Ovens have become an essential part of our lives because how else will you get perfect charring on vegetables and meats? As it turns out, there are different components of the oven that impact how the food will come out. However, broil element vs. bake element is a common question of comparison, and we are sharing all the differences between these two components of the oven!
Broil Element vs Bake Element:
Broil Element
The broil elements are commonly installed on the roof area of the oven. As the name suggests, the broil elements are responsible for broiling the food and also aid in quicker and more efficient preheating of the oven. However, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that they are unappreciated and underused because people aren’t aware of the functions and right usage. That being said, the broil elements have so much to offer, only if you use them right.
Even more, when a broiler pan is installed, it can easily collect the fatty runoff and allows the users to easily broil vegetables and seafood while accentuating the flavor. The broil elements are different for every oven, which is why every broil element is different. However, the primary function of the broil element is the same. The broil element is designed to deliver direct and strong heat to the food, much like the grill.
With the broiling element, the food is placed closer to the heating element, promising quick cooking, browning, caramelizing, and charring. That being said, broil elements help create an in-depth and complex flavor to the food while achieving the best textures. With broiling, one side of the food is exposed to high and direct heating, which makes it suitable to cook foods that you would cook on a grill. The best thing about broil elements is that they can create a crust on already cooked food items.
For this reason, you can create a perfectly crispy crust on the bread and steaks while charring the vegetables and melting and browning the cheese and other toppings. If you have to use the broil element of your oven, you need to use special broiling cookware, such as cast iron skillet and other metal pans (don’t use glass cookware when you have to use the broil element). However, the performance of the broil element will be directly impacted by oven rack placement, so place it according to the food and its thickness.
Bake Element
Contrary to the broil element, the bake element is placed in the lower section of the oven as it’s placed as the lower element. It’s safe to call it a workhorse of your oven because it works for a longer time (or may we say it burns for a longer time) before the broil element comes on. However, just like the broil element, the bake element is different for every oven and depends on which model you are using. As far as the function is concerned, the bake element is responsible for initiating and optimizing the bake cycle.
The bake element is designed to burn in bright orange color when the bake cycle is going on. In addition, the bake element tends to cycle on to deliver heat from the oven’s top to deliver better cooking outcomes. As far as the ovens are concerned, the ovens are likely to have one bake element, but the modern ovens tend to have multiple bake elements. As for the function, the bake element works by transforming electrical energy into heat through the Joule heating process.
The bake element is also known as the baking coil and heating element, so don’t get confused. Coming back to our point, when the electric current passes through, the bake element will have resistance which develops heat. The bake element consists of the wire and coil, which provide heat. In addition, they contain electric current that flows through the wires and becomes extremely hot. As a result, the element will convert current into heat, which spreads in every direction within the oven.
The functionality clearly shows that the bake element is an electrical component and is available in electric ovens. Also, we do want to mention that there are different types of bake elements, including PTC elements, metal elements, and compostable elements but all of them have similar basic functionality!