Bake (conventional) The conventional Bake oven setting is one of the most common oven cooking methods. This setting uses heat that comes from both the oven's top and bottom elements to cook food. It's great for a variety of cooking applications like baking cakes, cookies, casseroles and more.
The broil setting uses broil elements only. Both the elements are used in the bake setting, and the bake element generates most of the heat. A convection oven fan circulates the heat all around the oven to bake or cook the food evenly.
The bake setting cooks food by heating the air inside your oven, usually with heating elements on the top and bottom. A typical bake temperature is around 350° F, but can be anywhere from around 200 to 375° F.
When your oven is pre-heating, the bake and broil element will cycle on and off. The oven will use the bake element, the broil element and in some models also the convection element.
The main difference between baking and roasting oven settings is temperature. Large cuts of meat and firm vegetables have a roasting temperature of around 400°F and up, while the baking temperature for recipes like breads, pies and casseroles is around 350°F and lower.
A good rule of thumb? Use a temperature about 25 degrees F lower than what you may might be accustomed to with a conventional oven: Baking in the air fryer is typically about 325 instead of 350 degrees F, roasting will be about 400 instead of 425 degrees, and so on.
Convection baking can result in brown or crispy dishes, which can be ideal for certain meats and pastries. It can also help evenly bake multiple dishes at once or layered pasta dishes. Conventional baking, on the other hand, is a slower process best used for unsolidified foods, like batter or dough.
Bottom Heat Only
Much like the former, the bottom heat only is the opposite setting, having a single bar or line on the bottom of the square. This symbol means only the bottom part will radiate heat and is typically perfect for pastries and bakes that require a crunchy, toasty base like pizzas, casseroles and lasagne.
Only one element will come on at any one time. This is known as a flip/flop system. On a 240 volt water heater, there will always be 120 volts to both elements. The thermostat will direct the second leg of the 120-volts to the element to complete the 240 volts required to energize the element.
It's normal and necessary. If you stick something in the oven without waiting for it to preheat, its temperature will vary and your food won't cook evenly. That results in a less satisfying eating experience, and often the food has to stay longer in the oven to compensate.
Every oven setting has its own unique cooking and heating properties, which will have different effects on how a bake turns out. Conventional heating is great for cakes, while fan-assisted convection (specifically the mode in combination with conventional heating) is better suited for cookies, brownies and blondies.
3. Top/Bottom Heating. Top/Bottom heating is the most effective setting to use when you are baking or roasting on a single level. The heat is emitted evenly from above and below, making it ideal for baking cakes.
Located at the bottom of the oven, the bake element is also frequently used for the self-cleaning feature in self-cleaning ovens. Just like broil elements, if your oven's bake element doesn't turn on, then you may want to call a service professional. Consult your oven's use and care guide for more troubleshooting tips.
The Bake Symbol often looks like a single line at the bottom. It means heat comes from below. It's perfect for pies or pizzas. The Grill Symbol is usually a zigzag line at the top.
#1 Read through the recipe
Make sure to quickly skim the recipe before you start baking to understand the general flow and key steps. You can even make notes on the recipe or highlight key points to help you along.
The thermostats control the heating elements in the tank, and they must both be set to the same temperature. Electric water heaters use electrical resistance to heat water. The heating elements, controlled by a thermostat, heat water in the tank.
The upper element heats the water in the top portion of the tank first. Once the top portion reaches the desired temperature, the upper thermostat switches power to the lower element, heating the rest of the water. This dual-element design ensures a more efficient heating process and a steady supply of hot water.
The top element turns on first to start the warming process. Once the water in the top half of the tank reaches the set temperature, the top element turns off, and the bottom element turns on to heat the rest of the water.
Bake: During the bake cycle you can see that the bake element is working because of the bright orange glow it gives off. The broil element may cycle on to provide heat from the top for better cooking results.
The conventional Bake oven setting is one of the most common oven cooking methods. This setting uses heat that comes from both the oven's top and bottom elements to cook food. It's great for a variety of cooking applications like baking cakes, cookies, casseroles and more.
Like the Hidden Bake element, the interior conceals the lower oven element to eliminate hard-to-reach areas that collect food and spills and is easy to clean. This also makes the oven cavity seamless.
Professional chefs swear by the advantages of convection ovens. That's because it cooks food slightly differently.
When using ovens with both fan-forced and conventional settings, it is best to use conventional when you are baking long and slow (like for cakes) and fan-forced for fast cooking at high temperatures. If using a fan-forced oven, as a general rule, drop the temperature by 20°C to imitate conventional.
Some recipes will suggest regular bake or convection, but as a general rule, don't use the convection setting for delicate desserts and pastries such as custards, souffle, chiffon and angel food cakes, to name a few.