Adapting Traditional Recipes for Your Convection Oven

Convection ovens offer great baked treats, but there are some special guidelines to follow when using them. Most traditional recipes are written with conventional ovens in mind. However, it is not difficult to adjust your traditional recipes to be used successfully with your convection oven.

As with any appliance, make sure to read the manufacturer's instructions carefully before using your convection oven. The manufacturer's literature which came with your oven will provide you with special instructions for preheating your convection oven. Make sure to position the racks in your convection oven as desired before preheating the oven, because the racks will heat up very quickly, and will be difficult and even dangerous to move after the oven is hot.

Food should always be placed in the center of the convection oven in order for the air to flow as designed. It is also important to leave space between pots and pans in the oven. As with any oven, you should avoid opening the oven during baking as much as possible, because this can disrupt the baking process.

As a general rule of thumb, when using traditional recipes in a convection oven, you should check for doneness at approximately three-quarters of the baking time. You can also try reducing the original temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit, and bake for the same amount of time as set forth in the recipe. Never assume that just because something looks done, it is. Always check for doneness as suggested in the recipe, such as sticking the baked good with a toothpick or using a thermometer.

One of the many advantages of using a convection oven is that it offers superior browning and crisping results. If you are using a recipe which requires the food to be covered, the temperature and time will likely remain the same for both recipes. However, if you are baking a recipe which has a long baking-time for a covered dish, you should reduce the temperature by 25 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

The guidelines set forth above will help you to use your convection oven to bake traditional recipes. Following these guidelines in addition to the manufacturer's suggested guidelines will allow you to adapt just about any recipe for your convection oven.