How to Convert Any Recipe for a Convection Oven

Most recipes are written for a conventional oven, where heat rises from elements at the top and bottom. A convection or fan oven adds a fan that circulates hot air around the food. Moving air transfers heat faster, so food cooks more quickly and browns more evenly. That's great news for roasting, but it means a recipe written for a regular oven needs a small adjustment.

The Two Simple Rules

There are two ways to convert a recipe, and you only need one of them:

• Lower the temperature by 25°F (about 15°C to 20°C) and keep the time roughly the same, checking a few minutes early.
• Or keep the temperature the same and shorten the time by about 25%, checking early.

For baking, the first method is safer, because the lower temperature gives cakes and breads time to rise before the outside sets. For roasting meat and vegetables, either works, and many cooks keep the temperature high to get extra browning.

Check Whether Your Oven Already Adjusts

Many newer ovens have a setting, often called "convection conversion" or "auto convert", that lowers the temperature for you. If yours does, enter the temperature from the recipe and let the oven do the subtraction. Converting it yourself as well would lower it twice. Check your oven's manual, or bake a simple batch of cookies and see whether they brown faster than expected.

Foods That Love Convection

• Roast vegetables: the moving air dries the surface, so they caramelize instead of steaming.
• Roast chicken and meats: crisper skin and more even browning.
• Cookies: you can bake two or three trays at once with more even results.
• Pie crusts and puff pastry: flakier layers, because the fat melts and steams quickly.

When to Turn the Fan Off

Delicate, wet batters can suffer from the strong airflow. Custards, cheesecakes, soufflés and quick breads may set unevenly or form a crust before they finish rising. For these, use the regular bake setting, or lower the temperature by 25°F and tent the top loosely with foil if it browns too fast.

Tips for Better Results

• Use low-sided pans and rimmed baking sheets so air can reach the food.
• Don't crowd the oven. Leave space between pans for the air to move.
• Start checking for doneness at about three-quarters of the original time.
• An inexpensive oven thermometer shows how accurate your dial really is, convection or not.

Using an air fryer instead? It is essentially a small, powerful convection oven, and the air fryer converter handles that adjustment for you. For a full temperature chart, see oven temperature conversion.

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