Blodgett BCX -14, BX-14 Blodgett BCX/BX Combi Cooking Guide, When to use the Hot Air Mode

When to use the Hot Air Mode

The Hot Air Mode is best suited to those items that require a dry cooking environ- ment or rapid browning. Most bakery items (cookies, cakes, muffins, etc.) will be cooked in the Hot Air Mode, although many yeast- leavened products (breads and rolls, crois- sants, Danish pastries) will yield excellent results in Combi Mode as well. The Hot Air Mode can be used to pre-brown meats for braising or to intensify the final browning of roasts that have been completed in Combi Mode.

How the Hot Air Mode Works

The Hot Air Mode operates exactly like the familiar convection oven. When adapting recipes written for static ovens (e.g., deck ovens or restaurant-range type ovens), you will generally need to reduce temperatures 25-50°F/15-30°C. Moving (convected) hot air transfers heat to your food more efficient- ly than static air, allowing you to cook at lower temperatures.

Set the thermostat to the desired tempera- ture and allow the oven to fully preheat before beginning to cook. The small red thermometer light next to the thermostat will light up during preheating. When it goes out, the oven is up to temperature. This light will come on again periodically during operation, indicating that the hot air elements or burners are active.

HOT AIR MODE

Tips for Cooking in the Hot Air Mode

Because your unit is cooking with convected hot air, maximizing the exposed surface area of the food to be cooked will yield the best results. Covering the pans with film and/or foil, using deep pans or crowding the pans too close together without room for air cir- culation will slow down the cooking process considerably and may result in uneven cook- ing.

Cakes may be baked using pan inserts for greater volume and square corners. Use spe- cialized pans (e.g., muffin tins) as necessary.

If you observe over-browning around the edges of the product with a light or under- cooked center area, the temperature may be set too high for that product. Undercooked interiors with a burnt or overdone surface are also an indication that the temperature is too high.

3 Blodgett BCX/BX Combi Cooking Guide