!

Differences Between Convection Bake and Convection Roast

To better understand what separates convection bake and convection roast, let’s look at some of the major differences between the two.

Heat Supply

The core difference between the bake and roast oven settings is how heat is supplied to the food while cooking.

The convection bake setting cooks food in a manner similar to that of a conventional oven. The convection bake oven will have heating elements on the top and bottom of the oven. These heating devices will work in tandem to ensure that the meal receives uniform heat. To ensure that the meal bakes thoroughly, the air circulation is kept to a minimum. What are the results? There will be no hot spots on the meal, and it will not burn. You won’t have to cope with an uncooked center or a crispy shell. This setting is excellent for baking bread or cakes.

On the other hand, the convection roast setting will need air circulation. As a result, the oven will employ both a fan and a heating element. The air is then heated by the broil element while the fan circulates it throughout the oven’s interior. The circulation adjusts to maintain a consistent temperature throughout the oven. To roast your dish, the convection roast will employ both stagnant and circulating hot air., which is what browns your food. If you’re roasting beef, turkey, or chicken, this setting is ideal.

Temperature Range

Both convection bake and roast use different temperature levels. When roasting, the oven is kept at a higher temperature, around 400 degrees Fahrenheit to achieve the perfect browning. On the other hand, convection baking is done at a somewhat lower temperature, around 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Duration

Another difference between the settings is the duration. Dishes that are baked can take longer to cook than foods that are convection roasted because convection baking is done at a lower temperature. The fan that circulates the air is the primary cause of the speed difference. Even though the temperature remains constant, heat is transmitted more quickly.

Heating Elements

Both top and bottom heating elements are found in convection ovens, but not all heating elements are used for all cooking settings. Convection baking uses the bottom heating element almost all of the time, whereas convection roasting uses both the upper and lower heating elements.

The more you know about your oven’s convection bake and roast settings, the better you’ll be able to prepare your meals. Now that you understand the differences between these two settings, you can begin experimenting! But first, you should also ensure that you have the right appliance to help produce the culinary taste you desire.

So, if you’re looking to upgrade your convection oven to a new model, make Fred's Appliance your first and last stop! If you have any questions or need more help, give us a callor stop by today!

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Raise your hand if you have a convection setting on your oven. Now, keep your hand up if you have no idea what the setting does and when or how to use it? That’s a lot of you! Luckily, we can help. This post will answer your biggest questions. Should you bake with the convection setting on? Are there times when it’s better than the normal setting? Why are we saying the word “setting” so much? To answer, find out what convection oven really is, when to use it, when not to use it, and more.

What Is a Convection Oven?

Very simply put, a convection oven has a fan and exhaust system that a regular oven does not. The fan and exhaust help blow hot oven air over and around the food, then vent it back out. As a result, this hot air surrounds the food so that it cooks evenly and more quickly.

A great way to describe this comes from Fine Cooking: “To help understand this, consider wind chill: When cold air blows against you on a blustery winter day, you feel colder more quickly than you do on a windless day of the same temperature.” The same applies with heat and convection cooking! Turn on the setting and the fan and exhaust kick into gear.

Why Should You Use the Convection Setting?

It cooks faster: Because hot air is blowing directly onto food instead of just surrounding it, food cooks about 25 percent faster in a convection oven.
It cooks more evenly: Regular ovens can have hot spots, depending on where the heating element is, but the fan in a convection oven will circulate the air to help even out the temperature variances.
It’s better at browning: Air in a regular oven can become a bit humid, as moisture can’t escape. Convection creates a dry atmosphere that caramelizes the sugars faster when roasting, so foods like meats and vegetables get browner, but the interiors stay moist.
It saves energy: Because food cooks faster in a convection oven, and generally at a lower temperature, it’s a bit more energy efficient than a regular oven.

When Should You Use the Convection Setting?

Because there are so many benefits to convection, you’re probably wondering why most convection ovens still have a regular oven setting. Depending on what you’re making, there are instances when you actually don’t want a fan circulating hot air around.

When to Use the Convection Setting

Any time you’re roasting:Foods that are roasted, like meats and vegetables, really benefit from convection cooking. They cook faster, more evenly, and the drier environment yields crispy skin and caramelizes exteriors much better.
When baking pies and pastries: Convection heat melts fat and creates steam faster, which helps create more lift in pie doughs and pastries like croissants.
When making lots of cookies: Convection allows you to bake more than one tray of cookies at a time evenly without the need to rotate them partway through baking.
Any time you’re making something that’s cooked with a cover: If you’re covering up the food with a lid, like a braise, or covering a casserole dish with foil, moisture loss is not an issue, so you might as well cook on convection since it’ll cook faster.
When you’re toasting or dehydrating: When you toast or dehydrate food, the goal is to remove moisture as quickly as possible, so convection is more efficient than regular.

When Not to Use the Convection Setting

The fan becomes a liability around delicate foods that start out as batter and set while cooking. Blowing air on these foods can create lopsided results. Don’t use convection when making these foods:

Custards and flans
Souffles
Cakes
Quickbreads
Breads:While some argue that convection creates even browning and a great crust, others say that it dries out the interior of the bread. The choice here is really up to you.

How to Use the Convection Setting

If you’ve decided to use the convection setting, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Lower the temperature:Lower the recommended oven temperature by 25°F.
Check earlier: Because food cooks more quickly on convection, check on it two-thirds or three-quarters of the way through the recommended cooking time and make any necessary adjustments.
Make sure air can circulate:Convection is only effective if the air can circulate well over the food. Use trays, roasting pans, and baking pans with lower sides, and don’t cover the oven shelves with foil.

Don’t be afraid of your convection oven — embrace this great feature! Play around with it and you’ll probably be amazed by the results.

More on Convection Ovens

Should I use bake or convection bake?

Convection bake is best used for roasting meats and vegetables, baking pies, pastries, cookies, and casseroles, as well as toasting and dehydrating. Here's why: Use Convection to Roast Meat and Vegetables: While a standard bake will get the job done, convection bake is ideal for roasting.

What's the difference between conventional bake and just bake?

A regular bake setting is fairly straightforward. The heated air inside the oven surrounds the food and cooks it from the outside, in. By contrast, a convection bake vs regular bake setting uses a fan at the rear of the oven to circulate the heated air inside. It also utilizes an exhaust system to help expel moisture.

When should you use conventional bake?

When to use convection. Convection cooking is ideal for foods that do better in a dry climate and where you want to encourage browning and crisping. So roasting meats, potatoes and vegetables are all ideal, and it's great for reheating things like fried chicken or baking pizza.

When should I not use convection bake?

The fan becomes a liability around delicate foods that start out as batter and set while cooking. Blowing air on these foods can create lopsided results. Don't use convection when making these foods: Custards and flans.