Convection Ovens

my old panasonic convection/micro finally died after about 15 years. it worked great, it was big enough to bake a small turkey in. of course when i went searching for a new one i couldn't find the same brand locally & the convection only models were too small. i bought a convection/micro combo that is slightly bigger inside than the old one. it has a metal turntable though for the convection cooking & i prefer the old one's stationary rack. i kept the old rack & think will try using it instead when using a larger pan.

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Oh pshaw, on Fri 13 Oct 2006 02:25:20p, Frank103 meant to say...

Personally, I found convection cooking more useful for roasting meats. Cakes and pies were guenerally underdooked on the inside by the time the exterior was brown. Cookies, OTOH, were superior in a convection oven.

Best choice? A convection oven in which the feature can be turned off.

My experience differs. I reduce temperatures in my convection oven 50 degrees from what recipes call for. I bake all sorts of things in mine, including roasts, pies, cakes, breads, cookies, potatoes, casseroles, etc...

But not souffles. Even the little vibration from a convection oven keeps them from rising like a conventional oven permits.

Pastorio

Oh pshaw, on Fri 13 Oct 2006 11:12:06p, Bob (this one) meant to say...

Then perhaps I'm doing something wrong. I've had a countertop Farberware convection oven, a GE range with convection oven, and an Amana range with convection oven. In the latter two, the convection function could be turned off. Each had a somewhat different configuration, but all had dedicated concealed heating elements for the convection fans. The Farberware's fan was located in the top of the oven, the GE and Amana both had fans in the rear oven wall. In all cases, when using convection, pie crusts overbrowned or burned before the filling was done and the tops of cakes (tradtional butter layer cakes) were very overbrowned before the cake had sufficiently baked inside. I tried different rack levels and temperature reduction by both 25 and 50 degrees. Not sure what else I could have done.

Having said that, the convection mode made absolutely the best roasted meats and perfectly baked multiple sheets of cookies. Yeast breads were of moderate success.

I've had commercial convection ovens in my restaurants and now I just have a Farber conv. oven at home since I'm not cooking vast quantities any longer. It's about as simple a unit as there is. Heat element, fan, cabinet.

Some other variables:

1) I bake in dark pans. When I've tried glass or light-colored ceramic ones, the results weren't as good. 2) I bake with the rack set to the lowest level and I leave the Farber sheet pan that came with the oven in the bottom all the time. 3) For crusty breads, I put hot water in the pan in the bottom and leave it there throughout the bake. 4) I don't make two-crust pies; just tarts. Not that fond of crust. I trim it level with the top of the pan. 5) Cakes don't work as well in the convection and in the conventional, probably because of vibration. Having said that, it goes faster and if I'm making a dense cake, the convection works fine. For a genoise or angel food cake, it's the conventional oven. 6) Did a variation on tarte aux poires (recipe below) today that was wonderful. Crust top browned, fruit browned a bit, custard puffed and browned, all within acceptable limits. Baked at 375F rather than the 425F for conventional ovens. I used 3 green Bartlett pears, 3 red Bartlett and 3 Ginger Gold apples in a larger, rectangular tart pan than the recipe calls for. Doubled dough and custard. Luscious. 7) Are your criteria for browning maybe a bit light compared to what others might consider appropriate? Just asking. 8) In spite of the propaganda, I turn the food in the convection oven. I find it cooks unevenly otherwise. 9) As you say, for meats, it's grand. I cook roasts at very low temps (depending on what kind of meat, as low as 205F, up to 250F), so I sacrifice the crust that high-temp roasting gives but get much more moist-finished meats as a result. Trade off. I cook beef and lamb to 120F, pork roasts to 145F, game to 150F, birds to 160F, pork to shred to 190F (shoulders only and cook at 205F from room temp meat). Breads to 208F. Cakes to different temps, depending on the type, most often 205F.

Amazing our different experiences. Based on what you've said above, I can't really see what the differences might be attributable to. I'm at 1500 feet above sea level, FWIW. My kitchen temperature is fixed between 68 and 75 no matter what's happening. I keep our humidity between 45 and 55%. Virtually all my equipment is heavy-duty professional quality, left over from the restaurants. I use remote-reading, tip-probe thermometers for everything cooked in an oven.

Pastorio

Tarte Aux Poires Alsacienne Alsatian Pear Tart 1 recipe rich egg pastry 6 pears, peeled, cored, halved and thinly sliced across 4 egg yolks 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 3/4 cup heavy cream Heat conventional oven to 425F. Butter and flour a 10-in deep tart pan and line the tart pan with pastry. Arrange pear slices evenly over the pastry overlapping the slices slightly. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and cream. Pour over the pears and bake for another 35 minutes, or until the pears are tender. Serve warm. Serves 6 to 8

Rich Egg Pastry 2 cups flour 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs, beaten 1 stick cold butter, cut into small pieces cold water Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the center. Into the well put the eggs and butter, working the ingredients with fingertips, adding cold water by the tablespoon for a smooth, supple pastry. Let pastry stand for

30 minutes, covered and chilled. Roll out on lightly floured surface to just under 1/4 inch thickness. Line a buttered and floured pan, then chill for 30 minutes. Dock the bottom before filling. Good for 2 crust pies or French-style flans. Good with apples, plums, apricots.

Oh pshaw, on Sat 14 Oct 2006 10:24:20p, Bob (this one) meant to say...

As a professional, I find it interesting that you chose a Farber convection oven. If the various convections I've had, the Farber was my favorite.

I use dark metal cake pans, but use Pyrex pie plates.

In the Farber I alays baked on the lowest level and also left the sheet pan in the bottom

At the time when I owned the Farber, it never occurred to me to put hot water in the pan. I was only just beginning to bake breads at that point.

Aye, there's the rub. I bake tw-crust pies almost exclusively. In convection, the top crust could bake almost to a crisp before the filling was done, and the bottom crust semi-raw.

My worst experience was with a pineapple upside down cake. The top of the cake was dark brown, but the batter was still liquid.

I prefer a true golden brown for most baked goods, not too pale. I don't much like surfaces to be dark brown.

Yes, I found that to be true, as well. The one exception I found was in baking cookies. In the larger range ovens I had, I found that no matter how many sheets of cookies I put in, they all came out evenly browned without rearranging the sheets.

The mean elevation in the Phoenix area is 1117 feet above sea level. My kitchen temperature is in the same range as yours. We don't have a humidifier, and our relative humidity is betwee 10-20%.

My equipment isn't professional grade, but is heavy and of good quality.

The tart sounds delicious! I will try it with apricots.