Convection Cooking Tips
- When using dark or matte finish bakeware, you will get darker browning on your food surfaces. For optimum results, use silver-colored or shiny aluminum cookware.
- Do not use aluminum foil to line your cookware in convection cooking. This reflects heat away from the food and may add to convection oven cooking times.
- Using pans with low or shallow sides will allow air to better circulate around your food for better browning.
- Heat resistant paper and plastic containers that you can use in a traditional oven can be used in convection cooking.
- Uniform air circulation in a convection oven allows you to cook multiple racks of food at the same time. Convection cooking times may be slightly higher but still faster because you are able to cook more food at one time.
- It is generally recommended that a convection oven be preheated for convection baking, however, preheating is not required for roasting meats.
- When cooking with multiple pans, like loaf pans, leave 3-5 inches of space between pans for the air circulation needed in uniform cooking.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you use glass bakeware in this oven?
The general rule of thumb when using glass bakeware in any type of oven is to reduce the oven temperature by 25°F. However, in a convection oven, where temperatures are already reduced by 25°F it is not necessary to do this twice. Glass bakeware will perform as well in convection cooking as it does in a traditional oven.
Do pizza stones work in this type of oven?
If you have a baking stone or pizza stone it can be used successfully in a convection oven. Convection cooking technology is the uniform distribution of heat around your food for even cooking and browning, however, the bottom browning of a pizza crust can be further enhanced by using a pizza stone.
Are special pans required to cook convection?
The short answer is no but some types of cookware will perform better in a convection oven than others. For example, because convection cooking circulates heated air around your food, lower-sided baking pans will work better than their higher-sided counterparts.
Do I need to baste my food?
If you’re cooking, for example, a whole chicken or a roast in a convection oven, it is not necessary to baste the food. Convection cooking will quickly seal in juices and the uniform heat distribution will brown your food eliminating the need to baste.
Does high altitude affect convection cooking temperatures?
Typically when cooking with convection, recipe recommended temperatures are lowered by 25°F. When you live in a region with a higher altitude above 3,000 feet, traditional cooking is often increased by 25°F. So, in the instance of high altitude cooking with convection, no adjustment to temperature should be made.