 Submitted by ehanner on September 6, 2008 - 10:16am
I just found out that I have to bake at or friends home later and they have a gas oven. I'm doing a couple Kalamata cheese loaves and they can't be covered. My question is, is there any consideration for a gas oven? I know there is supposed to be more moisture with gas as a by product of combustion. I have Electric at home and have never baked in gas before. Anyone have experience with that could offer assurances?
Thanks,
Eric
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gas vs electric
Eric,
I don't know if this is a quick response or not, but I run both gas and electric ovens (convection) and the baking times are identical. I've also found the same with regular home ovens. We've had both, and the times were the same. I'd bring a thermometer if I were you, then you can adjust accordingly.
-Mark
http://thebackhomebakery.com
Thanks Mark
I baked the Olive and Pepper Jack savory bread from your collection, in a gas oven. It wasn't as nice looking as from my oven in terms of color but the bread was awesome, I made 2 1.5 lb loaves and everyone loved them along with my world famous Baby Back Ribs.
Eric
Personaly i Don't like
Personaly i Don't like electric
main reason is that with electric the heat elemant (sp) is ether no full blast or off completly off. i am not sure of the recovery time of an electric.
with gass the flam is never off it goes lower so i think that the recovery time is better.
all my ovens were ether gass or oil fired and the oil ones coule be turned off and would still keep the temp constant.
but then again my ofens were BIG and Lined with fire brick.
there are some realy big electric ovens on the market but i would hate to see the energy bill
I like my gas stove for those reasons
Norm,
I like my gas stove for all those reasons. It's so much easier to adjust the flame and as you say it comes up instantly. I was thinking more about the steaming issue. With gas the vents are open and steam wasn't very effective I thought. For me this was a one time deal, baking at a friends home. I just didn't want to ruin the bread from inexperience.
Today I'm working on some sour rye for tomorrow.
Eric
I don't get it
Eric,
So do you have a gas or electric oven or both? In the question it sounds like you have electric, but here it sounds like you have a gas one. Maybe I'm just sleep deprived.
-Mark
http://thebackhomebakery.com
Rest easy :)
His reason for this thread was in the first post
Don't work too long or too hard... Its not good for you! ;)
I'm with Mark
A later post says:
>I like my gas stove for all those reasons. <
So first it's "I've never used gas, only electric" and then it's "I like my gas stove".
I'm as confused as Mark.
Gas or elecctric
Sorry Mark and Pablo, I have a gas cook top and an electric oven. My friend has a gas oven. I may have confused the readers by using the term "stove" when I should have said cook top. Whew are we done with this yet?
Eric
Aha!
Now I get it.
Gas stove top + Electric oven = You
I think we're done. Unless I missed something.
-Mark
Oh, and just to confirm dougal's rather elegant explanation of temperature control below, my Blodgett electric (the one I'm using in the Kalamata video) is electronic controlled, so it remains a very consistent temperature and uses less electricity than my home oven/range. My gas stoves (to the left of the electric ones) don't have a running pilot so they turn on and off like electric ovens normally do, but they also maintain a very consistent temp.
http://thebackhomebakery.com
Dougal says it well
Yes I think Dougak should take the front row for thermostat questions.
Eric
Thermostats...
A cheap thermostat (as almost always used on home ovens) on an electric oven will indeed switch between 'full on' and 'solid off'.
However, you can get "electronic" controls that will control the temperature more closely. (Not an electronic temperature display, electronic control.)
Something I've not seen on a domestic ove, (or at least not so described) is an electronic (computer) proportional (or even 'PID', 3-term) controller.
These gadgets do two very helpful things.
They switch on/off many times a second, like a light dimmer, and they cleverly vary the dimmer setting to stabilise the temperature as fast as possible, yet minimising "temperature overshoot".
PID controllers aren't very expensive these days.
Coffee snobs use them to control their espresso machines to within a fraction of a degree.
And they are used to tightly control the temperature of sous vide cooking waterbaths.
They are used a lot in industry. Including, I'm sure, the baking industry.
But I've not heard of them being fitted (or retro-fitted) to domestic electric ovens.
Its harder (so more expensive) to get this sort of automated control from gas.
Here's how to control your espresso machine:
http://auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=36&zenid=400bac315ac5c7aea86b10b754ff2f1c
As regards "recovery time", the things that are going to be determinants are the available power excess (beyond that required to maintain the lowered temperature), the amount of insulation (relating to what that power could do for you) and the thermal mass of the oven.
I think it'd be quite hard to generalise.
Gas Electric difference
Be aware that although gas ovens have a 'wetter' heat, they are also better ventilated.
Result of those factors is that steam disperses faster and the oven never gets as dry as an electric oven. So probably expect some crust difference...