Operating the Oven

Understanding the Various Oven Cooking Modes

The three basic styles of cooking in an oven:

Your range offers three convection cooking modes:

•Convection Bake

•Convection Roast

•BAKING - The gentle cooking of dry goods such as cookies, cakes, soufflés, etc.

•ROASTING - The cooking of meats or vegetables over a period of time.

•BROILING - Cooking with an intense heat for a short amount of time.

Bake

Uses only a heat source from below the food. This mode is the stand-by, non-convection mode. All baked items will turn out nicely in this mode.

Baking Tips

•For best results, use a single rack in the lowest posi- tion when using bake mode. For cooking on multiple racks, Dacor recommends using one of the convection modes. See the following pages.

•Follow your recipe’s original cooking time and tem- perature.

•Do not open the oven door frequently during baking. Look through the oven door window to check the progress of baking whenever possible.

•Use the timers to determine baking time.

•Wait until the shortest recommended baking time before checking the food. For most baked goods, a wooden toothpick placed in the center should come clean when the food is done.

•Pure Convection

As a general rule, in the convection modes, the cooking time is about 25% shorter. Set the timer 15 minutes before the shortest stated time and add more time if necessary.

For Pure Convection and Convection Bake Modes:

Some recipes, especially those that are homemade, may require adjustment and testing when converting from standard to convection baking. If you are unsure how to convert a recipe, begin by preparing the recipe using the standard bake settings. After achieving acceptable results in standard bake mode, adjust the convection cooking times according to the guidelines above. If the food is not cooked to your satisfaction during this first convection trial, adjust one recipe variable at a time (such as cooking time, rack position, or temperature) and repeat the convection test. If necessary, continue adjusting one recipe variable at a time until you get satisfactory results.

Convection Bake

Use this mode for single rack baking. The combination of the convection fan and bottom heat source is best for fruit crisps, custard pies, double-crusted fruit pies, quiches, yeast breads in a loaf pan and popovers. Also, items baked in a deep ceramic dish or earthenware clay pots are best in this mode. Most of these items cook in a deep pan and require browning on the top and bottom.

Common Problems When Using Standard Bake Mode

Problem

May Be Caused By

What to Do

Cookies burn on the bottom.

Oven door opened too often.

Set timer to shortest recommended cooking

 

 

time and check food when timer beeps. Use

 

 

door window to check food.

 

 

 

 

Incorrect rack position used.

Change rack position.

 

 

 

 

Dark, heat absorbing cookie sheets

Use shiny, reflective cookie sheets.

 

used.

 

 

 

 

Cookies are too brown on top.

Rack position being used is too

Change rack position.

 

high.

 

 

 

 

 

Food placed in oven during pre-

Wait until oven is preheated.

 

heat.

 

Cakes burn on the sides or are

Oven temperature too high.

Reduce oven temperature.

not done in the center.

Dark, heat absorbing cake pans

Use shiny, reflective cake pans.

 

 

used.

 

Cakes crack on top.

Oven temperature too high.

Reduce oven temperature.

Cakes are not level.

Oven and/or oven rack not level.

Level oven and rack as needed.

 

 

 

Pies burn around the edges or

Oven temperature too high.

Reduce oven temperature.

are not done in the center.

Dark, heat absorbing pans used.

Use shiny, reflective pans.

 

 

Oven and/or rack over-crowded.

Reduce number of pans.

 

 

 

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