Has anyone tried baking bread in a double oven range?
I tend to bake large batches of basic wheat bread for my family. Right now, I have a regular oven range. I have the opportunity to get a double oven range but I am curious if anyone has had any experience baking bread with one of these? Can you bake bread in the top oven?
Right now, I put a batch of about 4-5 loaves in my regular electric oven range then I have to wait until it is done before putting my next batch in. It requires a bit of 'babysitting' since I can't let the loaves waiting to go into the oven rise too much or I have to punch them down and rise again. With the double oven range I am hoping to fit all 8-9 loaves in the bottom and top oven at the same time, as this would make things much easier and quicker!
Has anyone had any success baking bread in the double oven ranges?
Thanks!
Back when our children were small, and we lived in a home with a double oven, this did work. Ours was not a double oven range, though, not that I think it would matter. We had a separate counter-top stove top, and a double oven off to the side. We loved the arrangement for many things, and occasionally I (or my wife) baked extra large batches of bread that required both ovens. It's been many years, but as I recall the main complaint was that two hot ovens really heated up the kitchen a lot. Otherwise, the whole point of a double oven, I think, is to be able to bake two things at once.
Try it with a couple loaves in each once, and see how it works out.
Good Luck
OldWoodenSpoon
Thanks, OldWoodenSpoon. I agree that the double wall ovens would most certainly work. My concern is with the double oven ranges. The top oven portion is smaller than the bottom oven portion and I wonder if bread would cook nicely in the top part. Here is a link to what the oven would look like:
http://www.kitchenaid.com/-%5BKERS505XSS%5D-402173/KERS505XSS/
from what we had. The description, however, makes it clear both are "ovens". I was concerned when I saw the picture that the top might just be a "warmer". Given it is a full oven in the true sense I would expect it to work just fine. It is the same profile as the deck ovens common in bakeries. It appears to have enough clearance for bread but you would have to satisfy yourself on that account. Pop a fully baked loaf into it and see how it looks. Enough room? Give it a try I say!
Risk a loaf or two one from one of your next bakes and see how it does. You will have to learn that oven as you have had to your "big" oven, of course. They are all a little different, even if the same model from the same manufacturer.
Edit: Temperature control might be somewhat interesting in the upper oven if insulation is not adequate. Another thing to learn about the setup.
Good Luck
OldWoodenSpoon
if you have all 8-9 lumps of dough proving at the same time, why not stick half of them in the fridge to retard them and put them "on hold" until the first lot are baked?
Or.. make 2 batches of dough and start making the 2nd one an hour after the first... Timing is everything - that's what I do on Saturday when I'm making up to 24 loaves. Knead them in the order I'll scale & shape them the next morning, then into the ovens in that order.
But I've no idea what your double oven range is though - it probably means different things in different countries - here in the UK it a range usually refers to something like an Aga/Rayburn/Stanley, etc.
I have a worktop oven that takes 12 small or 9 larger loaves which works a treat.
-Gordon
I own a double oven range that looks very much like the one you have pictured. While the upper door, at 10" high, suggests plenty of space inside, the actual distance between the single rack and the upper heating element is just 4". That means any breads you bake in the upper oven had better be low in profile, like a miche or pitas.
We use the upper oven mostly for cakes, cookies, scones, pies, pizzas and other items that won't rise so high that they contact the upper heating element. For those kinds of things, it is excellent, especially if the main oven is filled with other things or set for a different temperature. The upper oven also preheats much faster than the main oven, due to its much smaller volume. We've had no problems with temperature control when both ovens are in operation. It is a Jenn-Air that we purchased in 2005 or 2006. I'm not sure that they still produce this style under that brand.
So, yes, you can bake bread in both ovens at the same time. You just have to choose the oven based on the height of the bread.
Paul
Thank you, Paul, for sharing your experience. I was also concerned about how close the heating coils were. For the upper coil, the sales representative said that it would only be on in the case of broiling so he said it shouldn't be a problem...I am not sure if this is how your oven functions or if the sales rep doesn't have the correct facts.
I was also nervous about how close the bottom heating coil would be to the bottom of my loaf pan, causing burning of the bottom crust of the bread. Have you had any issues with burning since the rack sits so close to the bottom heating coil (in the top oven, that is)?
Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it!
the upper coil does not heat. Since a regular 9x5 loaf pan has about an inch of clearance, a high-rising loaf would get tangled up in the upper coil. That would mess up the bread even though the coil isn't on. My Pullman pans are tall enough that they can't be put in the upper oven.
We've had no problems with things scorching on the bottom. Apparently the designers got that right with this particular model.
Paul
Good to know, Paul! Thanks so much!