Convection Oven Question

[sikiguya]

Due to another job change for my husband (the 3rd this year), we have to move 2 days after Christmas to another state (Wisconsin). The house that we ended up purchasing has a newer (3-4 years old) convection oven. I have no idea how to cook in one and fear that it will take much trial and error learning how.

Sorry that the pic is not that great. Jim took the pictures and wasn't paying attention to the stuff that is important to me (kitchen appliances and laundry). He did take about 6 pictures of the garage and about 5 of the basement......MEN! LOL

Anyone have some great words of wisdom for me? I know some of the great minds out there will have some great info for me.

 

[nmaineman36]

Welcome to the wonderful world of convection cooking. I have a gas Bosch freestanding range and from my experience the oven will walk you thru what you have to do. To convert a recipe that calls for lets say a 350 degree temp you drop it by 25 degrees and cook at the minimum time. Thats on convetion bake...to convection roast the same holds true. Chicken and turkey come out like a restuarant...golden and crispy skin juicey meat on the inside. Beef roasts come out great. If you have a probe with your oven use it......I use mine and when its plugged in on the screen it will ask for the internal temp you desire. Completely automatic cooking. It should shut off when done. If you have the manuals for the oven read them or call the company that made it.

 

[DADoES]

My GE Profile range has convection. I don't do whole roast chicken or turkey, but I've used it for chicken breast, frozen pizza, cookies, and biscuits. Two sheets of cookies at the same time did well. It has two convection bake modes, tagged "multi-rack" and "single-rack." Multi-rack runs the convection fan and surrounding circular element. Single-rack runs the fan and the regular "hidden" bake element under the oven floor. Once I figured that out, I've used only the multi-rack setting. Convection mode automatically drops the temp by 25°F. Entering 350°F results in 325°F, the display reflects that actual temp. I've not yet tried batter-type baked items (cakes, brownies) on convection. Typically when I'm doing those it's for company coming and I don't want to risk a skrew-up. Must try a cake soon, though.

I've used the temperature probe a couple times for pork loin (although not in convection mode), worked pretty well. The item being baked must be large enough to take the probe properly, it doesn't work with chicken breasts for example.

 

[countryguy]

I currently have a Kenmore convection oven but previously had a Whirlpool convection oven. I love it and wouldn't go without. I cook almost everything on convection - the rule I use is, if there is a lid to be used (like on a covered casserole dish) then I don't use the convection feature, if there is no lid then I cook with convection - poultry, roasts, cakes, squares, muffins, cookies, pizza, etc. As the others have mentioned you decrease the temp. by 25 degrees but cook for the same length of time as the original recipe. I have found that all my baking rises higher and cakes do not split in the centre. Also note that you can cook on multiple racks since everything browns evenly due to the circulated hot air. My oven has 3 racks so I can cook 3 sheets of cookies all at the same time thus decreasing overall time spent by 2/3.

Gary

 

[petek]

I had in our previous house a Kitchenaid, went with the house unfortunately and we're still using the very plain Kenmore that came with this one at the moment and I certainly do miss it.
Anyways something you'll need if you don't already have for convection roasting is a shallow roasting pan and a sturdy rack to sit the meat/fowl on. The point being that you want as much of the roast exposed to the hot air currents. Sitting in a deep roasting pan with only a bit of the top exposed sort of defeats the purpose. By shallow I mean like a lasagna pan, 2-3 inch sides.
If it has a probe all the better, I used the probe consistently and it worked flawlessly.
Ours had the convection bake, convection roast, and convection broil settings. Convection broil, we didn't broil really, allows you to broil with the oven door closed.
My main reason for getting one was because I bake bread and wanted an oven that I could use all the racks at one time which a convection oven allows. Same for cookies, you can place cookie trays on all 3 racks and get good results.
I also figured out that using convection bake you could cook frozen foods like fries, mini pizza's etc without preheating and in shorter time.

BTW looks like a beauty of a kitchen, didn't you just move a few months ago from that red brick house?

 

[frigilux]

I have gas and electric convection ranges. You don't have to use the convection feature; every range I've seen has options for BAKE and CONVECTION BAKE/ROAST.

I don't use the convection feature as much as I thought I would. I think it's great for frozen pizzas, frozen/breaded chicken/fish fillets and frozen appetizer items that allow for the option of either baking or deep-frying. When you use the convection setting for those items, they turn out (almost) restaurant quality. I also use it for baking 3 sheets of cookies at a time. Most of the time, though, I use my ranges as standard ovens.

It's a great feature/option to have---I'm sure you'll find your favorite uses for it.

 

[sikiguya]

Thanks!

Thanks for the great info guys! I will be putting it to good use as soon as we move in. I just didn't know how different it would be to use it and I don't know if they are leaving the manuals behind either. I am sure the manual is somewhere online too, one I get a model number.

Pete-We have been trying to sell our house for 6 months. My husband had gotten a new job about 60 miles away and just drove it everyday. We were ready to cave in and just give the house to the relocation company and buy a house up there (or rent), but then he got another promotion and this job is another 30 miles north of where he is now. It's just too far for him to drive on a daily basis. He will be living in Wisconsin for the month of December while I wrap things up here and get ready for the move. I did get a call today that someone is coming to look at the house tonight so we shall see if they have any interest. We have lowered the price from $408K to $379K, hoping it might entice someone to buy it.

 

[tomturbomatic]

I used to bake pound cakes in my Farberware convection oven. The results were superb. I hope you will enjoy the same performance from your oven. The directions for baking cakes said to lower the temperature 25 degrees unless the recommended temperature was 300F. Most new ovens make the calculation for you. Depending on the air flow pattern, do not be surprised if you find that you have to give things a turn while baking. That is what John says he finds with his Thermador oven where the heat comes in from the back. I never had to turn anything in mine because the heat came from the top.

I'm sorry that you have to move during the holidays and during Winter. I wish you all the best. It looks like you will have a beautiful kitchen. Tom

 

[whirlcool]

Baked goods like cakes and biscuits come out very light and fluffy in a convection oven. It seems they rise higher too than when baked in a conventional oven.
Use glass baking dishes in conjunction with the convection and your recipes will taste better than they ever have!
In our last house we had a Jenn Air Convection oven and we did a Prime Rib in it one year for Christmas. It turned out to be the best we ever had, even beating out the ones from some astronomically priced restaurants!

 

[parunner58]

You will love the convection. I have the GE Profile electric convection and it automatically converts the temp for you, if a recipe says 350 it will change it to 325. I bake all my cookies by convection because I can do three racks at a time in mine. It is great for frozen french fries, or fish, things come out crispy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside. I have done turkeys and whole chickens with the convection/roast and they were just as good as if they were done on my old Farberware rostiserie.