Oven Temperature Converter — °C, °F & Gas Mark
Convert oven temperatures between Celsius, Fahrenheit and gas mark instantly — including the fan-oven setting.
Oven temperature chart
Fan (convection) temperatures are 20°C below the conventional setting — see why below.
| Celsius (°C) | Fahrenheit (°F) | Fan (°C) | Gas mark | Typically used for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | 248 | 100 | 1/2 | Slow — meringues, drying |
| 140 | 284 | 120 | 1 | Slow — rich fruit cake |
| 150 | 302 | 130 | 2 | Slow — casseroles, custards |
| 160 | 320 | 140 | 3 | Moderate — Victoria sponge |
| 180 | 356 | 160 | 4 | Moderate — most cakes, cookies |
| 190 | 374 | 170 | 5 | Moderately hot — pastry, muffins |
| 200 | 392 | 180 | 6 | Hot — roast vegetables, scones |
| 220 | 428 | 200 | 7 | Hot — bread, roast potatoes |
| 230 | 446 | 210 | 8 | Very hot — pizza, searing |
| 240 | 464 | 220 | 9 | Very hot — pizza, flatbreads |
Fan ovens run hotter — drop 20°C
A fan or convection oven has a fan in the back wall that circulates the hot air. Moving air transfers heat far more efficiently than still air, so food at 180°C in a fan oven cooks noticeably faster than the same food at 180°C in a conventional oven. The standard correction is to subtract 20°C (roughly 25°F) from any temperature written for a conventional oven, or leave the temperature alone and cut about 10 minutes per hour off the time.
This matters most for cakes and anything that rises. Run a sponge 20°C too hot and the outside sets before the middle has finished rising, which is what produces a domed, cracked top with a sunken centre. It matters least for roasting, where a hotter, drier fan oven is usually an advantage.
Why British recipes use gas marks
Gas mark numbers come from British gas ovens, which were never marked in degrees — the dial simply ran from ¼ to 9. Each step is about 14°C (25°F), and gas mark 4 (180°C / 350°F) sits in the middle as the everyday baking temperature. American recipes almost always use Fahrenheit in 25-degree steps, which is why 350°F, 375°F and 400°F recur so often; those are 180°C, 190°C and 200°C.
Rounding: 350°F is not exactly 180°C
Converted precisely, 350°F is 176.7°C and 180°C is 356°F. Recipes round to the nearest sensible dial marking because no domestic oven is accurate to a single degree — most drift 10–20°C from the number on the dial, and the temperature at the top of the oven differs from the bottom. Treat any oven temperature as a target with about 10°C of slack around it. If your baking is consistently too dark underneath or too pale on top, an oven thermometer will tell you more than any conversion chart can.
Frequently asked questions
- What is 180°C in Fahrenheit?
- 180°C is 356°F, usually rounded to 350°F in US recipes. It's gas mark 4, and 160°C in a fan oven.
- What is 200°C in Fahrenheit?
- 200°C is 392°F, normally written as 400°F in US recipes. That's gas mark 6, or 180°C fan.
- What is 350°F in Celsius?
- 350°F is 177°C, which every recipe rounds to 180°C. It's gas mark 4 — the standard temperature for most cakes and cookies.
- What is gas mark 4?
- Gas mark 4 is 180°C or 350°F — the most common baking temperature in British recipes. Each gas mark step is roughly 14°C (25°F).
- What is gas mark 6?
- Gas mark 6 is 200°C or 400°F, used for scones, roast vegetables and pastry.
- Do I need to reduce the temperature for a fan oven?
- Yes. A fan (convection) oven circulates hot air, so it cooks faster and more evenly. Drop the stated conventional temperature by 20°C (about 25°F), or cut the cooking time by roughly 10 minutes per hour. So a recipe saying 180°C becomes 160°C fan.
- Is 180°C fan the same as 180°C?
- No — 180°C fan is hotter in effect, equivalent to about 200°C conventional. If a recipe just says 180°C with no mention of fan, set a fan oven to 160°C.
- Why is my oven temperature wrong?
- Domestic ovens are commonly 10–20°C out, and the dial reading is taken at one spot only. If your bakes brown too fast or stay pale, an oven thermometer is the cheapest fix — set the dial by what the thermometer reads, not by the number printed on it.
- How do I convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?
- Multiply by 9, divide by 5, then add 32. For example 200 × 9 ÷ 5 = 360, + 32 = 392°F. Going the other way, subtract 32 first, then multiply by 5 and divide by 9.
- How long does an oven take to preheat?
- Most ovens need 10–15 minutes to reach a stable temperature, and longer for 220°C and above. The 'ready' beep usually sounds before the oven walls are fully heated, so give it a few extra minutes before baking anything delicate.