Convection Roast vs Convection Bake: Know The Difference!

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Last Updated on May 2, 2022 by Share My Kitchen

You have now received your convection oven but you got a bit lost.

Don’t worry – I am here to help by explaining the key differences between a convection oven and a convection roast. This might be a better alternative to reading the manual!

The gist of convection ovens

  • Baking is quicker and can produce more uniform surfaces. However, it can also be quite loud.
  • While roasting takes a little longer, you still get the crispy top on the meat that you desire. This is a great way to roast chicken, turkey, or any other meat.

Baking is better for traditional recipes where you want to control the texture and consistency of the food. 

Let’s get started with a quick introduction to convection ovens for novices. If you are not an absolute beginner, you may skip the convection roast vs bake discussion.

What is a Convection Oven?

Before we get into the details, it is important to know what a convection oven actually is. Essentially, it is important for you to understand the differences between a convection oven and a traditional oven.

With one exception, convection ovens can be almost identical to conventional ovens.

These convection ovens include fans and an exhaust system to allow air to circulate through the oven. The hot air cooks the food evenly.

The fan system is not available in conventional ovens.

What do these fans do?

Convection ovens have fans that circulate the air. This ensures a more consistent cooking experience.

The hot air is also blown directly onto the food by the fans, which speeds up the cooking process.

Ergo, convection ovens can cook food at a lower temperature and are therefore more efficient.

This feature makes convection ovens able to handle a wide range of cooking tasks, including baking or cooking meat in a short time.

Benefits of using convection ovens

Because of the efficient hot air circulation done by the fan and the way it blows the hot air directly onto the food, it creates a better cooking experience than traditional ovens. And these ovens can cook food faster and at lower temperatures. Thus, they are more energy-efficient.

Convection ovens are highly effective for those with hectic schedules who still enjoy cooking at home.

Furthermore, a convection oven cooks food 25-30% faster than traditional ovens.

Drawbacks to Convection Ovens

Convection ovens can be extremely beneficial but they also have some downsides.

To begin with, they are more expensive than traditional ovens because of the additional parts.

Due to the fan, convection ovens are often louder than traditional ovens.

Even worse, the fan can damage the food by blowing foil around and can prevent baked goods from having a good rise.

Also, convection ovens have the biggest disadvantage of being difficult to use when following online recipes.

Most recipes can be made in a traditional oven, which is used to bake at higher temperatures and for longer periods of time than a convection oven.

If your recipe does not include a convection option, you will need to find a way to adjust them.

What are the reasons to NOT use a convection oven?

Convection ovens can be used for many purposes, particularly if you’re a professional chef who is skilled in making changes to recipes.

Now, these are instances when you shouldn’t use a convection oven.

Baked Goods

Bakery goods are an excellent example of why you might choose a traditional oven over a convection one.

Convection ovens can hinder the rise of baked goods.

Butter is often added to baked goods. And butter rises to the surface as the food bakes, which allows it to become crispy on the outside.

Baked goods won’t rise properly if the outside gets too crispy too quickly. It won’t be satisfyingly fluffy or tasty.

Besides, baked goods are more likely to crisp up quickly because convection ovens blow hot, dry air on the outside of the food.

Therefore, convection ovens are not the best for baking.

A word of caution

Don’t fret, you can still cook baked goods in a convection oven. But you have to adjust your cooking for a convection oven.

For those with professional baking experience, however, convection ovens are faster than traditional and can be useful.

Real Difference Between Convection Roast vs. Convection bake:

We will now discuss what differences convection bake and convection roast have.

Roasting and baking are normally done in an open pan. This makes them similar to conventional ovens.

However, these terms cannot be used interchangeably when using a convection oven.

Convection roast and convection bake are treated as separate entities.

Convection Bake

Convection bake employs the convection element for heat and the fan for air circulation.

The heating element heats the air and the fan blows it around.

This allows the convection bake setting to function as a convection oven.

Pros:

  • Baked goods can be allowed to rise
  • Faster than roasting
  • Even cooking

Cons:

  • Food does not caramelize well
  • Loud

What is Convection Bake used for?

Best used for bread, cakes, and cookies.

These types of food don’t rise well if you use the roast oven setting and they just don’t taste as good.

These recipes use butter that make the final products flaky and fluffy.

The convection roasting setting will result in the outside becoming crisp before it has the chance to rise.

Convection baking is a great option if you prefer to keep to the traditional recipes without having to deviate too much.

Convection Roast

Convection roast will utilize the fan as well as the oven’s bake and broil elements to control the heat.

This method is different from the convection oven because it alternates between two heating elements to roast the food.

With that being said, this oven setting allows it to brown the food.

Now, convection roast is best when you need to get a nice browning on top of your food.

Pros:

  • Effectively caramelizes
  • It’s fast enough, but not so quick as the bake function
  • Even cooking
  • Was made to provide crisp meat

Cons:

  • Baked goods do not rise correctly
  • Loud

What are you using convection roast for?

Convection roasting is a better option for large cuts of meat or poultry, as it alternates between the heating elements.

This is because the hot air allows fat to quickly render, creating a crispy outer skin. Then, it seals in the juice and keeps your meat tender.

Also, convection roasting is great for vegetables.

The hot air caramelizes sugars outside, which allows the vegetable’s center to remain soft. The outer layer is also crispy and crunchy.

Frequently Asked Questions on Convection Roast vs Convection Bake

1. To cook turkey, which is better: convection bake or roast?

Turkey can dry easily if it is not properly prepared.

Therefore, this makes turkey a great choice for convection roasting.

Convection roasting allows the skin to crisp up quickly.

After rendering the fat, the turkey meat traps the juices. This produces a more delicious and flavorful final product. It will definitely please everyone.

2. Which is better, convection roast or bake?

There is no one right or wrong setting, but depending on the type of food you are cooking, you may find one more advantageous than the other.

A convection roast is the best choice if you’re cooking poultry or meat.

On the other hand, you can opt for convection baking for baked goods.

3. Do I have to use my regular oven for baked goods?

Baking is a science for many bakers. They need to know the exact temperature, quantities, and contents of each ingredient.

If you’re not familiar with convection baking, it can prove to be difficult to make desserts in this oven.

But you can cook delicious baked goods in convection ovens if you research or modify traditional oven recipes.

Convection ovens can be more time-consuming and difficult to use, but they will still produce delicious food.

Conclusion

As discussed, a convection oven uses a fan and heating element to blow hot air onto food.

There are two options between two convection settings: convection baking and convection roast.

Convection bake only uses one heating element and the fan system. While the convection roast, uses the fan system to alternate between the broil and bake settings.

The convection oven is used for baking and the convection roast is for meat cooking.

Finally, you have learned the difference between these two settings. So you can start to experiment with these settings to spice up your cooking.

Keep in mind that most recipes you find online are not for the convection oven, but for conventional ovens.

This oven is faster and more efficient, so you will need to adapt your recipes.

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