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 Post subject: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2015 10:04 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
Posts: 2305
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Since I don't bake cookies, breads, and carbs in general any more I need some help.

My client is disappointed in her new convection oven because she still has to rotate cookie sheets to get even browning. Is this a fault of the oven or is this still a fact of life for baking these items regardless of the heating source.

Many & HUGE thanks :!: :D


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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2015 12:40 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:05 pm
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Location: Chico, CA
I seldom rotate my cookies and never when baking convection. My guess is that it is her oven. I have 5 rack positions and usually use the middle ones. I've even baked 3 sheets at a time without issues. If using convection she might have better luck with rimless cookie sheets as opposed to sheet pans.

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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sat Dec 19, 2015 9:49 pm 
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It definitely sounds like an oven problem. I bake 3 sheets at a time with perfectly even browning. And I have no problems with the rims, though this is a commercial oven with an extremely powerful fan. Maybe this oven has an exposed heating element? Even in a convection oven, it seems that this could cause the sheet closest to it to brown faster, unless the fan is very powerful.

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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 8:25 am 
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Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:35 am
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Location: Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
Thank you :!: :D I have told her of your experiences and advised her to contact KitchenAid (I don't know the model). If possible, I'll update when I learn more.
You good guyz, you ;) :)


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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:42 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:56 am
Posts: 531
Location: Virginia
This is a good reminder for me to go with convection with I'm making cookies. I hardly ever think to do that, I guess because conventional is just second nature. So of course I have to rotate the sheets half way through. Do you guys also use it for things like appetizers (say, puff pastry parmesan sticks?) because they get browned all over without opening the oven door?

I think the biggest stumbling block for me with convection is just that I have to be more intuitive about what it suits best plus the time/temperature. I really need to step outside of my cooking/baking box when it comes to this! :roll:

Emilie


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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:23 pm 
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Emilie,

I have been baking in a convection oven since I got a Farber coountertop version back in 1977 (which, BTW, is still working!), and that is what got me to look for one when I set up my kitchen in '83 (not available back then, except commercial or special order). Like many things in cooking, it is sort of a trial and error (hopefully not many errors!), and here are some of the things I have found through the years.

The first instruction booklet suggested setting the temp. to 75º below that in the recipe, or to 300º for those stating 350º, and the baking time will be about the same. For small things, like cookies, this is easy to tell with a glass front. Large things, like bread, could be too dark before they are done through, but at the lower temp. I have never had this happen. The later oven said to set it at 325º, and bake a little less time. This is what I do with my cookies, and I have a list of best times for my old favorite recipes, and I clip it above the range every year. It is incredible how evenly the things brown!

Not all cookies do well in convection. The crispy ones I make, using the slice and bake method, work great, as well as CC, Snickerdoodles, and others that are crispy, or become crispy upon sitting. However, soft and chewy ones, like the larger oatmeal cookes, as well as thicker, moist macaroons, tend to dry out, and the chewy ones become almost leathery (one of those errors!), unless eaten immediately, which is rarely done.

Puff pastry does well in convection, using the lower temp., and rises evenly. Prebaking pie pastries works great with convection, though some of the pies (the more liquidy ones) are better in conventional. I haven't done much more, as far as pastries, in the convection. Great for those little appetizers, like you mention, as they brown and crispen up very evenly.

Quick breads, cakes, and other soda or BP risen items are definitely better in a conventional oven. I think what happens is that the convection heat forms a crust quickly, both on the top and against the pan, and it stops rising evenly, and instead forms a hump in the middle, since the batter needs somewhere to go, and it eventually breaks through. Baking at 250-275º for a longer time helps some, but why bother? Easier to just bake normally.

Yeast bread bakes well in a convection, though not like on a baking stone. Great for sandwich breads, and other things baked in pans, as it browns and rises evenly, getting a fairly good crust on it. Not that great for pizza, as the top is browning and cooking faster than the crust is browing - the stone is best for that!

You'll get used to it eventually, and after you do, you won't want to cook some things any other way! Have fun getting used to it!

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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:15 am 
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Location: Chico, CA
Emilie, I agree with most of what Dave said. However I bake my Apricot and Cream cookies (from Tosi's original blueberries and cream) at 350° F convection bake (#50, 1½"apart, 9-11 min) and they come out great and stay fresh as long as the regular oven ones. I don't rotate. Ditto for my favorite chocolate chips cookies, crispy on the edges and chewy in center. Same for KAF Chocolate Chip Oatmeal, FC Cranberry, Oatmeal, White Chocolate Jumbles, and Ina's Double Chocolate Almond (all at 325°F.).

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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:29 am 
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Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:56 am
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Location: Virginia
Wow, that's so helpful, thanks so much Dave and Alina! I never make New Year's resolutions but I just might make using convection regularly one of them for 2016 :)

Emilie


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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:23 am 
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Joined: Sun Oct 21, 2012 8:51 am
Posts: 663
Location: W. Montana
Dave, you mention that you like to bake breads in pans with convection. I've always had the fear that the top would brown too fast and retard oven-spring. No?


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 Post subject: Re: convection baking info needed!
PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:16 pm 
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Linda,

I have never had this happen with yeast bread - it always rose well and browned evenly. A 300-325° convection oven won't brown the top faster than putting it in a 425-450° oven, which is often used with a baking stone.

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