"Wayne Boatwright" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon 02 Jan 2006 03:12:26p, Thus Spake Zarathustra, or was it Vox
> Humana?
>
> >
> > "Paul Giverin" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> I've recently bought a new oven to replace my ageing oven which had
> >> dodgy thermostat and was running so hot that it made baking anything
> >> very difficult.
> >>
> >> I made sure that my new oven had a wide range of functions,
> >> particularly the ability to turn the fan off because I had read that a
> >> fan oven wasn't best for baking. So now I can chose to use top and
> >> bottom heat or to use the "circotherm" fan function.
> >>
> >> The question is, is it really better to bake without the fan or are fan
> >> ovens better for some types of baking?
> >
> > I use the convection setting for all my baking. I think it is
> > especially good for bread and pizza. I would start with the convection
> > on and see how your oven functions. Since it sounds like true
> > convection, you can probably lower the temperature by 25F. For
> > non-baked goods like casseroles, you can probably skip pre-heating.
>
> I love convection for roasting, but it's been a disaster for baking
> anything other than cookies. Everything always burns on top before it's
> done on the bottom and in the middle. Dropping the temperature hasn't
made
> a bit of difference.
>

Have you tried lowering the position of the pans in the oven? Also, some
ranges have two convection setting- roast and bake (and some also have
convection broil.) Roast often uses a combination of the top and bottom
elements and a high fan speed. Convection bake only uses the bottom element
and a reduced fan speed. This can be in combination with a dedicated
convection element or not, depending on if the oven is true convection or
just a fan assisted model. Excessive top browning generally suggests that
the food is too high in the oven and/or the broil element is used.