Which Setting Is Used for Baking? Expert Guide to Oven Settings for Perfect Results

When you bake, you want even heat so your food cooks properly. The best setting for baking is the conventional bake mode, which uses heat from both the top and bottom of the oven without a fan.

This setting helps your cake, bread, or cookies cook evenly and develop the right texture.

Using the fan—convection mode—can speed things up by circulating air. But it might dry out some baked goods or leave you with uneven results if you’re not careful.

Sticking with conventional bake gives you more control over how things turn out. For more on oven settings, check out this explanation of common oven settings.

Essential Oven Settings for Baking

When you bake, controlling how heat moves inside your oven is key. You need the right type of heat to cook your food evenly without drying it out or burning it.

Different oven settings let you manage heat from the top, bottom, or with a fan. Each one changes how your food bakes.

Conventional Heat

Conventional heat uses heating elements at the top and bottom of your oven, but there’s no fan. This is the classic setting for cakes, bread, and cookies.

Heat comes from both directions, which helps things cook more evenly. It’s perfect when you want a slow, steady bake, or if your recipe doesn’t mention using a fan.

With the fan off, the air inside your oven stays mostly still. This helps baked goods rise and keeps delicate treats from drying out too quickly.

Usually, you’ll see this setting labeled as “Bake” on your oven.

Convection or Fan-Forced Mode

Convection mode adds a fan that blows hot air around the oven. This helps some foods cook faster and more evenly.

You might use fan-forced for things like cookies or pastries that benefit from a crispier outside or more uniform browning. Just be careful—cakes and breads can dry out or bake unevenly if you’re not paying attention.

With convection, you should lower the temperature by about 25°F (15°C). So if your recipe says 350°F (175°C), set your oven to around 325°F (160°C).

Top and Bottom Heat

Top and bottom heat means both heating elements are on, but the fan stays off. This provides balanced heat and is the go-to for most traditional baking.

Your whole oven heats evenly, which is important for casseroles, pies, and cakes that need to cook through and get a golden top.

This setting gives you a controlled baking environment. You won’t have hot air blowing directly on your food, so you avoid over-browning the tops before the inside is done.

If you want to read more, Whirlpool’s oven settings guide is a solid resource.

Choosing the Right Setting for Different Baked Goods

Your choice of oven setting changes texture, color, and how long things take to cook. Different foods really do need specific kinds of heat to turn out right.

Using the right setting helps your baked goods cook evenly and develop just the right crust or crumb.

Settings for Cakes and Pastries

For cakes and pastries, stick to a moderate temperature—usually between 325°F and 350°F. Convection with the fan on can help circulate heat and prevent hot spots that burn edges or leave the center raw.

Don’t use too high a heat, or you’ll dry out or over-brown the outside. If you use a darker baking pan, drop your oven temperature by 5-10°F since those pans heat up faster.

If your oven has both “Bake” and “Convection Bake,” try convection bake for a lighter, more even crumb. It works well for sponge cakes and layered pastries.

Settings for Bread and Pizza

Bread and pizza need hotter ovens—think 400°F to 475°F—to get that crisp crust. Use conventional bake for a nice rise and steady heat from both top and bottom.

If you go with convection, lower the temp by 10-25°F so you don’t over-brown things. Baking stones or steel plates can help spread heat, especially for pizza.

Humidity matters too. Toss a few drops of water in the oven tray to keep bread crusts crisp but soft inside.

Settings for Cookies and Biscuits

Cookies and biscuits usually turn out best at 350°F, especially if you can use the convection bake setting. That fan in your oven? It really helps everything cook evenly, so you don’t end up with weird soggy spots or random burnt edges.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. It keeps things from sticking and spreads the heat out a bit.

Keep an eye on things near the end—convection can speed up the baking, sometimes by a few minutes. No one wants overbaked cookies, right?

If you want them soft and chewy, stick to the lower end of the temp range and pull them out a little sooner. Going for crispier cookies? Try a bit more heat, but don’t walk away. They can go from perfect to too dark pretty fast.