Top and bottom heat
Top and bottom heat is the classic oven setting where the top and bottom elements heat still air, with no fan. Best for cakes, bread and custards.
Also called Conventional oven, Conventional heat, Static oven, Över- och undervärme, Ober- und Unterhitze.
Top and bottom heat is the oven setting where the heating elements at the top and the bottom are both on and there is no fan. It is the name used in Germany (Ober- und Unterhitze), Sweden (över- och undervärme) and on many European ovens. In the UK it is called a conventional oven, and in the US it is simply the bake setting. Most recipe temperatures are written for this setting unless they say fan or convection.
Why it works
Without a fan, a thin layer of still air surrounds the food and heat moves into it more gently. The oven is hotter near the elements and cooler in the middle, so food on the middle shelf cooks slowly and evenly from both sides. That is good for delicate bakes and less good for crisping lots of food at once.
How to use it
Use the temperature in the recipe as it is. If a recipe gives a fan oven temperature and you use top and bottom heat, raise it by about 20°C (25°F).
| Fan | Top and bottom heat |
|---|---|
| 160°C (325°F) | 180°C (350°F) |
| 180°C (375°F) | 200°C (400°F) |
| 200°C (400°F) | 220°C (425°F) |
Each scale uses its own rule, 20°C or 25°F, so the °F values are not exact conversions of the °C values.
Bake on the middle shelf, so the food is the same distance from both elements. Bake one tray at a time. If you must bake two, swap them top to bottom halfway through.
Top and bottom heat suits:
- Cakes, sponges and soufflés, which rise more evenly without moving air.
- Bread, where the bottom heat helps the loaf rise and crisps the base.
- Custards, cheesecakes and meringues, which can form a skin in a fan oven.
- Pies and tarts that you blind-bake, where a hot base stops a soggy bottom.
Common mistakes
- Baking on the bottom shelf. The base burns before the top is done.
- Using the top element alone by mistake. That is the broil (grill in the UK) setting, which only browns the top.
- Putting several trays in at once and expecting even results.
In recipes
Swedish recipes say "200 grader, över- och undervärme" or "ugn 200°", German ones "200°C Ober-/Unterhitze". British recipes give "200°C, 180°C fan, gas 6", where the first number is the top and bottom heat setting.
Related terms
- Fan ovenA fan oven blows hot air around the food so it cooks faster and browns more evenly. Turn the temperature down about 20°C (25°F) when you use one.
- Celsius and FahrenheitMost of the world cooks in degrees Celsius and the US cooks in Fahrenheit. Here is how to convert, with a table of common oven temperatures.
- Gas markGas mark is the oven scale on British gas cookers, from ¼ to 9. Here is the full table in Celsius and Fahrenheit and what each mark is for.
- BakeBaking cooks food with dry, hot air in an enclosed oven. It is how bread, cakes, cookies and casseroles go from raw to set, risen and browned.
- BroilBroiling cooks food with strong, direct heat from the top element of the oven. It browns cheese, chars peppers and cooks thin cuts in a few minutes.
- Blind bakeBlind baking is baking a pie or tart crust before the filling goes in, using weights to stop it puffing up. It keeps the base crisp, not soggy.