Convection Ovens

[jayt90]

I haven't bought the Waring Pro (w/rotisserie) yet, but am leaning toward it. The full fledged oven door is the clincher.

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Did you buy this yet? If so, what do you think of it?

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Not yet. I am still using my ancient microwave/convection contraption. The turntable moves the food past one 1200 watt blast of air, and it works well on bread, chicken, and small roasts.

But the Waring looks like a good replacement and the Bay Outfitters usually offer 20% off the $300. selling price. I think I'll get it when the GST changes in July

[Shira]

I'm living in Paris, and the convection oven in my apartment doesn't work. I'd like to replace it, but before I did, I was hoping for some advice. (I've never used one before.)

I'd mainly like to bake/grill fish and meat, roast chickens vegetables, make gratins, etc., though I'd ideally want the option of some simple baking as well: muffins, flatbread/pizza, etc. What kind of results can I expect?

Thanks!

[Toliver]

If anyone is interested in the DeLonghi with rotissiere, Overstock.com just listed them at $149.00

DeLonghi 1.1  cubic foot capacity

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Just checked on this link and saw it's even cheaper today. Of course, it's out of stock.

Has anyone purchased this model? I'd be interested in hearing any feedback on it.

[SusanGiff]

So, after spending many months and many dollars on plans to remodel our small home and build a bigger kitchen, we've decided to chuck it and just move. The house we're buying has a Viking range with gas convection oven. I use the oven primarily for baking, am accustomed to (and like) my current Thermador dual-fuel. I rarely use the convection feature on it.

The question is: How does gas-convection work for baking, particularly compared with an electric oven? Should I stick with it, or should we just bump up that loan a few thousand dollars and swap it for a true dual-fuel? BTW, the Viking in there is no more than 8 years old, but probably not much younger than that. The range we'd selected for our kitchen remodel was the 48" Dacor dual-fuel.

Thanks!

[alanamoana]

professional kitchen convection ovens are gas. i don't know anything about consumer versions. i would think that you'd get decent air flow and even heating to an extent, but there isn't an oven made in the universe that bakes perfectly evenly!

[aidensnd2]

I'm starting to research ovens for a new project and was wondering if anyone has any experience with Vulcan convection ovens, good, bad etc...

Thanks in advance

[atcake]

There is a possibility I can get a super clean Duke electric convection oven for a good price. I was hoping someone (or more than one) could give me some input on these. I believe it's a full sheet oven, don't have the model number yet. This would be used for baking cakes and cookies.

Thanks!

[chefpeon]

At my last job I worked with Duke convections......I liked them a lot......seemed dependable, and I liked the fact that I could choose between a high and low fan.

In my current job, I have two Blodgetts. Maybe they are older models, but my only choice is HIGH fan. Man I hate that. Not only is it a HIGH fan, but it's a super-juiced-turbo-charged HIGH fan.

Whatever convection oven you get, make sure you get a low fan feature!!!!

[atcake]

Thanks!

[shaloop]

I second that. Never used a Duke, but previously had convection with one fan speed only, super duper high. I could never bake layer cakes in there. Learned to make cheesecakes, but had to cover part of the time. Now I have a convection oven with low speed and it bakes cakes great. Also cheesecakes, cookies and anything else I might want to bake.

[bigcat39]

I own a Duke convection. Wonderful oven! The two speed fan is wonderful, it comes to temperature super fast, and the outside stays cool enough to stack paper products on (even though I don't) Get the vent kit, or just get a square to round vent adapter. With that, you don't need a hood for it.

[Artichoke]

My wife and I recently moved to a new apartment and are in the midst of renovating the kitchen. After many conversations I finally got her to agree to go along with my desire for a BlueStar range.

We were all set to order one today when she looked at the specs and saw that it was a convection and balked. I cook and she bakes. I have never baked anything in my life but I know that for myself, from beast to fowl to fish, I get superior results with the convection. She claims that the convection oven will be a detriment to her baking. She is a very good baker (having learned from her mom who is an excellent baker) but I think her phobia is based on the few times she baked something in our old oven, not realizing it was on convection and got a poor result.

My question to you bakers is what are your feelings on baking with a convection oven? Does it help or hinder? Do recipes need to be adjusted when using a convection? Again, I know nothing about baking, but I have to assume that one can bake effectively using a convection oven.

Thanks for any insight you can provide

[Joe Blowe]

Tell her she can use the ON/OFF switch for the convection fan...

[devinf]

Convection fans are the best, when you can turn the fan off. If you're getting a convection that's great but some baking just needs to be done slowly and without a fan.

[etalanian]

Convection is the best for most baked goods. But all of the ovens I know about can be used on either the convection or the regular setting, so she can avoid using the convection if she doesn't want to use it.

She should reduce the temperature of the oven by generally (for MOST things) 25 degrees from what the recipe calls for when she uses convection, and the time will also be reduced.

I hope she enjoys it! As for you, one of the greatest pleasures I have found with my convection oven is roasting chickens; perfectly golden brown and as juicy as can be!

Eileen

[Marlene]

Most convection ovens have a choice of regular bake or convection. Or there could be a switch to turn off the fan. My dacor has bake, convection bake, and pure convection. I use bake for delicate things like custards, convection bake for breads and pure convection for roasting meat and poultry.

Edited May 28, 2008 by Marlene (log)

[CaliPoutine]

She should reduce the temperature of the oven by generally (for MOST things) 25 degrees from what the recipe calls for when she uses convection, and the time will also be reduced.

I have a GE dual fuel convection and it automatically reduces the temp 25 degrees when you choose the convection bake.

[djyee100]

An oven where you can turn off the convection so that the oven cooks like a conventional oven would solve your problem.

Otherwise, I'm going to side with your wife on this one. I'm a experienced home baker and I loathe convection ovens for baking, except for baking pizza. First of all, cookbook recipes are still written for conventional ovens (as far as I can tell). If you're limited to convection, you're constantly recipetesting & trying to adjust temperatures & cooking times. That's not fun. Lessening cooking times by 20% is your starting point. If your wife is trying to bake her mother's favorite recipes on convection, she's going to be at it for awhile before she gets it right. If she ever does.

Secondly, I dislike how the convection oven cooks. It tends to cook the surface of food more quickly than the interior. That's great for crispy pizza but not other baked food. For example, I once watched someone bake batches of chocolate chip cookies on convection. When the interior of the cookies was done, the surface of the cookies was almost a uniform brown color. In a conventional oven, the cookies come out a lighter color with golden edges, & that's how I like my cookies.

I've been told that the fan of the convection oven can hamper the ability of certain delicate cakes to rise properly.

I don't own a convection oven, but I used them occasionally when I assisted chefs in baking classes for a few years (Dacor, Wolf, Viking). Ironically, the chef-teachers frequently didn't bother using convection. The time savings, so important in a commercial establishment like a bakery or restaurant, is almost meaningless to a home cook (or a cooking class, for that matter). So what if the cake takes 15 mins more for a home baker? And then there's the hassle of adjusting the recipe to the reduced cooking time on convection and getting it right. Not worth it, IMO. (And I suspect the chef-teachers thought so, too.)

Some posts upthread praise the convection oven for roasted meats. I actually think convection ovens can be good for roasts. But your wife's concern is for her baked goods like cakes, cookies, and pies, yes?

[Hest88]

Yep, the BlueStar convection can be turned on and off. In fact, the default is 'off.' Tell your wife. Problem solved!

[Vicarious]

My favorite thing about baking with convection ovens is that the temperature is even throughout, so I can bake on two or three racks at once without rotating pans.

[chefpeon]

I ditto everything djyee100 said.

I hate convections!!!! Hate them hate them hate them!

However if everything everybody said about home convections is true (I know y'all wouldn't lie), and you can just turn the convection feature off, then there's no problem. I've never had a home convection, but if I did, I'd always turn it off, I can tell you that.

For half of my professional baking life, I've been forced to deal with convection ovens......good ones and junk ones. The only decent ones are the ones that have a high/low fan feature. Even then I'd still rather bake in a conventional oven, given the choice. For the past 2 years I've been stuck with convections that only have the super-high-out-of-control fan feature. I can't tell you how much this sucks. I have to deal with severe hot spots, so I am constantly rotating my pans and switching shelves. The fan blows my muffin tops over to one side so I have lopsided muffins. It blows my parchment paper around if every corner isn't covered with product, so I'm always using forks or spoons to keep the parchment in place. It's SO annoying. And then tweaking the baking temps all the time is a hassle too.

Home models seem more user friendly though. I side with your wife on being convection-phobic, but if it's something that she won't be forced to use, and can turn the feature off, then she shouldn't be freaking out.

[Toliver]

The fan blows my muffin tops over to one side so I have lopsided muffins. It blows my parchment paper around if every corner isn't covered with product, so I'm always using forks or spoons to keep the parchment in place. It's SO annoying.

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This topic has come up before and I recall eGullet member andiesenji posting a photo of a tri-fold "shield" you can place in your oven so the convection fan won't blow directly onto your food. Granted, you shouldn't have to do this if the oven were designed better but it's a way of dealing with the problem without having to buy a new oven.

I'm curious about your mention of hot spots. I would have thought that convection would have eliminated any hot spots due to the nature of the circulating hot air. Or is this an incorrect assumption?

[Pam R]

My convections at work have hot spots, but otherwise I like using convection. I have one at home which I rarely use because I don't do much cooking at home -- but it's nice to have it there in case you want it. You don't have to use it if you prefer not to, but why not have it as an option if you can?

And when I bake meringues, I'd choose convection every time.

[Artichoke]

Yep, the BlueStar convection can be turned on and off. In fact, the default is 'off.' Tell your wife. Problem solved!

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You are correct. Crisis averted, marriage saved, BlueStar on the way.

[djyee100]

Crisis averted, marriage saved, BlueStar on the way.

Thanks to Egullet, this story has a happy ending.

Chefpeon and I could really get into it here about convection ovens, but I guess we shd spare the other people on this thread.

Well, maybe I could say one thing more.

As for hot spots--convection ovens have 'em. I and the other assts for the cooking classes always had to rotate the pans for even browning on all the different ovens we worked on. Once an asst failed to rotate a batch of cookies, & they came out of the oven with a clear pattern of the hot spots marked on 'em. At least then we knew for sure where the hot spots were in that oven. This was on a Viking wall oven.