If you’re working on starting a catering company, you’ll find that there are a lot of different ways to prepare the menu items you’re planning to carry.  A common question among those who love the world of food and baking is – which is best?  Conventional ovens or gas convection?  For a great answer, we’ve taken words from Chef Leslie Bilderback, a certified master baker.

Amazingly, as you’ll see, it’s not about gas or electric, it’s about convection or non-convection.  You’ll find a lot of difference in cook methods between a 6 burner gas stovetop with an electric stove and a gas stove with gas burners as well.

Chef Leslie Bilderback states:

“In my opinion, convection ovens are only useful if the fan can be disabled. The fan makes it hotter, which is useful when you want to cook something faster. This works for cookies, biscuits, muffins, puff pastry, and other laminates, and small stuff.  Larger items will brown on the outside, and look done, before they are done on the inside. This is terrible for large loaves of bread, pound cakes, white meringues, or anything that’s delicate, like custards.

Gas or electric is not an issue for me in terms of ovens, but I must have a gas stove, and the oven is attached, so that’s what I have.

If you can disable the fan, then go for it.  Otherwise, stick with a conventional oven.

FYI, convection ovens were developed for restaurants to speed things along.  The fan was supposed to circulate air so that things brown evenly. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Things still brown unevenly with the fan.  It is always necessary to rotate pans throughout baking.

One more note…Don’t be in such a hurry… stop and smell the rosemary!  Some of my most enjoyable kitchen experiences happen while waiting for things to be done!”