Fahrenheit, Celsius, fan and gas mark oven temperatures
Fahrenheit, Celsius, fan-assisted Celsius and UK gas mark in one place - Including the 20 degree fan adjustment that most American recipes never mention and most British ovens quietly need.
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| °F | °C | °C fan | Gas mark | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 275 | 140 | 120 | 1 | Slow braises, meringues drying out |
| 300 | 150 | 130 | 2 | Low and slow, custards |
| 325 | 160 | 140 | 3 | Rich fruit cakes, slow roasts |
| 350 | 180 | 160 | 4 | The default: most cakes, biscuits, roasting |
| 375 | 190 | 170 | 5 | Muffins, scones, enriched buns |
| 400 | 200 | 180 | 6 | Pastry, doughnut-style bakes, chips |
| 425 | 220 | 200 | 7 | Bread, pizza on a stone, roast potatoes |
| 450 | 230 | 210 | 8 | Very hot: pizza, flatbreads, searing |
| 475 | 240 | 220 | 9 | As hot as most domestic ovens go |
Why a fan oven needs a lower number, and what happens if you forget
A fan circulates hot air, which strips away the insulating layer of cooler air that sits against the surface of food. That moves heat into the food faster at the same air temperature, so a fan oven at 200 °C cooks roughly like a conventional oven at 220.
Set to the conventional number, a fan oven browns the outside of a bake before the middle has set. On a tray of buns that means dark tops and raw centres. On a pizza it is less of a problem, which is why pizza recipes often say to ignore the adjustment.
The rule is 20 °C, and it is a rule of thumb rather than a law. Ovens vary by as much as 25 °C from their own dial. An oven thermometer costs about five pounds and settles the argument permanently.
Reading an American recipe in a British kitchen
Almost every chain recipe on this site started life in Fahrenheit, because the chains are mostly American. Three conversions cover nearly all of them:
- 350 °F is 180 °C, 160 °C fan, gas mark 4. This is the single most common temperature in American baking.
- 375 °F is 190 °C, 170 °C fan, gas mark 5.
- 425 °F is 220 °C, 200 °C fan, gas mark 7.
Every recipe on this site prints all four numbers, so you should never need to do this yourself - But this page is here for the recipes you find elsewhere.
How to convert an oven temperature
- Enter the temperature you have Fahrenheit, Celsius, fan Celsius or gas mark - any one of the four.
- Read the other three All four scales are shown together, including the 20 degree fan adjustment that most recipes leave out.