Knowledge Base > Fran Costigan - Working With Your Oven

Working With Your Oven

Fran Costigan - Working With Your Oven

This event was on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 1:00 pm Pacific, 4:00 pm Eastern

Are you tired of burnt bottoms and soggy centers? Do you feel like your oven is more of a foe than a friend? Well, fear not my friends, because the queen of vegan baking, Fran Costig… Read More.

Recorded

Question:

Need guidance on convection vs. bake...what determines the best approach for baking.?

— Jerri Hulman

Answer:

Well one answer is use what you have. I prefer, excuse me. I prefer using convection bake. I like the way my cakes rise. For example, I don't use it for everything. I don't use it for delicate cookies. And when I'm testing recipes for the general public I bake and and standard mode because not everyone has convection bait. But if you have the option of convection bake in your oven definitely give it a try and you know, I'm talking about test fake. So what I do whether I'm cat when I'm testing recipes or I'm testing my oven is I make a smaller version of something but maintain the amount of batter that would be in a pan and then bake it off and that's how you know, I have also got excuse me a countertop oven made by Breville and Patrick has a photo of that just show you as well. So Oh, I don't know I am so I'm so lost time a timeline, but I think it was during. the lockdown I had the opportunity to develop recipes for a company that I like very much and I have only one I have one oven. There's no place in my apartment to put you know, two wall ovens. I had one oven. And so I decided to get this countertop oven and I thought hard and long about it because I didn't have that much real estate to give up. Well, I love this oven. and this particular one does everything I can dehydrate I when I make aquafaba meringues I did I dehydrate them in that oven meaning I bake them very slowly that convection mode on that oven is Sensational and I have learned that that one has to be set at 340 Fahrenheit. Not 325 for a 350 bake. Well one day I baked. two layers made from the same mixing bowl in the exact same pans of my chocolate cake to live for one in the Breville one in my On convection one in my oven on convection and I compared them and that was you know was very interesting one baked faster than the other and they both baked nicely. But I have really I really love that oven now that I have a nicer oven. I'm sure I'll be using my other oven a little bit more than I was.
Fran Costigan

Fran Costigan

Director of Vegan Pastry

FranCostigan.com