OVEN TEMPERATURES

Since my aim is to provide recipes that flow well, I try to keep the instructions very straightforward. Therefore, I have only included one oven temperature in my instructions and that’s for fan ovens. Those of you who don’t have a fan oven, hopefully you’ll find this conversion table useful!

Fan

Conventional

Fahrenheit

Gas mark

Description

80

100

225

1/4

Very slow

100

120

250

1/2

Very slow

120

140

275

1

Slow

130

150

300

2

Slow

150

170

325

3

Moderate

160

180

350

4

Moderate

170

190

375

5

Moderately hot

180

200

400

6

Moderately hot

200

220

425

7

Hot

210

230

450

8

Hot

220

240

475

9

Very hot

Notes:

  • Most recipes start by saying to preheat the oven. I never start with that as I think it’s a waste of energy, and more importantly, money! Since most modern ovens only take about 10 minutes to heat up to the right temperature, I think it makes more sense to turn the oven on before the food is almost ready to go in. So if applicable, you’ll find a little highlighted bit on my recipes saying when to turn the oven to avoid dead oven time! 🙂
  • When it comes to preheating the oven, it’s very important for some dishes as they need a certain level of heat right from the start. These are for example bread, cakes and egg dishes. Also, putting foods into preheated oven helps keeping the total cooking time more accurate. However, preheating the oven isn’t always necessary. For example, slow-bake foods like casseroles and roasts can go into cold oven because the gradual temperature change won’t affect how they cook (although remember to adjust the total cooking time)