Fan or Conventional Oven for Baking Bread

The battle of baking bread isn’t only about the right ingredients; it’s also about the right equipment and, if baking is a science, the smallest variables can affect the result immensely.

Bread is a staple. So much so that you’ll hardly find a home without bread. They’re perfect for breakfast, snacks and can be healthy substitutes for rice.

If you’re contemplating making homemade bread, reading this article on the fan or conventional oven for baking bread will assist you to make an informed decision on which oven is best to use.

FAN VS. CONVENTIONAL OVEN

We need to understand how these two ovens work so we can effectively identify their strengths and weaknesses. So before we get to the verdict, let’s look at these two devices in detail.

Know the latest trends in the baking world and learn from the experts at Bella Cupcake Couture. Visit www.bellacupcakecouture.com.

FAN OR CONVENTIONAL OVEN FOR BAKING BREAD

True to the name, these ovens use fans to help circulate hot air evenly around the oven. It allows even cooking by blanketing the food in a layer of heat.

Note: Some ovens have convection settings, so if you switch them off, they work like regular ovens.

PROS AND CONS OF FAN OVENS

Pros:

• They cook and bake evenly because of the fan, which is the main advantage of fan ovens.

• You can cook faster at lower temperatures in a fan oven because of heat distribution.

• Cooking multiple dishes in a convection or fan oven is possible since the oven heats it as a single dish, saving you a lot of time and effort.

• Because heat is evenly distributed in fan ovens, you can put the dishes anywhere, without scorching them.

Cons:

• Most recipes are made with a traditional oven in mind, so you have to do a little tweaking on your end, and for baking, this may be a serious concern.

• The fans don’t perform so well if you crowd your oven with dishes, resulting in longer cooking times.

• Some users complain that dough doesn’t rise well enough in a convection oven.

• Fan ovens have a shorter lifespan than traditional ovens because they require more mechanisms to work.

CONVENTIONAL OVENS

The source of heat in conventional ovens is stationary, and it’s located at the bottom. This means you’ll have to place certain dishes closer to the source to get the best heat possible or vice versa.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Most recipes are designed with a convection oven in mind, which means you hardly need any tweaking when you’re baking or cooking in a convection oven.

• Conventional ovens are better at allowing the dough to rise, which is why some bakers still prefer conventional ovens. They’re also simpler to use because they don’t have a lot of settings.

• One of the purported benefits of a convection oven is that it produces a more even heat, but this does not necessarily preclude it having hot spots. Often, the area right in front of the fan tends to get hotter than the surrounding areas, so it pays to do the hot spot test with convection ovens as well.

Cons:

• Conventional ovens require more attention since air pockets can be too warm or too cool leading to under or overcooking.

• The major challenge of conventional ovens is uneven cooking, which can be a severe challenge to baking.

• You cannot cook more than one dish in a conventional oven because heat is severely affected by the number of dishes you place in the oven.

READ ALSO: POPOVER PAN VS MUFFIN PAN

BEST OVEN FOR BAKING BREAD

Below are the 4 best electronically programmed conventional ovens that are perfect for baking not just bread but also pizza dough, cakes and jam choices. Get ready to enjoy your homemade bread;

HOEPAID BREAD MACHINE OVEN

The Hoepaid best oven for baking bread comes with 25 in 1 setting menu for making a variety of bread, pizza dough, cakes, yogurt, and jams.

They are designed for easy use with a delay baking timer up to 13 hours and the automatic can keep warm for up to 1 hour.

No need to wait during the bread making process, if you want to add fruit and nut to your dough – the bread machine is equipped with an automatic dispenser of fruits and nuts, which will be completed for you in the ideal time.

If the appliance loses power unexpectedly, the corresponding error code will appear on the LCD reading display.

The power will be restored within 10 minutes after the power failure, and the machine will resume operation. After turning the power back on, the timer will resume counting down.

If you are a beginner when it comes to baking, this best oven for baking bread device makes it incredibly easy to bake bread! All you have to do is just mix sugar, salt, water, flour, yeast, and oil and press a button and you’re all set.

Now you can enjoy delicious fresh-baked bread in the comfort of my own home! Save money by not buying bread from the supermarket.

READ ALSO: ROUND BAKING PAN WITH HOLE IN MIDDLE

CUISINART CONVECTION BREAD MAKER

The popular Cuisinart convection bread maker has 16 programmed menu options, 3 crust colors, and 3 loaf sizes offer over 100 bread, dough/pizza dough, sweet cake, and jam choices.

The Cuisinart convection bread oven can circulates air and it’s BPA Free. With Smooth brushed stainless steel, embossed logo and large, sturdy, stay-cool handles.

The first audible tone from the Cuisinart bread making machine indicates time to add fruit, nuts and other “mix-ins.” Second tone offers option of removing paddle before baking, or removing unbaked dough to shape by hand or with hand mixer.

It also comes with 15 minutes pause, 12 hours delay start, time, and power failure backup. The Special menu option takes basic dough through several long, slow cool rises for chewier textures and rustic crusts.

SAKI PROGRAMMABLE LARGE BREAD MACHINE

The Saki bread maker makes it one of the top best ovens for baking bread. The Saki bread maker has 3 bread size settings with a 3.3 LB Large Capacity.

With an intelligent delay option, prepare your ingredients before you sleep and as you wake up in the morning, enjoy your fresh hot, and crusty bread.

It also comes with an automatic keep-warm technology that keeps your baked bread fresh until it is removed from the pan.

No more going through cooking books for bread recipes. With SAKI Bread Maker we picked the most used 12 programs to fulfill our customer needs. Basic Bread, Quick Bread, Sweet Bread, Whole Wheat Bread, Gluten-Free Bread, Dough, Knead, Cake, Jam, Yogurt, Bake, Home-made.

For healthy and reliable bread, you must buy a quality bread machine. Saki’s best oven for baking bread has many settings.

There are 12 settings. It is very important to have bread baking degrees. There are 3 settings to adjust the brownness of your bread. You just press the buttons, you can do other things.

KBS BREAD MAKER WITH AUTO FRUIT NUT DISPENSER

This bread maker oven has a large capacity of 2.2LB and is suitable for 4-6 people’s family use. 17 automatic program menus, the steps are simple and easy to understand, making delicious bread easily.

You can make quick bread, whole-wheat, gluten-free, jam, etc. You can create your own recipes and become a Master Baker!

It comes with aunique Ceramic Pan that is designed to make the bread evenly baked and healthier with no chemicals. Easy baking followed by easy cleanup.

This bread machine has 710W high power and double tubes heating technology, which can save you 20% of bread making time.

15-hour Delay Timer, 1-Hour Automatic Keep Warm, 15-minute Power Interruption Recovery allow for fresh breads anytime, let the smart bread maker machine enter your life.

Intuitive Digital Touch Panel Control & Fully Stainless Steel for Corrosion Resistant. Thoughtfully designed for the novice, the compact bread maker is incredibly easy to use.

BEST OVEN SETTING FOR BAKING BREAD     

Baking of bread has been around for ages, it is true that it will take a bit of practice for you to get it right as there are necessary tips to consider in baking bread, the good news is, with modern inventions.

Baking bread has become easy as bakers can now regulate its temperature right from the process of preparation, so you wouldn’t have to bother about the traditional way of getting the best oven setting for baking bread.

The thermopro food allows bakers to easily control temperature and get the desired result they want in their baking.

Having the right settings for baking bread will depend on the type of bread, example heavy dough bakes at 180-200-degree F while lean-dough bakes at 190-210-degree F.

TOP OR BOTTOM HEAT FOR BAKING BREAD

Most ovens are made up of various heat compartments with each comfortable for different baking experiences and recipes. A good working knowledge on how oven heats will make you win in your baking experience.

In this regard, we suggest a simple thermometer that will help you in determining the amount of heat in an oven as you make your favorite recipe. Let’s also note here that most ovens are also calibrated.

Generally, most ovens have two heating sources, one at the top and the other at the bottom of the oven. Both element of heat “top or bottom heat” is activated when you turn “on” your oven.

When the oven is at a stable or desired temperature, the bottom heat source or element maintains the temperature of the oven occasionally. As hot air rises, the top of the oven remains hotter, while the bottom heat of the oven maintains the overall temperature of the oven.

Just as most ovens have three (3) racks, Professional bakers suggest that the top oven rack is great for things like a crusty brown top, pies and casseroles. 

The middle oven rack is the place where air is circulating, the heat sources are evenly distributed, and tops and bottoms aren’t in danger of burning or browning too quickly.  It’s the perfect place for cakes, cookies, and brownies to stay and bake.  

The bottom oven rack is great for crust breads and pizzas baked goods that you want to intensely brown on the bottom. 

Furthermore, be aware that the placement of your oven racks will also affect cooking. Most (if not all) ovens are hotter at the top than at the bottom.

Thus, if you have two baking sheets in your oven, one on a higher rack and one on a lower rack, the one on the higher rack will cook faster. Therefore, it is important not only to rotate your pans from front to back but also from top to bottom. 

To amend your oven’s uneven heat, I also recommend placing a baking stone on the lower rack of the oven as it preheats.

The stone will act as a heat sink and lessen the effects of hot spots and temperature fluctuations. Do not use a baking stone when broiling. The stone can crack or shatter.

NOTE; avoid placing baking pans in the hottest parts of the oven, and rotate baking sheets to prevent burning or overcooking. In an attempt to lessen the effect of hot spots, many recipes already instruct you to rotate your baking sheets.

BAKING BREAD IN A COUNTERTOP CONVECTION OVEN

All my life, I have always baked in a conventional oven, but recently, I tried baking bread in a countertop convention oven and these are my observations.

The conventional and convection oven look the same but function differently. They function differently in the sense that their source of heat differs.

The source of heat in a conventional oven is kind of stationery and rises up from the bottom while heat from a convention oven is blown by fans. These fans makes air circulate all over the inside of the oven.

While I was baking bread in the countertop convection oven, I noticed that the outside of the bread was getting cooked already. When I checked my time, I knew that the heat hadn’t gotten to the middle.

What did I do? I turned off the fans and my bread came out perfect. Both the outside and inside of the bread was well baked.

Turning off the fans in your convection oven might not be a big deal because most convection ovens have the ability to turn the fan off and have variable fan speeds.

OVEN RACK POSITION FOR BAKING BREAD

Often times, I have seen Professional bakers get confused when it comes to placing the oven rack in a position that will help distribute heat and bake evenly.

Professionals in baking and chefs in general also get confused about oven rack position for baking bread.

Now, this is what I do personally, and it has always worked for me. I keep the oven rack in the middle position because it works fine for baking and cooking. With your oven rack in the middle, your food or bread can get burnt.

This position allows the hot air to circulate around the food, resulting in even cooking. For knowledge sake, there are three oven rack positions;

The Top; this is best or ideal for using a broiler, as this heating element is situated at the top of the oven. Keep an eye on your food because it’s easy to burn food when broiling.

Middle; this position is ideal for most foods. It’s situates the item in the middle of the oven and allows air to circulate evenly around the food.

Bottom; this position is perfect for pizza and other flatbreads as it affords close proximity to the heat source that maintains heat as you cook.

FAN OR CONVENTIONAL OVEN FOR BAKING CAKES

Just as I mentioned above, that an electric oven with a fan is a convection oven. Basically, conventional ovens are hotter at the top than at the bottom.

It is always advisable that you try out various recipes with your oven, be it a fan or conventional oven for baking bread or baking cakes. It is a well-known fact that a fan or convection oven helps the food cooks quicker as it helps distributes heat.

One sure thing before you make an informed decision on fan or conventional oven is to make a conscious decision to know your oven as the back of your hand.

One sure thing to note is that good ovens whether fan or conventional for baking either bread or cakes should have the ability to hold steam as it is good for the cake or bread.

This steam is held inside with the help of the seal in front of the fan or conventional oven.

BREAD BAKING TEMPERATURE CELSIUS FAN OVEN

One thing I love about a fan Oven is that its heat is circulated evenly given an equal temperature throughout the oven, a regular bread baking temperature for fan oven will be 25-degree F and the estimated time is between 10-15 minute.

THE VERDICT: CONVENTIONAL OR CONVECTION  

If you want to purchase an oven just for baking bread, you should opt for a conventional oven. But it may not be practical to buy an oven to cook a single type of food with today’s lifestyles. Versatility is vital. If you have money to spare, you should invest in a conventional oven with convection features so you can put it to use when cooking other baked goods.