Convection Toaster Oven VS Bake in Conventional toaster oven– Which one is better?

There has been a never-ending debate on convection toaster oven vs bake in conventional oven among baking enthusiasts. They all want to understand the difference between the two.

I have crafted this post to clear up this confusion and educate you on the differences between the two. My hope is that this content will answer all your questions regarding the topic and help you understand why using a convection toaster oven is healthier.

Let’s start comparing them by finding the differences between them and their similarities.

Most standard toaster ovens are thermal-bake ovens. This simply implies that the heat used in the appliances comes from heating elements that have been placed on the top and bottom parts of the equipment.

In standard thermal-bake ovens, air passively circulates in the tool because there is no apparatus to force throughout the appliance.

Usually, this results in the uneven toasting we notice on meals that have been prepared using a regular thermal bake oven.

A convection toaster oven is in many ways, similar to a regular bake, the only difference is that a convection toaster oven has also been fitted with an inbuilt fan that aids in evenly supplying heat.

Basically, when you’re using a convection toaster oven, there are three different sources of heat that will cook your food. The first heating option is the radiant heat that is emanating from the heating elements and metal walls in your appliance.

The second heating element used in a convection toaster oven is the warm air within the gadget that is surrounding your meal.

The third heating element is the conduction from the baking pan that you’ve placed with the item inside the convection toaster oven.

The inbuilt convection fan forces the warm air surrounding your meal to circulate around the meal and heat it comprehensively. This process cooks evenly and also removes moisture which in return encourages browning.

So which one is better among the two? I’ll also answer that question using different factors.

As I noted in the preceding section of the content, the convection toaster oven takes the lead on this one. It is not uncommon for traditional thermal-bake ovens to be too hot in certain areas compared to others, resulting in unevenly baked meals.

This will never be an issue with a convection toaster oven though. Thanks to the fan inside the appliance that allows hot air circulate all the meal you are baking.

Better yet, one feature I loved about using a convection toaster oven is the fact I did not need to worry about baking my pie and then later realizing that it was still cold in the middle part when the timer went off. This is a common issue that has been reported on traditional ovens.

We will have to give it up to the traditional thermal-bake oven on this one. If you are trying to save your hard earned cash, then traditional ovens could be the way to go. A conventional toaster oven goes for an average price of $450-$500 whereas a convection toaster oven’s price ranges from $1000 to upwards of $3000.

Some of the high-end convection ovens are even expensive than that. This means that the more of a decadent you are, the more amount you will need to spend to enjoy the highest quality of your baked products.

Thanks to the inbuilt fan, the convection toaster oven will take this as well. The fan makes it possible to cook meals at lower temperatures compared to conventional baking methods.

Where you would be baking at 350 degrees, you will need less than 300 degrees in a convection toaster oven. This further allows your meal to cook a bit faster than if you were using a traditional oven This is a great advantage for those families who are in a hurry most mornings.

This advantage takes me to the next advantage.

Needless to say, a convection toaster oven’s ability to circulate hot air in the appliance allows it to consume less energy compared to a traditional baking method. I started the previous factor by telling you that if you were using a traditional toaster oven tuned in to 350 degrees to bake your meal, you would need less than 300 degrees on a convection toaster oven to prepare the same meal.

This directly translates to a lower electricity bill.

I have heard multiple complaints that a convection toaster oven does not raise the dough in cakes and bread like a traditional oven. I tried out both appliances and it is true. The conventional toaster oven does a better job compared to a convection toaster.

But there is a way to solve this problem when you’re using a convection toaster oven. You can simply acquire a convection toaster oven that allows you to switch off the fan. This way, you get to use your convection oven just like a traditional oven.

If you are cooking a meal for a big family, you will undoubtedly need to prepare more than one dish in order to satisfy everyone. This means that you need a toaster oven that can prepare multiply dishes at the same time.

When you place more than one dish in a traditional toaster oven, the meal tends to cook at a different pace and one of the meals won’t come out tasting good as the other.

However, if you place multiple dishes in a convection toaster oven, the appliance treats the different dishes as one single item. You can even stack your dishes on top of each other in a convection toaster oven and all of them will come out great.

With traditional ovens, I realized I could not place my dishes at just any point. I could not place my dishes too close to the top or bottom of the oven, no wonder the meal took forever to cook. This was obviously a nuisance on my end.

But when I tried out a convection oven, I had the freedom to place the dishes wherever I wanted inside the oven because the hot air reached them regardless. And all meals came out cooked evenly and at the perfect temperature.

After this comparison, it is quite clear that the battle of convection toaster oven vs bake in conventional oven has been won by the convection toaster oven. Furthermore, it is the newer product in the market, so it was expected to outperform a traditional oven.