An American recipe says 350°F, your oven dial shows Celsius, and the family recipe book mentions gas mark 4. They are broadly equivalent cooking settings, but an exact mathematical conversion and a rounded recipe setting are not quite the same thing.
Use the table below as a practical guide. Where a recipe already supplies a fan temperature, use that rather than reducing it a second time.
Oven setting converter
Choose the setting your recipe gives. These are common rounded recipe equivalents, not exact Celsius-to-Fahrenheit arithmetic.
Fan values use an approximate 20°C reduction from conventional Celsius. Follow your recipe and appliance guidance. Do not reduce an already-fan temperature again. Cooking time does not convert automatically.
Free printable: Oven temperature reference
Download this one-page A4 sheet to print for home, classroom or childcare groups.
Common oven settings
These are conventional rounded cooking equivalents. The fan column uses a common 20°C reduction; your appliance instructions and recipe take priority.
| Conventional °C | Approximate °F | Gas mark | Typical fan °C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 140 | 275 | 1 | 120 |
| 150 | 300 | 2 | 130 |
| 160 | 325 | 3 | 140 |
| 180 | 350 | 4 | 160 |
| 190 | 375 | 5 | 170 |
| 200 | 400 | 6 | 180 |
| 220 | 425 | 7 | 200 |
| 230 | 450 | 8 | 210 |
Why does 180°C appear beside 350°F?
The exact formula is °F = (°C × 9 ÷ 5) + 32. By that calculation, 180°C is 356°F. Recipe charts round to familiar oven settings, which is why you usually see 350°F alongside it.
To go the other way, use °C = (°F − 32) × 5 ÷ 9. For example, 400°F is approximately 204.4°C, commonly treated as a 200°C conventional setting.
Fan ovens need their own check
A fan moves heated air around the oven. Many recipes specify a lower fan setting than the conventional one, but the adjustment is not identical for every appliance or cooking method.
Check which symbol selects the fan function on your oven. A fan-assisted grill is not interchangeable with normal fan baking.
A quick pre-baking routine
- Identify whether the recipe temperature is conventional or fan.
- Select the correct oven function and allow it to preheat as directed.
- Use the recommended shelf position and tin where possible.
- Check the food using the recipe’s doneness guidance, not colour alone.
Changing the unit on the dial does not change the recipe’s cooking time automatically. If results repeatedly differ from the recipe, check your appliance manual and consider whether the oven’s actual temperature needs investigating.
Further reading: Coles oven temperature conversion guide.
