Baking Adjustments When Using a Countertop Oven

Question

I'm planning to bake some scones for a friend, but they only have a simple countertop oven. Although it's rated up to 250W, I would like to know if I should make any adjustments (I'm used to baking with a conventional, fan-assisted oven). Should I:

Change nothing
Keep the temperature unchanged and lengthen the cooking time (originally 15 minutes)
Keep the time the same and increase the temperature (originally 180°C)
Something else?

Sorry if this is obvious, but I just want to be prepared as I've never used this kind of oven before. Thank you in advance!

Catija · Accepted Answer

I don't think you need to change anything... 180 C is the same temperature regardless of the oven. The only reason you'd need to change anything is if the oven doesn't get to the proper temperature, so, if you have one, take an oven thermometer with you to make sure it's operating correctly.

As long as the oven still gets to the temperature required by the recipe, it should work pretty much the same.

Though you'll probably need to make them in smaller batches depending on the size of the oven. Over-filling the oven will be bad.

Remember that cooking time is just a guideline, check at 15 minutes and they should be done but if they need a little longer, that's ok.

Fox · Answer

I've found that smaller ovens do tend to crisp the top (or bottom) more quickly, as the heating element is closer to the food surface.

For scones, you may want to

prepare it in smaller batches, 
lower the temperature by a few degrees, and crank it up for the last 3-5 minutes to get a more even bake and better cooked insides, while still getting a crispy crust.
arrange each batch along the "spine" so that it is evenly spaced between the two elements on the top (strictly speaking, not necessary, but it compensates for any faulty fan action and allows the top to crisp more evenly)

Baking Adjustments When Using a Countertop Oven

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