Like cookies, using convection baking for brownies can help create a more even heat distribution across multiple racks without needing to rotate your dish.
Typically, brownies bake at around 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes, but Brown's version goes like this: Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, then remove the pan from the oven to cool for another 15 minutes.
To account for this, you should typically lower the oven temperature by about 25°F (about 15°C) compared to what a regular (non-convection) oven recipe suggests. For example, if your brownie recipe calls for baking at 350°F (175°C), you should set your convection oven to 325°F (160°C).
If you set the oven to convection bake at 350 degrees F it will run at 350. If your recipe calls for 350 degrees F for say, a roast, you'll need to lower the temp to 325 degrees F to compensate for the air racing around in the oven.
The convection oven relies on air circulation, so it will cook much more evenly if there is not much else in the oven. The bonus here is that it will cook more quickly, so you will have time to bake multiple dishes separately instead of shoving them into the oven all at once.
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.
Convection ovens cook food faster than conventional ovens. To cook in a convection oven, follow this easy formula: reduce the temperature by 25 degrees or reduce the cooking time by 25%. Some ovens today even offer convection conversion, eliminating any guesswork!
Since generations of recipes have been developed using thermal ovens, switching to convection cooking requires one of two adjustments: Cut the cooking time or lower the cooking temperature, says Riley Wofford, our former associate food editor.
A regular bake setting is fairly straightforward. The heated air inside the oven surrounds the food and cooks it from the outside, in. By contrast, a convection bake vs regular bake setting uses a fan at the rear of the oven to circulate the heated air inside. It also utilizes an exhaust system to help expel moisture.
While every oven is going to be a little different, you're basically looking at three ways to turn a conventional-oven recipe into a convection-oven recipe: Reduce cooking temperature by 25 degrees F (about 15 degrees C). Reduce cooking time by 25 percent. Reduce both temperature and time by less than 25 percent.
Middle. The default position. It's ideal for most foods since it situates the item in the middle of the oven, allowing the hot air to circulate evenly around the food, resulting in even cooking. Use this for a single tray of cookies, sheet-pan dinners, fish, brownies, banana bread, and so on.
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.
Like cookies, using convection baking for brownies can help create a more even heat distribution across multiple racks without needing to rotate your dish.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
For fudgy brownies, just use two eggs. Next, use melted butter instead of oil. This adds an extra rich flavor and helps the fudge texture. Cook the brownies in a 9×9 pan instead of a 9×13.
Convection is good for:
Roasting ham, turkey, roast-ready beef cuts, and similar meats. Roasting vegetables and potatoes for an extra crisp. Cookies and muffins—especially when you have a big batch to bake at once. Pies and pastry.
What happens if you bake at 350 instead of 400? It's just going to take a little longer. From our conversion chart above, 350F instead of 400F will take 1.14 more time. So something that takes 30 minutes at 400F will take 34 minutes at 350F.
Reduce the original baking temperature by 25°F.
For example, if your recipe calls for baking the food in a 375°F oven, set the dial to 350°F. If it calls for 400°F, set it to 375°F. What about 450°F? You got it, 425°F is your convection oven temperature.
This causes the heat inside the oven to be drier and more evenly distributed, so dishes cooked with convection will cook about 25 percent faster than those on your oven's conventional bake setting. In addition to saving time, this makes convection cooking slightly more energy-efficient.
Generally speaking, convection cooking is good for savory foods that you'd cook on a sheet pan. It's also typically good for multi-rack cooking, such as when baking multiple trays of cookies. (It still might be a good idea to rotate the trays, especially if the oven is not “true convection.”)
Additionally, convection ovens tend to be more expensive than traditional ovens, which may not be feasible for some budgets. The fan motor may also require more energy, leading to higher electricity bills. The cons of convection cooking may include a learning curve, recipe adjustment, and higher cost.
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.