If you have never cooked in a convection oven, you may not have realized that it is a bit different from using a conventional oven. Besides the fact that this type of oven is more expensive than a traditional oven, there are other things that should be handled differently. Read on for several useful convection ovens cooking tips.
When you are making baked goods in a convection oven, you will need to adjust the time a bit. Since convection ovens get considerably hotter than conventional ovens, you will only need about three-quarters of the time to make your dishes. Since you are new to this, decrease the recommended time and see how well your dishes come out. You can make adjustments after figuring out the way that your particular oven works.
Another way to accommodate the difference between convection and traditional ovens is to decrease the temperature. It is best to set the oven to 25-30 degrees less than the recommended temperature since these ovens are much hotter than their conventional counterparts. One thing you should know is that you should adjust the temperature OR the cooking time. Your items will not cook correctly if you make adjustments to both. That is one of the most important things to remember about using a convection oven.
If you are baking cookies in your new convection oven, it is best to use a pan that has no sides. Since this type of oven does not cook the same as the ones you are used to, there is a chance that your cookies will cook unevenly if the pan is too large. This is also a good idea if you are making other baked goods as well.
There are usually three racks in a convection oven and each is used for a different purpose. Keep this in mind when deciding where to place your food. Things that should be roasted will do better on the bottom rack while the top rack is best for things that you want to keep warm. Generally, you should use the middle rack unless the cooking instructions give you different advice.
It is important for you to preheat your oven to a higher temperature EVERY time you want to cook in your new oven. Even though these ovens get hotter than conventional ovens, they cool off considerably when they are opened. Preheating the oven beforehand will ensure that the oven stays as hot as it should even after it is opened. Once your food has been in there for a few minutes, it will be fine to decrease the temperature.
Most people believe that convection ovens are difficult to master, and they can be if you are not armed with the right information. If you pay close attention to the advice give to you here, you should be a master at it in no time. Of course, there will be an adjustment period when you are still getting used to the differences, but before long convection oven cooking will be second nature to you.