I hear you on the browning—convection can be a bit aggressive with delicate stuff. Here’s what I usually do: dial back the temp by about 25°F, and check doneness early. For cookies, I’ll even rotate halfway if I’m nervous. Makes a big difference, especially with lighter batters. For pizza, I use a pizza stone and preheat it well, but keep the temp just a notch lower than recipes say. That way you get crisp without going full cracker crust.
I get the logic behind lowering the temp for convection, but I’ve actually found that for certain baked goods—like sourdough or rustic bread—the aggressive air movement is a plus. It gives a better crust and more even rise, at least in my experience. For cookies, though, I agree, things can go from golden to overdone fast. I’m not sure rotating halfway is always necessary with convection, since the airflow’s supposed to be even... but maybe some ovens just have hot spots no matter what.
I’ve noticed the same thing with convection and bread—the crust is just better, almost bakery-level. But when I tried baking a sheet of biscuits, the ones in the back browned way faster, even with the fan. Guess my oven’s “even” airflow isn’t quite perfect... I still end up rotating trays just in case.
I’ve got the same issue in my 1920s kitchen—convection’s great for bread, but biscuits or cookies always need a mid-bake spin. Even with the fan, the back corners brown faster than the rest. I’ve wondered if older ovens just don’t circulate air as well as newer models. Anyone tried putting a pizza stone on the bottom rack to help even things out? Curious if that actually works or just another kitchen myth...
Tried the pizza stone trick a while back when my old oven was driving me nuts with uneven cookies. Honestly, it seemed to help a bit—less scorching in the back corners, at least. Not a miracle fix, but I noticed things baked a bit more evenly, especially on the bottom rack. My theory is it sort of acts like a heat buffer and keeps temp swings down. Still had to rotate trays sometimes, though... guess some quirks just come with vintage appliances.
