help shopping new electric range
I am in the market to replace a top of the line coil 30" range, used for a year, because the safety button sensor in coil drains heat from center of pans and prevents use of my wok ring AND baking of my artisan breads is uneven even with rotation. Previous gazillion years of experience with electric coil had been satisfactory, even if not perfect.
Coming up on Black Friday is a good time to replace, but now I'm skittish about my shopping acumen after this fiasco with range.
Not plumbed for gas. Only have room for 30" range. I can learn to clean the stovetop, something I've not been good at in past. I like to cook a lot, simple food, well prepared, but it's not a full-blown passion. Well, bread baking is a passion. I mostly mess with Breadbaker's Apprentice and loaf breads of various sorts, and pizza. Took me some time to be bold enough to push my ranges to 500 degrees.
I'm good with some learning curve.
I'm old fashioned in that I'm seeking reliability and good performance at something looking like a fair price. If i KNEW I'd love an induction despite having to replace my beloved pans, I'd be on it in a flash. Same with convection or true convection. What about the mixed reviews of hidden elements in ovens? I'm having troubles parsing information well.
Bakers, home cooks HELP ME. Is the GE smooth top with hidden oven element and true convection the cat's meow or should I really be looking at your suggested alternative? Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
Hi Barb, we have a GE Profile Induction range and we love it. We’ve had it for about 7 or more years now, and it has not given us any problems.
If you don't have gas, this is a great option.
Yep, changing out those great aluminum pots is a real downer, but once we bit the bullet, we never looked back. The ability to accurately adjust the heat on the stovetop is great. It boils water fast and the heat shuts down the INSTANT you turn it down. It gives use excellent heat control. Guess what? When frying you can spread news paper on the entire stovetop, including over the induction element, put you pot on top and fry away. The paper catches the any spilled oil. We always use scott towels under the pans to prevent scratching. The paper never burns.
The oven has served me well for my bread baking obsession. Love the hidden lower element. I am able to run thermal data logging, and the oven’s calibration is very accurate. Generally off by no more than 7 degrees F. Often spot on.
Oh, Did I say, “I love my range”? LOL
Danny
We do not have this particular range, but do have a full suite of Wolf/Sub Zero/Cove appliances.
Though expensive, if you're in it for the long haul in a home, I think they are worth it.
No connection to the company, other than a happy customer.
https://www.subzero-wolf.com/wolf/ranges/induction-range/30-inch-professional-induction-range
Opted for a GE smooth-top with true convection. JB750DJWW Installed yesterday.
No way I could justify the price of induction with my style of cooking, though Dear Husband & I talked that over a lot. (He was helpful, very. He likes my cooking.)
Ran a couple of well-fermented sandwich loaves through with the regular convection setting (not the "roast" setting), and it couldn't have been easier. Nicely browned compared to previous oven, proper spring, good crumb. Since I didn't use the timer right, I had to wing the last while of baking, but I'd say it was no longer than before, which for bread is okay. Oven automatically reduces the temperature for convection cooking.
Also reheated some leftovers on the stovetop; temperature was definitely lower for better heating. Also am using the "keep warm" element to help me melt an 8# jar of honey that had fully crystallized, and that's going well. I brought the pot of water to boil first on one of the super-duper burners and that was definitely speedy.
So, first impressions are positive.
Realized there are some changes to be made; can't just dump my sharp-cornered loaf pans onto the glass surface, and I expect I'll have to be cautious about laying my pizza peel right on top, all to avoid scratching. That might be too careful and we'll see.