Convention Oven Cooking

Convection ovens use a fan (and sometimes a heating element around the fan) to circulate hot air throughout the oven. This moving air cooks food more evenly, reduces hot spots, and speeds up cooking.

How Convection Cooking Works

The fan forces hot air to flow around the food.
Surfaces dry faster, leading to better browning and crisping.
Heat penetration is more efficient, so foods cook faster and more evenly.
Good for large pans or multiple racks because heat circulates.

Standard Conversions for Convection Ovens

1. Lower the Temperature

Reduce oven temperature by 25°F (about 15°C).

Example:
If a recipe says 350°F → bake at 325°F in convection.

2. Reduce Cooking Time

Cooking is typically 25% faster.

Example:
If something takes 40 minutes, expect it to be done in 30 minutes.

✔ Start checking earlier—especially baked goods.

3. Use Shallow Pans

Shallow pans help air circulate around the food.

Avoid:

Deep roasting pans
High-sided casserole dishes for roasting meats

Better:

When Convection Is Best

Convection is excellent for dry-heat cooking—anything that benefits from crisping, browning, or roasting.

Ideal Foods for Convection:

Roasting meats (chicken, beef, pork, fish)
Roasting vegetables
Cookies and biscuits
Puff pastry, turnovers, hand pies
Pies and tarts
Toasting nuts or breadcrumbs
Air-fryer-style crisping (fries, wings, breaded foods)

The moving air dries moisture, giving crisp edges and even browning.

When to Avoid Convection

Some foods need gentle, still air to rise properly.

Avoid convection for:

Delicate cakes (sponge cake, angel food cake, chiffon)
Soufflés
Quick breads with high moisture
Cheesecake
Custards
Batters that need height and softness

The fan can push batter around or make the surface dry too quickly.

Convection During Baking

If your oven allows switching modes mid-bake, great for:

Turning Convection ON halfway:

Casseroles (brown the top)
Lasagna
Mac & cheese
Baked pasta
Crusty bread finishing

Rack Placement in Convection

Unlike regular ovens, convection circulates air well regardless of rack position, but some general rules help:

Middle rack: Cookies, pastries, cakes
Lower rack: Roasts, large meats
Upper rack: Broiling or finishing crusts

Because heat moves more evenly, you can often cook on multiple racks simultaneously.

Tips for Best Convection Results

✔ Use lighter-colored pans

Dark pans can brown too fast in convection.

✔ Don’t cover foods tightly

Foil covers block circulation and defeat the purpose.

✔ Reduce crowding

Leave some space between pans so air can flow.

✔ Rotate pans only if needed

Convection reduces the need, but some ovens still have minor hot spots.

✔ Check internal temperatures

Convection speeds up cooking—meats may finish sooner than expected.

✔ Avoid very fatty foods at high temps

The fan can blow oil droplets, creating smoke.

Convection Temperature Chart (General)

Food Type	Standard Temp	Convection Temp	Time Reduction
Cookies	350°F	325°F	~25% faster
Roasted Chicken	400°F	375°F	20–25% faster
Roasted Veggies	425°F	400°F	Slightly faster
Fish	400°F	375°F	Check ~5 min early
Sheet-pan Meals	425°F	400°F	20% faster
Bread	375°F	350°F	Same or slightly faster
Casseroles	350°F	325°F	Same or 10% faster

Example: Convection Instructions for Fish (Like Your Cod Recipes)

If a fish recipe says:

Bake cod at 400°F for 12–15 min

→ Convection method:

Bake at 375°F
Check at 9–10 minutes
Broil 1 minute if you want extra browning on crumbs

OTHER RESOURCES

Convection ovens—long a mainstay of professional kitchens—continue to gain popularity with home cooks, many of whom either opt for the compact countertop versions or purchase an oven with a convection setting. The allure of faster cooking times, evenly cooked food, and the oven's improved energy efficiency is hard to ignore. However, for anyone new to cooking with convection ovens, there is a learning curve that often requires adjustments to either time or temperature—and sometimes both. If you're trying to figure out how best to cook with your convection oven, we've got some helpful advice.

First, a few basic mechanics:
A conventional oven uses radiant heat that emanates from the top and/or bottom surfaces. The result is usually an oven with hot and cold spots.

What makes a convection oven stand apart is the internal fan that circulates hot air, creating an evenly heated environment for the food.

The most obvious advantage to having a steady supply of heat surrounding and penetrating the food is that all your meat, produce, and baked goods will cook faster and brown more evenly.

Experts and manufacturers recommend adjusting any recipe in two ways: either by lowering the oven's temperature by about 25 degrees or by shortening the cooking time by roughly a quarter.

Follow the tips below and carefully monitor your first few attempts for browning, texture, and doneness.

It may help to record the results—through trial and error, you will quickly get a sense of how your convection oven cooks and what further adjustments should be made.

Convection oven Recipes: lamb-shanks-with-olives-and-capers

VIDEO:

CONVECTION OVEN RECIPES