Hi,
Was wondering if there is such a thing as a chart/table that roughly lays down equivalent temperatures using gas stove vs using an electric stove. For instance if I bake a cake in a gas oven; typically the gas oven is hotter certainly early on but I think in general as well. That said how would I achieve the same results with my hypothetical cake in an electric oven- although I’m actually using an electric oven and plan to bake/cook overseas on a gas oven/stove combination… please help I leave in 2 days. thanks
If you mean gas mark to temperature conversions, then see this (bottom of page):
http://www.godecookery.com/goderec/equiv.htm
If you mean something else, then you may need to elaborate.
OK, reading your OP again, it seems you might be looking for something related to gas mark-temperature conversion, but not exactly.
There are those who claim that cooking with gas is different because of the water vapour created from the combustion of natural (or other) gases, those who claim that gas ovens are “better built” and thus have more even heat, those that claim they are better insulated, those that claim they regain their heat faster when the door is opened, etc. I think unless you were some sort of professional chef, you would have a difficult time noticing a difference on an already preheated oven - and if you were a professional chef, you likely would know the difference already and know how to compensate for it.
I even know some pretty “professional” chefs who swear by electric, and hate gas. I think it’s a large part of what people are comfortable with and how good the oven is overall.
If the oven temperature gauge is correct, I’d guess that a preheated electric and gas oven with equivalent construction are actually the same temperature as far as home cooking goes. But then, I’m not a gas oven cooking expert.
I don’t see that there would be any difference at all.
Most recipes call for you to pre-heat the oven to the desired temperature. Then the thermostat will keep it at that set temperature while it bakes. So it shouldn’t matter how the oven is heated, as long as it is kept at the proper baking temp.
A gas oven may reach this temp with less pre-heating, but that won’t matter. Some ovens heat up faster than others; some are better insulated and so don’t need to heat as often to keep at the desired baking temp; etc.–none of that should matter if the oven is working properly.
The oven has a thermostat for a reason, to maintain the tempurature at a set point for repeatablity. Oven recipies always start with a preheated oven for one reason, that all ovens take different values of time to reach the cooking tempurature and repeatability. You can use the same recipie and repeat it time after time and get similar results. It was pretty smart of the first person that started doing this. Seriously.
One factor I’ve read, though it might as well be moot, (as far as comparing one electric stove to another, much less gas to electric) is that as an electric stove ages, it tends to get hotter than the indicated dial temperature. A good oven thermometer can be used to calibrate the dial very close to actual temperature, whether gas or electric. Once it can be assured that the stove(s) are accurately set, I have no idea of the differences. I always pre-heat an electric for a half hour or so if possible.
As it has been pointed out already, there should be no difference between gas and electric in keeping a temperature inside the oven. Don’t trust the oven’s thermostat, though. Get a thermometer (they are dirt cheap) and setup your oven according to that. The thermostat in the oven is dependent on a host of variables you cannot control.
(btw, gas is a million times better than electric, IMHO)
But anyone who regularly bakes cookies knows that the second batch will be done quicker than the first. Humidity, and its effect on thermal conductivity, matter when using an oven for some purposes. Some convection ovens now come equipped with humidity controllers.
Thanks for the table Una Persson
To be as clear as possible- be it the stove top or the oven part I would like to take box of …whatever… overseas and follow the directions for it using a gas stove/oven combo.
If Mr. Pillsbury Doughboy tells me to cook for 20 minutes @ 350 then that’s what I want to know I can do.
350 degrees will be 350 degrees regardless of whether it’s gas or electric.
Are you asking if the “foreign” stove will be calibrated in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit?
Uhm the oven parts of either oven should be the same temperature… The gas oven manufacturer’s aren’t going to lie about the oven temp. If you’re looking for range temperature conversions there’s a handy article here though:
Could that have something to do with the cookie sheet being pre-heated the second time? I’m having a little trouble at first glance accepting that humidity is significantly different from the first batch to subsequent batches, or that the difference would affect cooking time appreciably.
Depending on the preheat time there will be a large difference in humidity in the oven. Just this AM I turned the oven (gas) on low (170F) to warm some plates for breakfast.
When removed the plates were damp, and needed to be wiped off. After the oven had been at temp for a while the humidity dies down, as the burner is not on as often.
Getting back to the OP, I have no idea what the hell they are asking. 
There is a difference besides humidity, it is the temp range. Electric seems to hover around it’s set temp ‘better’ then gas. So when baking, lets say 350F, a electric oven may cook at 345F to 355F, while a gas oven would be more like 335F to 365F. Gas also goes through more sudden temp changes when the burner goes off, as the chimney effect, which is needed for proper combustion, carries hot air away quickly, and cools off the over much faster then electric.
Now how do you compensate for this, I don’t know.
I love gas, and gas has it all over electric for stove and broiling but for baking electric rules.
Zactly!
You can improve the thermal stability of a gas oven greatly by simply lining the bottom of the oven with unsealed ceramic floor tiles. The oven will take longer to come to temperature, but the high thermal mass of the tiles will resist the rapid temperature swings from the oven cycling. I bake a lot and this little trick gives me much better results from my ancient gas oven.
Just leaving the pizza stone in all the time works just as fine.
I am guessing the point of the OP is that he is flying abroad with a box of brownie mix and he wants to know if he needs to adjust, right? In that case, the answer is no. Just follow the box.
Why worry with charts and then wonder why something went off track and the cake fell, the pie burned, etc.
An oven thermometer will tell the temperature in the oven. No guess work!