Options for steam injection bread oven for 10-15 loaves

Your location may influence the available choice....

What may also be an influence is the power supply you have - and/or how much money you're willing to throw at upgrading to a supply that will cope with the demands of even an entry-level commercial oven.

I have a Lincat EC08 - it's the biggest commercial oven that I could find that suited my needs which would plug into a standard UK wall socket (13 amps, 230v). It has a water injector that's adequate - 10-15 seconds when I load the loaves seems to be fine.

It's not a "deck" oven as such, but an electric fan oven. 2 elements, 2 fans. The elements are not top & bottom like a convection or fan-assist oven, but behind a panel at the back which helps control the air flow. (Fairly standard "fan oven" arrangement in the UK)

It has 3 grids which can take 2-3 large loaves or 4 smaller ones each. This morning I used it to bake a batch of 12 smaller loaves (450g cooked weight) and 6 larger ones on the 2nd run. It only needs 5 minutes recovery between runs.

I have altered it slightly - replaced the grids with 10mm thick steel plates. I load it from a plywood transfer board - which is like a really a big peel, cut to the full width. In that respect it is more like a deck oven as I cook the breads directly on the steels - the down-side is that opening the door, opens all 3 to the outside... Not been an issue so-far - but I tend to load it up in one go, but I also use it for patisserie and for some things will load up one deck, then 5 minutes later another, then 5 minutes later the 3rd, then take off the first, etc. depending on what I'm cooking and how long it takes to prepare a tray and cook...

Commercial ovens of this type tend to come in Gastronorm sizes - So mine is a GN 1/1 size oven - 530x325mm. There is a while host of standardized trays, racks, etc. for this size. The other size I've seen for electric convection (above domestic size) is "patisserie" size - 600x400mm.

If you get a stone-laden deck oven, then as well as the electricity supply, do check the loading - they weigh lots! Even my Lincat is 70Kg and that was before I added 3 x 16Kg of steel plates into it...

Good luck with what you get! (and show us photos :-)

-Gordon

Doyon

http://www.doyon.qc.ca/index.php

I believe all of their models are 220V, so you might need to bring in an electrician to wire it in.