I'm purchasing stove for a small home bake shop. Need advice on convection cake baking vs. regular oven! pros - cons. thanks

Wanting to know the same info. Opening a home commerical kitchen soon myself.....TIA

convection for sure. things will bake quicker and more evenly. Assuming you're switching over from a conventional oven, you should lower the temp 50 degrees for items baked in a convection oven. So if you've been baking a recipe at 350 in a conventional oven, it should be baked at 300 in a convection oven.

Quick question regarding convection... I can choose bake or convection/bake on my oven. The temp is automatically lower if I choose the convection/bake option. That should be ok, right? I don't need to adjust it any further?

So if you were to punch in 350 then hit convection it would lower it from what you put in? if that's the case, then you should be fine. I was always taught 50, but that's commercial stuff, so it's probably different with ovens geared more towards homes.

I believe it may only adjust it for 25 degrees less... I'll have to check. I've tried two recipes baking convection and neither turned out well. I've just been doing normal bake since. They were new recipes though. Perhaps I still need to lower the temp.

I have a convection oven at home that has the option of regular bake and convection bake. If I select convection bake I punch in the temp I would use for regular baking and the temp is automatically adjusted (lower by 25 degrees).

When I had just a regular oven I baked my cakes at 325 degrees. With the convection bake I punch in 375 degrees, the temp is automatically lowered to 350 degrees, and I get the same results (moist cake, no "hump"). I have NOT noticed the baking time being shorter using the convection oven but I can bake so much more at a time by using all 2 racks in the oven.

Sunday I baked an entire 4 tier cake (2 12" round, 2 10" round, 2 8" round, 2 6" round) at the same time. Took about 1 1/2 hours (baking and cooling time).

The main thing you have to look for is a true convection oven. Some ovens call themselves convection ovens because they have a fan, but they are not really convection ovens. The oven I have has 3 heating elements: top and bottom (like normal) and a third heating element behind the fan so the air that is blown into the oven is the same temp as the oven. This is really the only way the entire oven is the same temp causing even baking.

The only negative I have is sometimes (not every time) the top the cake gets hard, almost crust like. I trim the top off of each cake so it doesn't matter and it doesn't affect the rest of the cake - just the top. I think it is because of the fan blowing on it but I am not sure. Like I said, it is only sometimes this happens.

I bake all cakes except full sheets in my regular oven. The full sheets I bring to my neighbors because they fit, and hers is a convection. I love it! It bakes evenly and I bake at 25 degrees less than my regular oven. The full sheets have always turned out moist, fully cooked, and little hump. I would get a convection if I were purchacing a new oven for my home.

I love my convection oven! I can bake 2 dozen cupcakes in less than 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

I chose a double Kitchenaid True Convection for my bakery along with a conventional for cheesecakes.

BEWARE: Not all convection ovens are true convection. The lower priced models are conventional with a fan. These are not going to bake like you want. A True Convection oven will have no bottom element and will be labeled a true convection oven. Also, not every convection oven is good for baking. Some have fans that are too strong... great for a chicken breast, but it may blow a delicate batter. The Kitchenaid line has two models designed for baking. I had one in my personal kitchen and it was so perfect, I ordered a double for my bakery. I knew the quality of the product it produced.

The same goes for commercial ovens. Make sure you purchase one designed for baking. Deluxe makes a conv/radiant designed for baking.

For temp changes, you just have to get to know the new oven. Mine usually needs 25 degrees lower, but again, a blanket change or just punching in the converter may not be the best way.

[/quote]cai0311 wrote:
...Sunday I baked an entire 4 tier cake (2 12" round, 2 10" round, 2 8" round, 2 6" round) at the same time. Took about 1 1/2 hours (baking and cooling time)...


Wow, that is amazing. Can you please give me some info on this oven such as the name, size, and maybe model number? We are hoping to gut our kitchen and remodel it by the end of the year.
TIA

thanks for this info.

I am doing a home remodel and want one of the ovens to be a convection.

Are convection ovens only electric or can you get a gas convection?

I think you can get gas convection too, but I am not totally sure. I don't like cooking on a gas stove top. I am not comfortable. I keep thinking I am going to catch a towel or my sleeve on fire. So when I was shopping around I was only considering electric oven/stove tops.

Cai0311, I use gas for my cooktop in my personal kitchen and it is so much better for gourmet type meals. But in my commercial kitchen, I only use electric. Gas gets too hot too fast, and the diffuser is too slow. For sugar work, I like the control and the slower heating of the electric. For sugar, I mean caramel candy, caramel sauce, European buttercreams, other candies... nothing fancy.