Convection Ovens

Decorating By mare Updated 30 Jul 2008 , 6:34pm by Suebee

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mare Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 4:14am
post #1 of 15

How many of you use a convection oven when baking your cakes? I just got a convection/regular bake oven, and I want to hear what you think about using a convection oven.

14 replies
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peg818 Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 12:30pm
post #2 of 15

Thats all i bake with. Remember to lower the temp at least 25 degrees and bake with the fan on low.

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snowshoe1 Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 2:43pm
post #3 of 15

Love mine - I can use all three racks and no hot/cool spots in the oven.

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TOMAY Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 2:54pm
post #4 of 15

I agree drop your temp and use your low setting I also raise the hummidity in my oven by adding a pan full of water with vanilla beans .

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msauer Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 3:00pm
post #5 of 15

When I first got my oven I really wasn't doing all that much baking so I hardly used it. I tried it a few times here and there and really didn't seem to care for it bc I thought that every time I baked chocolate it smelled burnt. Well, things have taken off for my business and it was taking me 1-1/2 days to get the baking done, so something had to give. I went back to experimenting with the convection and things really aren't getting over cooked, I still get "it's so moist" comments, and I can pretty much get all the baking done in a day. (I have been looking at commercial convection ovens lately and I could fit one through my front door I would own one).

Good luck! I know you'll be happy with how much bake time it takes off of all of your cakes!

-Michelle

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tiggy2 Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 3:06pm
post #6 of 15

I'm getting a convection oven in my new house and can't wait to bake in it but I have a question. How do you know how to long to bake a cake compared to a regular oven? If I normally bake at 325 should I bake at 300? TIA

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psurrette Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 3:11pm
post #7 of 15

I just bought a GE Profile convection for my house and I think it takes longer to bake on convevtion. I had a repair man come yesterday to check to make sure it was working and he needed to re calibrate the temp. I had been using it at 365 but baked a cake last night at 325. he directions say it will compensate the temp so use what the recipe says.
I guess I will let you know this weekend when I have more to bake.
Are most of you using 2 or 3 inch pans?

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yayadesigns Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 3:25pm
post #8 of 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by snowshoe1

Love mine - I can use all three racks and no hot/cool spots in the oven.




If you use all 3 racks, does it take longer? I have the convection option on my oven and I tried playing around with it once but I didnt really find that it was faster? Maybe I just need to play more?

I did notice that when I put in my baking temp it did automatically adjust it 25 degrees for the convection.

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snowshoe1 Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 3:54pm
post #9 of 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by yayadesigns

Quote:
Originally Posted by snowshoe1

Love mine - I can use all three racks and no hot/cool spots in the oven.



If you use all 3 racks, does it take longer? I have the convection option on my oven and I tried playing around with it once but I didnt really find that it was faster? Maybe I just need to play more?

I did notice that when I put in my baking temp it did automatically adjust it 25 degrees for the convection.




No - I have not adjusted my baking times - I didn't know convection was meant to bake faster - I thought it was to bake more even (?). I keep my fan on high (not sure why others use low - can someone explain what the advantage is?). Mine also automatically adjusts for the 25 degree difference.

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mare Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 6:06pm
post #10 of 15

Thank you all for responding to my question. My oven does take the 25 degrees off when turned on, and I think my fan runs on low all the time because I don't see anywhere to adjust the speed. The directions for my oven say to put the food in the oven and then set the temperature. I don't see a pre-heat feature either.

I'm a little upset with myself for not taking my 16" round cake pan with me shopping because it 'barely' fits. What happens to a cake if the pan touchs the back of the oven ever so slightly? If I can't use it, then I'll just have to go with the 14" round as my biggest size for wedding cakes.

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Deana Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 6:53pm
post #11 of 15

I have a new Kenmore Elite convection oven - the instruction booklet advised against using the convection feature to bake cakes (although I do have a seperate 'Cake' button - it does not cook by convection).... read your book, it should give you guidelines...

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peg818 Posted 29 Jul 2008 , 7:03pm
post #12 of 15

Check in to buying 1/2 pans, i can't fit more then a 14 round comfortably in my oven, but i can bake 3 12x18's at one time. My old oven couldn't fit anything larger then a 14 so i already had the 1/2 pans when i purchased this stove.

Higher fan temp can blow batter around and cause a darker crust. Now i do know that there is a big difference in the commercial ovens i use at work as apposed to the home convection, the commercial ovens have a much stronger fan then my home oven.

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zoomzone Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 12:11am
post #13 of 15

I have a dual fuel Frigidaire 42" range which has a 5 burner gas cooktop a small elec. oven on the left side and a 36" convection oven on the right.

I LOVE the conv. for baking especially. My cakes rise a little more and come out more evenly done. I have had 4 pans ( OR ALSO 48 cupcakes) in at once and they come out fine.
Most bakery cooks a little quicker on conv. so I always check 5 min before the minimum time the recipe states.

I have found the best course of action for my oven is to preheat on regular bake at the temp the recipe calls for. When I put the cake in I switch to conv bake and subtract 10 degrees even though my oven instructs that the oven will self adjust the temp.

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puzzlegut Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 5:57pm
post #14 of 15

For awhile, I didn't use the convection feature of the oven for my cakes. I was worried that it might dry out the cakes or might not make the fully cooked. Now I use the convection feature for the cakes. Before for the conventional oven I baked my cakes at 325 but now with the convection oven i bake at 300 degrees; I also preheat my oven to 350 and once the cakes are loaded i lower the temperature to 300. I also use bake even strips and a flower nail (depending on the size of the cake).

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Suebee Posted 30 Jul 2008 , 6:34pm
post #15 of 15

How much time do you save? What do you normally bake your 12" round for in a normal oven vs. conv.? How many can you put in at a time?

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