1. Understand the effects of oven positions. Each level of the oven has a different cooking impact and it is useful to know this in order to get the best results:
- Top level of the oven - this level is best for quick cooking and high temperature cooking
- Middle level of the oven - this level is good for moderate temperature cooking
- Bottom level of the oven - this level is best for slow cooking and low temperature cooking
2. Be able to make general oven temperature conversions. It is very useful to have a general notion of the oven temperatures in both Celsius and Fahrenheit so that you can bake recipes from cookbooks that use either temperature.
3. Learn the temperature ranges. When a recipe calls for using an oven at a specified temperature range.
4. Reduce heat for fan-forced ovens. Fan-forced or convection ovens are more efficient at pushing around the heat during cooking. This means that the food is cooked more quickly and evenly than in a conventional oven - the shorter cooking time and lower temperatures required save energy and make cooking more economical. It remains important to follow the instructions for your oven but in general, these basic rules apply to use of fan-forced ovens:
- Reduce the cooking temperature for baking by 13ºC/25ºF, especially when the cooking time is under 15 minutes but cook for the same length of time suggested in the recipe;
- Reduce the cooking time by 25% for roasting and cook at the same temperature suggested in the recipe.
- Keep a record of changes in cooking times and temperatures for your favourite recipes for future reference if you own a fan-forced oven.
5. Preheat the oven prior to cooking. It is important to always preheat the oven to the temperature suggested by the recipe, unless otherwise stated. This will ensure that the oven is at the right temperature when you add the item for cooking.