Convection oven baking: Why this baker is a fan

I recently upgraded my aging home oven, switching to a model with more bells and whistles. While many fancy functions remain a mystery (delayed start) or have been tested and now avoided (proofing mode), there is one setting that I’ve grown to love: convection mode. Here’s why.  

Jenn Bakos

What does convection mode do?

In convection mode, a small fan in the back of the oven moves hot air, circulating it evenly throughout the oven. In contrast to the standard bake setting, when the oven is set on convection, the warm air is constantly moving, providing more even, consistent heat.  

Why is that better? Even heat gives a more consistent bake. Think of it as the baker’s version of the sous vide cooking method. In convection mode, the circulating hot air (similar to the circulating hot water in sous vide) heats my bake from all sides. So, cookies brown evenly, pie crusts crisp more beautifully, and puff pastry rises to higher heights.  

Here's how the difference plays out at my house: In my old gas oven, which had a heating element located at the bottom, a tray of rolls or buns on a lower rack would brown very well (too well!) on the bottoms, closest to the heat source, while the tops came out more like beach bodies on the first day of summer. Blech.

My new oven has a heating element at the bottom too, but it also has this fan at the back of the oven, which circulates the warm air around whatever I’m baking, ensuring that everything has a healthier glow. My rolls bake from all sides, rather than just on the bottom, taking on better color overall.  

Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

More than just good looks

Beyond the improved visuals, convection mode also improves texture. In my old oven, in order to get the color I wanted on my rolls, I had to extend baking times or even use the broiler. While those workarounds can get the color I want, a longer bake meant that things like cardamom buns and pretzel rolls often had a drier, more cottony texture; by the time they were a deep golden brown, the interior was overcooked. With convection, I get the golden brown color I want while preserving moisture in the interior.  

What about using convection to bake sourdough loaves?

In the past, I never used convection for my hearth breads. I still hold to that when I’m “open baking” — in other words, when I’m baking my loaves on a preheated baking stone, and adding steam to improve the crust and support the best rise possible. For that method, I don’t use convection because the moving air wicks steam away from the crust, drying it and setting the loaf prematurely.  

But, for the loaves I bake in my covered bakers, I’m singing a different tune.

When using the traditional bake setting, I often found myself shuffling my Dutch ovens, solving hot spot problems like a game of whack-a-mole and trying to ensure that my loaves didn’t darken too much on the bottom.  

While the convection setting hasn’t completely resolved this issue, I do find that I shuffle less, and I can shorten my preheat time too, as the covered bakers warm up more quickly with the circulating heat.

Photograph by Rick Holbrook; styling by Kaitlin Wayne

But what about pizza?

If you’d asked me about using convection for pizza even six months ago, I would have made a bad face — like, isn’t that a setting for brownies? But today, in the final stages of writing a pizza book with my colleagues here at King Arthur, I will admit that I have grown fond of using convection for pizza. The circulating heat wicks moisture away from toppings and cooking cheese, improving browning and simply baking things more quickly. My pizza is better, and it’s especially evident with pan styles such as Detroit, Grandma, and South Shore Bar Pizza, which are loaded with toppings and benefit from the added crispness. 

And, as a bonus, if I preheat with convection mode, it reduces the amount of time for the oven to heat up. Less time = pizza sooner. I’m winning.

Photography by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne

So, convection is better for everything, right?  

Not quite.  

In some ovens, especially those with higher fan power, the fan may be too powerful. If that’s the case in your oven, be careful with thin batters like cakes or liquid desserts, which may get blown around. Occasionally, fan power may also disturb parchment paper, requiring small weights or clips to keep it in place. Beyond the clips, when baking small batches, placing a cookie, for example, on each corner of the parchment can also help to keep things in place.

The other consideration relates to my favorite aspect of convection use: browning. As I’ve discussed, the fan supports great browning through air movement and heat distribution. But sometimes it’s a little too good: It may mean that things bake more quickly. To address this, the conventional wisdom has always been to reduce your oven heat by 25°F to 50°F when using convection mode for a recipe that calls for standard baking. My experience is that 25° less is about right for most things. And, as with all bakes, convection or standard bake, I do still rotate and check regularly, especially when I change a bake mode or temperature.  

So, convection mode? Yes, I’m a fan. A big fan. And I’m guessing that you will be too, once you give it a try.   

Cover photo by Rick Holbrook; food styling by Kaitlin Wayne.