Gas vs Electric Ovens: Which Is Better For Baking?

The Short Answer

If baking is what matters to you, buy electric. Electric ovens heat evenly, hold their temperature closely, and offer both a fan setting and a conventional top and bottom heat setting, which between them cover almost everything a home baker makes.

Gas is not bad at baking. Generations of Scottish bakers turned out perfect shortbread and Dundee cake from a gas cooker. But a gas oven has hotter and cooler zones, fewer functions, and these days far fewer models to choose from.

The sensible middle road, and the one most keen cooks end up choosing, is a gas hob with an electric oven. You get the instant control of a flame on top and the steadiness of electric heat below.

How Each Oven Heats

A gas oven has a burner, usually at the bottom or back of the cavity. Hot air rises, so the top shelf runs hotter than the bottom one. Burning gas also releases a little water vapour, so the air inside is slightly moist. Temperatures are set by gas mark, not degrees.

A conventional electric oven has heating elements at the top and bottom. The heat is gentle and still, with the hottest spot near the top.

An electric fan oven has an element wrapped around a fan at the back. The fan pushes hot air all around the cavity, so every shelf sits at close to the same temperature. It heats up quickly and cooks a little faster, which is why recipes tell you to drop the temperature by around 20 degrees for fan.

Nearly every built-in electric oven sold in the UK today is a multifunction model that gives you both electric modes, plus a grill, in one appliance. That flexibility is the main reason electric wins for baking.

What That Means For Your Baking

Bake	Gas oven	Electric oven
Sponge cakes	Good on the middle shelf, may need turning	Very good. Many bakers prefer conventional heat for an even rise
Biscuits, shortbread, scones in batches	One tray at a time bakes best	Fan setting bakes two or three trays evenly
Bread	Moist heat helps the crust and rise	Very good, a tray of water adds steam if wanted
Rich fruit cake	Moist heat suits long, slow bakes	Very good on conventional heat at a low setting
Pastry and pies	Bottom heat helps crisp the base	Good. Some ovens have a bottom heat or pizza setting for this
Meringues and macarons	Harder, as low steady heat and dry air are needed	Better. Dry heat and close low-temperature control

The pattern is clear enough. Gas has a genuine edge where a little moisture helps. Electric has the edge wherever evenness, dryness or precise low temperatures matter, and that covers more of what most people bake.

One honest caveat: the baker matters more than the fuel. Anyone who knows their own oven, where it runs hot and how long it takes to come up to temperature, will out-bake someone with a better oven they do not understand. An inexpensive oven thermometer is the best baking purchase you can make for either type.

What You Can Actually Buy In Scotland

A lot of gas versus electric advice online is written for American readers, where a large freestanding gas range is standard. The UK market is different, and it is worth being honest about that.

• Built-in ovens, the kind that slide into a housing in a fitted kitchen, are overwhelmingly electric. A few built-in gas ovens are still made, but the choice is narrow and they tend to be basic.
• Freestanding cookers are still easy to find in all-gas form, usually 50cm or 60cm wide.
• Range cookers come as all-gas, all-electric or dual fuel.
• Rural homes off the gas grid, which covers a good part of Scotland, would need bottled LPG to run a gas oven. For those homes electric is the simpler answer, often paired with an induction hob.

So for most people fitting a new kitchen, the real decision is not gas oven against electric oven. It is which electric oven, and whether the hob above it should be gas or induction.

Dual Fuel And Range Cookers

Dual fuel means a gas hob with electric ovens in one appliance. It is popular in country kitchens and shaker kitchens, where a range cooker set into a chimney recess is the heart of the room.

For a baker, a range cooker has a real practical benefit beyond looks: two ovens. You can run a fan oven for trays of biscuits while a conventional oven holds a cake at a different temperature. Check the internal size of each cavity before you buy, though. Some range cooker ovens are narrower than a standard 60cm built-in oven, and your favourite baking tray may not fit.

If you prefer a sleeker look, two built-in single ovens side by side or stacked in a tall unit give you the same flexibility in a modern kitchen.

Fitting And Safety

The two fuels have different rules, and neither is a DIY job.

Gas. Any gas appliance must be installed and connected by a Gas Safe registered engineer. That includes moving an existing gas cooker to a new position. The room also needs adequate ventilation, which the engineer will check.

Electric. Some single ovens are designed to run from a standard plug. Many others, along with double ovens, range cookers and induction hobs, need their own dedicated cooker circuit from the consumer unit. A qualified electrician should confirm what your chosen oven needs and whether your existing wiring is up to it. In an older house this is worth checking early, because a new circuit is far easier to run before the units go in.

When we fit a kitchen, the work is carried out by trusted installers, with any gas connection made by a Gas Safe registered engineer and the electrics by a qualified electrician. All workmanship is guaranteed.

Running Costs

Per unit of energy, mains gas has generally been cheaper than electricity in the UK, so a gas oven usually costs a little less to run for the same bake. Energy prices change often, so check your own tariff before you put much weight on this.

In practice the difference is small for most households. An oven is on for a few hours a week, not all day, and a modern electric fan oven claws some of the cost back by heating up faster and cooking at a lower temperature. Look at the energy label when you compare models, keep the door closed while baking, and batch your baking when you can. Those habits will save you more than the choice of fuel.

Planning The Oven Into A New Kitchen

If you bake often, tell your designer at the first visit. It changes the layout.

• Height. An oven in a tall housing at chest height is easier to load and safer when lifting out a hot, heavy tin than one under the worktop.
• Landing space. You want a clear stretch of heatproof worktop right beside the oven to set trays down.
• A baking zone. Deep drawers for tins and trays, a spot for the mixer with a socket behind it, and cool worktop such as quartz for pastry.
• Appliance choice. You can supply your own oven, or choose from the brands we supply. Either way it is fitted as part of the job.

Every kitchen we design is drawn in 3D, so you can check the oven height and the space around it before anything is ordered. Fitted kitchens start from £6,000, most are £8,000 to £15,000, and finance is available from £35 a week, subject to status. You are welcome to see oven housings and range cooker settings in our showrooms.

Quick Answers

Do professional bakers use gas or electric ovens?

It varies, but many professional bakeries choose electric ovens for their even heat and close temperature control. At home the same qualities make electric the easier oven to bake well in.

Is a fan oven or a conventional oven better for cakes?

Many bakers prefer conventional top and bottom heat for a single cake, as it gives a gentle, even rise. The fan setting is better for several trays at once. A multifunction electric oven gives you both.

Why does my gas oven burn things on the top shelf?

Heat rises in a gas oven and there is usually no fan to even it out, so the top is the hottest zone. Bake on the middle shelf and turn trays part way through.

Can I swap a gas oven for an electric one?

Usually, yes. The gas supply must be capped off by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and a qualified electrician should check whether the new oven needs its own circuit.

What is gas mark 4 in an electric oven?

Gas mark 4 is about 180 degrees Celsius in a conventional electric oven, or around 160 degrees with the fan on. Always follow your oven's own handbook.