20 oven settings and symbols explained

Preheat is the oven setting that heats up the oven to a specific temperature range. While the actual oven temperature will be slightly higher than your set temperature to offset heat loss when your oven door is opened, this setting helps ensure your food starts cooking at the right temperature.

Select Whirlpool^® Ovens offer a Rapid Preheat feature that uses all heating elements and a fan to reach temperature more quickly, helping save time and energy while creating ideal conditions for single-rack baking.

The Broil oven setting is a method of oven cooking that uses direct, intense heat from the oven’s top element. It’s an ideal oven setting for quickly cooking, browning, charring or caramelizing food, such as for steaks and vegetables or finishing off a cheese-topped casserole.

Because the heat typically comes from the top element, rack position plays a key role in your results. Placing food closer to the top exposes it to more intense heat and can quickly sear or brown the outside.

Broil is often used for finishing dishes, like melting or crisping a topping, but it can also be used to fully cook thinner cuts of food thanks to the high, direct heat.

The conventional Bake oven setting is one of the most common oven cooking methods. This setting uses heat that comes from both the oven’s top and bottom elements to cook food. It’s ideal for a variety of cooking applications like baking cakes, cookies, casseroles, au gratin potatoes and more.

Because the conventional Bake oven setting does not use a fan, it creates a more still cooking environment, which may be better suited for delicate foods like cakes and quick breads.

Convection ovens and Convection Bake settings use a fan to circulate hot air throughout the oven cavity, promoting even cooking across all racks and faster baking times for certain dishes. This oven setting is especially helpful for baking multiple trays of food at once or heavier dishes like lasagna or roasts.

Because the fan circulates heat, Convection Bake makes it convenient to cook on multiple racks at the same time without needing to rotate dishes.

When using Convection Bake, some recipes may cook faster or brown more quickly, so you may need to adjust traditional cook times or temperatures depending on your oven model and the dish you’re preparing.

The Roast oven setting is ideal for cooking dishes like meats and poultry with surrounding heat from both the top and bottom elements. With Roast, the oven heats to a higher temperature than baking, which helps achieve a crispy browned exterior for food like whole chicken, pork shoulder or other dense cuts of meat. You can also use this setting to char sturdy roasted veggies like carrots.

Similar to Convection Bake, this oven setting uses fan-assisted heating that circulates hot air throughout the oven cavity. Convection Roast is ideal for cooking meats and poultry, as well as dishes like pizzas and casseroles. The intense heat and moving air can also help you achieve crispy, browned exteriors or caramelized finishes on roasted meats, vegetables and more.

Convection Roast uses this circulating air to help food cook evenly and brown quickly. Convection Bake is often used for baked goods, Convection Roast is designed for foods that benefit from a crisp exterior and tender interior, such as larger cuts of meat and poultry.

The circulating air helps cook these larger, denser foods more evenly, making it especially useful for roasts, whole chickens and hearty vegetables that require thorough cooking and browning.

The Keep Warm oven setting is designed to maintain a food’s temperature without further cooking it. This oven setting can be used for items like side dishes, breads, casseroles and desserts that are meant to stay warm until served.

Air Fry oven settings are designed to crisp up foods with minimal oil. Unlike standard baking, which uses stationary heat, Air Fry uses a fan to circulate hot air rapidly, helping create a crisp, fried-like texture on the outside while cooking food. The Air Fry oven setting is ideal for cooking frozen foods, such as french fries and chicken nuggets, as well as fresh items like vegetables, meats and fish.

Select Whirlpool^® Ovens come with a dedicated Air Fry function to help you get crispy results for favorites like wings and fries.

Frozen Bake^™ Technology is a Whirlpool brand oven setting on select models and is designed to cook frozen foods quickly without preheating. Select Whirlpool^® Ovens with Frozen Bake^™ Technology help you skip preheating to cook your favorite frozen items in fewer steps. This setting is ideal for prepared frozen items like pizza and lasagna, with preprogrammed settings that automatically adjust cooking times. Follow package instructions when available to help ensure proper cook times and results.

The Sabbath Mode oven setting is designed to automatically turn the oven off after a set period of time in compliance with kosher laws. This oven setting is ideal for those who follow the kosher dietary guidelines, as it ensures food remains heated without the need to manually adjust the appliance on the Sabbath day.

Select ovens come with a Delay Start option designed to let you pre-program your oven to a preferred cook time and temperature at a delayed start. This oven setting is ideal for preparing meals ahead of time and having them ready as soon as you are. The Delay Start keypad allows you to schedule when an oven function begins. Avoid using it for items like breads and cakes, which may not bake correctly with a delayed start.

The Self-Clean oven setting is designed to help you keep up with oven cleaning. This setting heats up the oven to higher temperatures than normal, burning off food particles and spills so they can be wiped away with ease for a clean appliance ready for your next family dinner.

Steam Clean settings, found on select Whirlpool ovens, are designed to use water in addition to heat to help loosen food particles, so you can quickly wipe down and clean the oven without much effort. Clean up after everyday light spills using only heat and 1-1/4 cups of water—no harsh chemicals or cleaners needed. Used periodically to clean light spills on the bottom of the oven, this setting keeps the oven clean and reduces the need for frequent self-clean cycles.

Compare self-clean vs. steam-clean ovens to find the best option for your kitchen.

Air Baking is an oven setting found on select Whirlpool^® models, such as this 30-inch Electric Smart Range with Air Cooking Technology and Steam Clean. Air Baking  allows you to go from gooey to golden and get even results when baking on multiple racks. The high-speed fan optimizes air flow and drives consistent heat throughout the oven. It is ideal for getting golden results on breads, pastries and more.

The Slow Cook feature, found on select ranges from Whirlpool brand, lets you heat up all day dishes. A high speed fan optimizes air flow to maintain a low, even temperature for longer cook times to thoroughly heat up your food. Use it to tackle your to-do list while soups, pastas and roasts come to temp without the worry.