Which Ovens are Best for Baking

Posted on December 7, 2022

Who doesn’t love a freshly baked batch of decadent fudge brownies, am I right? We all know baking is an exact science, but have you ever wondered if the type of oven you are using to bake somehow impacts your baked goods? Simply put, yes!

The type of oven you use can immensely impact your overall baking experience and affect your end results. That’s why we’re here to break down what type of oven is best suited for your baking needs.

Convection Or Conventional? That Is The Question

Just as Shakespeare imposed groundbreaking philosophical questions, we have a few questions of our own. Convection or conventional oven? Which is superior when it comes to baking? Before answering those questions, we first have to understand the difference between a convection and a conventional oven.

If you’re also interested in learning about the difference between an electric and gas oven, check out our blog on GE Gas vs. Electric Ranges.

Convection Oven

Convection ovens have more heat sources than conventional ovens and also feature a fan to help circulate heat while your food cooks. Because the built-in fan moves hot air around, this oven has the ability to cook/bake faster than your typical conventional oven. While this can be an amazing feature, it also has its drawbacks.

The constant circulation of hot air can cause the outside of your baked goods to brown quickly and cook faster than the center of your cakes or pastries. In other words, this can result in the outside of your cake appearing golden and ready while the middle is not yet fully cooked (yikes).

Although the rapid cooking and baking time is a huge bonus (who doesn’t love saving time?), it may not be the best option when it comes to baking larger or more delicate dishes. However, it’s perfect for smaller baked goods such as cookies and different types of bread.

Conventional Oven

Conventional ovens, like convection ovens, use heat sources to bake and cook; however, they do not have a fan circulating hot air. Instead, they use stationary heat sources that normally send heat from the bottom of the appliance to the top in order to cook everything through.

This type of method takes a lot longer than its convection counterpart, but it ensures even baking and browning. This oven is typically ideal for larger or delicate baked goods such as meringues or macarons.

However, conventional ovens have their disadvantages as well, and if you decide to use the bottom and top racks at the same time, you may have some issues. It’s common for your bottom rack dish to still be undercooked while your top rack dish is already overcooked or burning.

So Which Type Of Oven Is Better For Baking?

If you ask us, convection ovens are going to be your best bet for a variety of reasons. There is only one key feature that you have to ensure your convection oven has for it to be the best option when it comes to baking, make sure that there is an option to turn off the fan.

As long as your convection oven has the option to turn off the fan, you will be getting the best of both worlds. With a convection oven, you have the option to efficiently and evenly bake smaller batches or smaller pastries in half the time.

By simply turning off the fan, you now have the same baking environment as a conventional oven, making it ideal for you to bake larger or more delicate dishes (mind blown). This way, you get your money’s worth and have multiple handy cooking options to choose from when you are in the kitchen.

Our Top Convection Oven Recommendations

GE Profile™ 30" Smart Slide-In Electric Convection Fingerprint Resistant Range with No Preheat Air Fry

Why We Love It: The GE Profile Smart Slide-In Electric Convection Oven will have you baking all of your holiday favorites in no time! Whether you want to bake a delicate fluffy pavlova or whip up a few simple and quick Christmas cookies, this GE profile oven has got you covered.

Complete with both a Traditional Bake and Convection Bake mode, this savvy oven gives you the option to personalize your baking experience. With the ability to tailor the oven’s cooking modes, you have complete control over how your baked goods will be cooked!

Did we mention this cutting-edge appliance comes with built-in WiFi? Powered by the SmartHQ App, you can control and manage your oven from anywhere through your phone or tablet.

Let’s be honest, no one looks forward to having to clean the oven after baking and the GE profile smart oven makes clean-up a piece of cake. With a steam cleaning option that cleans the oven cavity in a quick 30-minute cycle, maintaining and cleaning your oven has never been easier.

GE Profile ™ 30" Smart Slide-In Fingerprint Resistant Front-Control Induction and Convection Range with No Preheat Air Fry

Why We Love It: Like the GE oven mentioned above, this GE Profile Smart Slide-In Front-Control Induction and Convection Range offers both Traditional Bake and Convection Bake modes where you can select the best option for your desired dish.

This model also features built-in Wifi to control your oven anywhere with your smartphone and has a Guided Cooking feature. This feature equips you with a system that combines video-guided recipes from chefs with automatic time, temperature, and cooking pace adjustments (yes we know, welcome to the future).

Ready To Purchase?

Bray and Scarff has multiple in-store locations in Virginia and Maryland where you can stop by and get expert one-on-one help on which oven is the right fit for you. We also offer a wide selection of stunning kitchen appliances to fill all of your cooking or kitchen needs from start to finish. Take the first step towards building your dream kitchen and start shopping with us today!