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Seeking advice on purchase an electric oven for baking

satimis's picture
satimis

Seeking advice on purchase an electric oven for baking

Hi all,

I'm prepared to purchase an electric convection oven mainly for baking sponge cake and occasionally baking pork steak.  The oven is for home use.  I have no pre-set budget but space is my major consideration.

On the market there are 2 main types, convection and true convection.  The later is having an heating element on the fan tunnel to guarantee temperature accuracy but is rather noisy in operation according to my search on Internet.  The former is without heating element in the fan box with less noise and being smaller in size.

Please advise which type of the oven being suitable for my use?  Thanks

Regards
satimis

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Satmis,  I doubt it would make that much difference.  I have had several convection ovens, and I have heard them referred to a "true" or European convection and regular convection.  The regular convection has a heating element, usually on the floor of the oven cavity, but sometimes below the floor,  and a fan in the rear that circulated air.  In the "true" or European convection, there is a separate element that is not technically in the oven cavity, and the air from the fan goes past that element and circulates in the oven.  The primary difference is that in the European convection, in theory there is no heat rising up from the bottom of the oven, and the air forced around from the fan is heated. In contrast, in the regular convection, the air is not heated when it passes the fan and there is the possibility that there is heat rising from the bake element, in addition to the circulation of the heated air caused by the fan.  In practice, both systems circulate air, that is pretty warm and  so it may not be ideal for baking where you want to retain moisture in the baked goods - the fan will tend to dry out the surface of the item being cooked.   While a manufacturer may want to stress some technical "advantage"  - in practice, there are probably other factors that will determine whether one particular oven is better for baking than others, such as how narrow it can keep a temp, how forceful the fan is, and what temp variations occur in different areas of an oven. 

gerhard's picture
gerhard

difference between having the heating element in oven chamber or outside of it.  When the element is inside the cavity it produces radiant heat which is much hotter than the set temperature, by having the element outside the cavity your only heat comes from the heated air so you will have much more consistent heat between when the element cycles on and off.

Gerhard

satimis's picture
satimis

Hi all,

Thanks for your advice.

Before posting I have been searching couple days on Internet.  My search result also informed me that with a heating element installed in the fan box window additional to the heating elements in the oven chamber, one on top and another on the floor, the heat circulated will be more constant.  The air blown out by the fan passes through the heating element in the window.

I found following ovens with true/European convection but unfortunate without sufficient space in my kitchen to house either of them.

1) De'Longhi SFORNATUTTO MAXI EO 32852
http://www.delonghi.com/en-hk/products/kitchen/kitchen-appliances/electric-ovens/eo-3285-0118493500

Fan oven power (W):    2200
Grill power (W):    1200
Ultra convection:    ✓

External dimensions (wxdxh) (mm):    530x450x340


2) De'Longhi SFORNATUTTO MAXI EO 32602
http://www.delonghi.com/en-hk/products/kitchen/kitchen-appliances/electric-ovens/eo-3260

Fan oven power (W):    2000
Grill power (W):    1200
External dimensions (wxdxh) (mm):    530x450x340

Then I found;
SFORNATUTTO MINI EO 12012
http://www.delonghi.com/en-hk/products/kitchen/kitchen-appliances/electric-ovens/sfornatutto-mini-eo-12012-0118440220?TabSegment=specifications#specif...

Fan oven power (W): 1400
Grill power (W): 1400

External dimension: 497x376x292 mm (wxdxh)

I supposed it comes with a 3rd heating element installed in the fan box?  I'll have it confirmed with their branch office here on next Monday.

Its size is suitable to be installed in my kitchen.

My most concerned is whether I need a true/European convection oven OR just a traditional oven with a circulation fan being sufficient to cater my need?  In the latter case I have many options, because being much smaller in size.

Thanks

Regards
satimis

drogon's picture
drogon

Here in the UK we have "fan ovens" and (older?) fan assist... the fan ovens are typically the ones with the fan inside the element (so the element is a circular coil) and the fan assist are ones with elements inside the oven and a fan to waft it about a bit...

There are newer, posher ovens with both and clever controllers if you want to throw more money at them too...

2 of my ovens are standard "fan ovens" in that the element is a circular thing round the fan. (One oven is a cheap domestic one with a single 2.2Kw heater and fan, then other is a bigger commercial one with 2 1.5Kw heaters round the fans.

I got the cheap one first - to make bread in, and it works great for that. I've also used it to roast meats, sausages, chickens, etc. cook pizzas and ... well, generally anything you can use an oven for. It does have a top element, but that's for grilling only - although you can run the fan with the heater element off with the grill going. I use that for making pizzas - heat the oven & stone with the normal fan, then switch to grill when I load the pizza onto the stone.

The posh ones have up to about 4.5Kw of heaters and need special wiring (in the UK at least) They can be ready to cook almost immediately - they are somewhat expensive though.

Do you have any local friends/neighbours you can ask opinions of?

-Gordon

satimis's picture
satimis

Hi Gordon,

Thanks for your detail advice and your time spent.

What you referred to as "fan ovens" in your posting are technically termed as "true/European convection ovens".  What you referred to as "fan assist..." are termed as "convection ovens".

I shall use the oven for baking only such as baking sponge cakes, roasting meats, chickens etc.  I have a bread machine for making loafs and it does a good job. 

Justifying from your advice I think a "convection oven" with top and bottom heating elements and a circulation fan will be suitable for my use.  It saves me lot of headache in sorting out the space problem.  A convection oven is much smaller is size and there are lot of options in the market.

I don't have 3 phrase electricity supply at home.  Last year I have been considering to purchase a Miele Steam combination ovens, a built-in model.  It is a wonderful oven.  Finally I have to giving up because of space.

http://www.miele.hk/domestic/steam-combination-ovens-1469.htm

I'll purchase a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer for mixing and kneading. 

http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/countertop-appliances-1/countertop-appliances-2/stand-mixers-3/-%5BKSM150PSER%5D-400120/KSM150PSER/

Although my bread machine, Kenwood BM450, has a kneading function, it can't do a good mixing job.

Thanks again

Regards
satimis