Fan ovens often operate at slightly lower temperatures than conventional ovens while achieving the same results, making them energy-efficient and excellent for achieving crispy and golden-brown textures in dishes such as roasts, pastries, and pizzas.
One downside is that the fan-assisted oven tends to dry out food. Thanks to the fan, air circulates inside the oven, allowing you to cook multiple items simultaneously. Additionally, there is no risk of odors or flavors mixing, so the taste and aroma of the foods remain intact.
Why are fan oven temperatures lower? Due to the nature of fan ovens which circulate hot air around the oven, they will cook your food much faster than a conventional oven. For this reason, we always recommend setting your fan oven temperature to 20 degrees cooler for the same recipe.
In conclusion
Using a fan in the oven – whether 'true' or 'assisted' also means food cooks in less time and at a lower temperature. In a static or convection oven the heat rises to the top, with the result food higher up in the oven gets cooked quicker than items on the bottom shelf. Not so with an oven with a fan.
A fan oven will maintain a more even temperature: this is important in all types of bakings, particularly for cakes where a temperature gradient can cause a lop-sided cake or noticeably uneven cooking. Accurate temperature control is also important.
The fan inside the oven circulates hot air throughout the cooking chamber, ensuring that the heat is distributed evenly around the food. This even distribution of heat helps prevent hot spots and cold spots within the oven, resulting in consistent cooking and browning of your dishes.
BUT, because convection ovens are fan assisted, your cakes will bake a lot faster (which has it's own risks), so to prevent cakes from baking too quickly, you want to reduce the baking temperature by about 15-20 degrees C, which is why I recommend using a baking temperature of 160C when using a fan assisted oven.
The cooling fan in an oven helps cool the oven's controls, but a fan caked with grime or one that's malfunctioning may contribute to an oven overheating.
The top and rear areas of the oven may be slightly hotter due to the fan's circulation, while the bottom might be slightly cooler. To minimise these variations, it's essential to follow recipe instructions regarding shelf placement and use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate temperatures.
The bottom heat symbol usually shows a straight line at the base of the square – representing the bottom heating element. As heat only comes from the bottom, it's perfect for baking things like pastry crusts. Or for making sure your bread or pizza dough is thoroughly baked from below.
Convection Ovens: These ovens have fans that circulate hot air, ensuring even heat distribution and faster baking times. The constant movement of air reduces hot spots and allows for multi-rack baking. This makes them ideal for baking cookies, pastries, and other items that require uniform browning.
The fan, which spins continuously while cooking, circulates the heat from the element and ensures that the hot air is evenly distributed. Because of this, your meal gets cooked evenly at a shorter time, even at a low temperature. So you can save on energy while cooking.
Fan Forced Full Bake
This is the highest heat setting that you can put your oven, symbolised by two lines on top and bottom and a fan in the middle.
Circulated air transfers heat faster than still air, making fan ovens more energy efficient. Not only will this reduce your carbon footprint, but it will also reduce the size of your bills as well.
Leaving your oven on all night puts you at risk for an oven fire. Not only will you be risking fire hazards, but the gas that comes from your oven can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless. So if you were exposed to carbon monoxide, you might not even know it.
Other examples of the most common oven fan faults include an incorrect oven setting as well as a broken thermostat. However, the faulty motor and the broken element are the most frequently encountered challenges.
A common cause for your oven to start burning food is the calibration, a badly calibrated oven is usually noticeable because of how it burns your food. If the edges of your food are burnt but the centre is still cooked then poor calibration is likely the reason.
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.
By 2018, the term "air fryer" was starting to be used generically. In the United States convection ovens experienced a surge in popularity in the late 2010s and early 2020s with a reported 36% of U.S. households having one in 2020 and an estimated 60% of U.S. households having one in 2023.
Fan-forced ovens have a fan that circulates the hot air, resulting in a faster cooking time, as well as browning more quickly.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and fill a 12 cupcake tray with cases.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Line a deep, 25cm square cake tin with a double layer of baking parchment, then wrap a double layer of newspaper around the outside, so that it comes about 2.5cm above the sides of the tin, and secure with string.
Put your tins in the oven and you're ready to start baking. How do oven temperatures affect the final bake? Generally speaking, higher temperatures will give your bakes a more golden, crisper crust to the sponge or pastry and a low temperature will result in a fluffier, less golden sponge.