Ovens!

JBuk

JBuk

JBuk

Soldato
Joined
28 Nov 2002
Posts
11,298
Location
Cumbria
Which oven(s) do you have?

How do you rate them? Anybody got accessories such as baking/pizza stones etc?

What features do you use the most/couldn't live without?


I'm currently getting my kitchen planned but will be buying my own appliances, I'm looking at getting 2 identical single ovens built at waist level into full height units with a microwave and warming drawer in the middle

The miele and siemens top of the range look good but cost a fortune, I might opt for the siemens if I can manage to sell my kidney
 
Neff, it's got the steam and all that stuff. I like it, it's just a decent honest oven, accurate temps etc.

Don't buy ceramic when it comes to pizza stones, buy cast iron, superior heat distribution and retention for getting that "stonebaked" effect without a stone oven.

Rare is it I find myself in a situation where I need two ovens at different temps, and I do a lot of cooking, not just for small groups.
 
I'm in the process of buying a new twin oven at the moment. Whilst I'm not normally too cost sensitive I'm aiming mid to low range as we'll be moving house in a few years and I imagine any new owner would update the kitchen. So my advice is how long are you going to be there to reap the value of buying high cost? My next consideration is really mundane, quality of the knobs. The previous owner left touch sensitive controls on the cooker and oven and a clicky wheel universal selector on ovens. Both are a huge source of annoyance. I'm now looking for function over form and a robust feel.

As to accessories I have bought an Aluminium pizza plate which I can heat up very hot and then stick on the hob whilst I dress the pizza. It has improved my think crust pizzas no end.

I can't comment on quality specifically but all the Siemens goods I have ever used or owned have been top notch. They just cost the earth to buy and repair.
 
pitchfork said:
Neff, it's got the steam and all that stuff. I like it, it's just a decent honest oven, accurate temps etc.

Rare is it I find myself in a situation where I need two ovens at different temps, and I do a lot of cooking, not just for small groups.
Click to expand...

Do you use the steam function?

I think I might just get an oven and an oven/microwave combi next to it with warming drawer underneath, it might work out better that way then I have the option of an extra oven when needed but without the massive extra cost and saving some space in the kitchen , I can reduce the floor plan length by 600mm which gives more room in the dining area
 
PlacidCasual said:
I'm in the process of buying a new twin oven at the moment. Whilst I'm not normally too cost sensitive I'm aiming mid to low range as we'll be moving house in a few years and I imagine any new owner would update the kitchen. So my advice is how long are you going to be there to reap the value of buying high cost? My next consideration is really mundane, quality of the knobs. The previous owner left touch sensitive controls on the cooker and oven and a clicky wheel universal selector on ovens. Both are a huge source of annoyance. I'm now looking for function over form and a robust feel.
Click to expand...

I will be there for a few years yet and I can always take the ovens with if I move lol.

I don't mind those types of control, I think anything would be better than the gas knob I turn and guess what heat it's putting out ATM lol
 
JBuk said:
Do you use the steam function?

I think I might just get an oven and an oven/microwave combi next to it with warming drawer underneath, it might work out better that way then I have the option of an extra oven when needed but without the massive extra cost and saving some space in the kitchen , I can reduce the floor plan length by 600mm which gives more room in the dining area
Click to expand...

I bake a lot so yes, mind you it's no better than a tray of boiling water in the oven. If you have to ask, you probably won't use it.

Those "oven" microwaves are crap by the way.
 
I bake a little but never bother with steam unless I'm making bread, that said i don't use it more because it's a nut ache to do in the current oven

In which way are the micro/oven combis crap?
 
We've had a Rangemaster (110) full electric for 10 years next month, only had one issue with it in that time which was one element in the grill went but this wasn't much to replace.

We use it constantly both hob and oven and although I wish we'd gone down the gas route now I cook more, it certainly copes with everything admirably and has a very accurate and stable oven as far as having no major heat spots etc.

We've cooked for 12 and still had space. We didn't go for the model with the griddle which I had regretted but now we entertain more it is a really useful feature.

I've owned a Smeg gas oven before and it was lovely although the stainless steel was a pain to keep clean but apparently didn't last much longer after we moved out of the previous house it was in.

All in all I couldn't fault Rangemaster for longevity - not the cheapest but I wouldn't go for anything less these days.
 
pitchfork said:
Those "oven" microwaves are crap by the way.
Click to expand...

My mum has a combi oven/microwave and it's brilliant, she uses it all the time as it's just her and dad at home most of the time so a bit pointless sticking the main oven on for just small stuff. As it's smaller than the oven it heats up really quickly and cooks really evenly. I can't remember the make or model off the top of my head but t's definitely an option for a bit more oven space if needed!!
 
JBuk said:
In which way are the micro/oven combis crap?
Click to expand...
They're doing a job they just were not designed to do, the properties of a good microwave vs the properties of a good oven whilst being cost effective and meeting regs?

It's impossible to strike a balance which will produce even heat distribution and accurate temperature control on the oven side of things.

Are they ok for cooking a bit of bacon? Maybe

But try doing anything like baking bread/ cakes, roasting a joint, making oven wedges? Total garbage.

I spent about £250 on one and took a good while seeing what the limits of it's ability were, it's a glorified microwave, pure and simple.
 
pitchfork said:
They're doing a job they just were not designed to do, the properties of a good microwave vs the properties of a good oven whilst being cost effective and meeting regs?

It's impossible to strike a balance which will produce even heat distribution and accurate temperature control on the oven side of things.

Are they ok for cooking a bit of bacon? Maybe

But try doing anything like baking bread/ cakes, roasting a joint, making oven wedges? Total garbage.

I spent about £250 on one and took a good while seeing what the limits of it's ability were, it's a glorified microwave, pure and simple.
Click to expand...

Yeah I can see that they are a bit jack of all trades master of none type appliances but some of them are £1k and more so you would expect them to do what they're supposed to
 
I have a Neff oven and microwave oven in a tall unit (B15P52N3GB and C57M70N3GB). I had decided I wanted two oven cavities but a double oven was too small and I didn't have the space for two full ovens.

The main oven is great, it's a pyrolytic one and I find that it keeps temperature very consistently, heats up stupidly quick and is just solid. It has various options (heat, fan, grill, full grill, slow cook). It's also wide and deep.

The microwave oven or oven microwave (it's a true oven with microwave capabilities) is also great. It keeps good temperature, can be a fan oven, grill and on top of that, you can have the microwave on at the same time. What this means is that you can 'cheat' some meals if low on time, example, roast potatoes without parboiling, just bang the oven on 180c with a 600w microwave for 35 mins and they come out cooked and brown. I tend to use this for side dishes whilst cooking multiple dishes but I have cooked proper dishes in it when using the main oven is being used for something else (normally baking).

Things I couldn't live without? Well - I hate cleaning so the pyrolytic feature was a must but the quick temperature function is good when you forget to turn the oven on in time.

For steam and baking, bowl of water in the bottom of the oven for me. My mum also gave me a pizza stone that didn't fit in her cupboard but that's just a cheapy one which appears to be a moulded firebrick - does the job.

If I had the space and a lot of budget I'd probably get two full size ovens, a microwave oven and a warming drawer too but as I don't, I can get most of what I need out of the above setup (with the microwave oven acting a psuedo warming drawer at times!) :)

Can see my setup at the end.

2013-12-20%2023.13.56.jpg
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I've got a couple of Neffs. One is the series 5 oven/grill with the roller door. It's got all the bells and whistles, just not the water cartridge/connected to the water supply for steaming (those are in the two ovens above it in the range), so you just put some water in the bottom. The other one is the combi microwave/oven/grill. It seems to microwave better than standalones at lower power levels, probably because the emitter is above the food, rather than towards the side like most standalone microwaves.

I've found both ovens great to use and a pleasure to cook with. My wife who is the real cooking genius loves them both. It's very handy to have two ovens when cooking big meals, or different things at once. They both cook very evenly and with accurate temps, and do a much better job of cooking than our old gas oven.

We wanted two ovens because coming from our cooker, we found two ovens quite handy, but most electric ovens seems quite a bit smaller than what we were used to. My wife also wanted the microwave combined in an eye level cooker in order to maximise the worktop space. Once she saw the slide-under door, and the microwave combi, she wanted them both.

We have a pizza stone, but we rarely use it, as most pizzas seem to work quite well on a normal rack. I think most of pre-packaged home pizzas are made to cook decently on a standard rack in a normal oven, but if you were doing your own from scratch, then a stone would probably work better.
 
Steampunk said:
We have a pizza stone, but we rarely use it, as most pizzas seem to work quite well on a normal rack. I think most of pre-packaged home pizzas are made to cook decently on a standard rack in a normal oven, but if you were doing your own from scratch, then a stone would probably work better.
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Yeah, you wouldn't be able to put a real pizza on a rack, it'd be between a baking tray and a pizza stone/ cast baking stone. The latter is always better for pizzas in my opinion.
 
I use a thick piece of granite for my bread / pizza making, holds the heat really well and gives the spring to the bread and crisp finish to the pizza I'm after.

Can't describe how much a peel helps too.
 
regarding pizza stones, have a look at the emile henry ones. Expensive but worth it.

Or if you are having a granite worktop installed, get them to cut you off a bit that will fit in your oven. Only if it is untreated granite though
 
monkeyspank said:
regarding pizza stones, have a look at the emile henry ones. Expensive but worth it.

Or if you are having a granite worktop installed, get them to cut you off a bit that will fit in your oven. Only if it is untreated granite though
Click to expand...

Yeah, try to get the off it from the sink hole.
 
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