Convection Oven Queries

When should you use convection heat and when should you use still heat for baking?

A convection oven uses a fan that is usually located at the back of the oven to circulate warm air within it. Moving the warm air around can accelerate cooking, and in some cases, this is a good thing, especially with food like roasted chicken and potatoes. In the case of baked goods, this is not always the case.

The challenge of baking with convection heat is that the outside of baked items can brown quickly (due to the high sugar or fat content), before the inside is baked through. And the increased air current can promote eggs to soufflé within recipes like cheesecake, causing cracking after they cool. As well, with very fluid or fluffy batter, the convection current can actually move the batter, causing a lopsided cake!