I’m an avid baker and have just mastered my 50% WW/50% Bread flour sourdough recipe to the point where I turnout 1, nicely open crumb loaf per week for my family. I bake pastries and cakes several times per week, along with family meals daily.
I’m writing because my oven just gave out and I have to replace it. I’ve been looking at various models from LG, GE, Samsung, Whirlpool and Maytag, and have found from the reviews (none higher than 3.5 stars) that they all have similar and many problems that would be problematic to any serious baking. I was wondering if any of you home bread bakers would mind sharing the make and model of oven that you use in your home kitchen, or can make a recommendation for my next purchase.
Thor Kitchens brand is NOT an option as I have a less than 2 year old model of theirs, that is the one waiting for burial… After 8 months of ownership, 2 burners were at fault, oven temps could not be maintained because of a faulty door hinge issue, also causing ALL of the nobs to melt into odd shapes. The tech that came out to ‘fix’ these issues was not able to correctly solve the door issue so I had to use baby proof locks to keep the door in its proper place. The oven is now out of warranty and I’ve decided to just chalk up my loss and move on.
I’m looking for a 30" gas range. This morning before I started looking I had a budget up to $1900.00. But after hours of internet research for suitable models, then going over reviews from OWNERS of these models, I’m a bit disheartened and am thinking that it may just be better to buy a cheaper model ($6-$800.00) knowing that in about 2-3 years I’ll just have to replace it. 2-3 years seemed to be the beginning of the end for these higher priced models, with some serious complaints even at the 1 year mark.
Thanks and I look forwarding to hearing from anyone with suggestions!
We installed a Samsung gas during our kitchen redo ~ 3 yrs ago. It is a slide-in …model NX58H9500WS. We were lucky that it went on sale at one big name store, so we went to another big name store and ad matched, got the sale price plus an additional 10%.
We had service in a few times to adjust the gas on the burners. The finish has chipped a little in the oven where the rack is pulled in and out but other than that, no problems at all with the appliance itself.
I had used a gas cooktop but was not familiar with a gas oven. It has taken some time to get used to the different features …ie convection roasting and baking, a proofing setting etc.
Pretty much everything I baked for the first few months.burnt…meats, breads, pastries didn’t matter. I have finally learned to turn the heat down 25 to 30 degrees and shorten baking times by 10 to 15 mins when using the convection. I use an instant read thermometer for almost all baking…(most breads are baked around 190-200 degrees depending on the recipe).
bottom line…I’m pretty happy with this Samsung.
Hi. We needed to replace our 20+ year old range last year and I bought a Bosch 30” slide in gas range with an electric oven. I LOVE it and have not found one thing I would want to change about it. I wanted to change everything about my last stove! It has a huge oven and very even temps. Not sure if you can use a dual fuel range, but if so, check out Bosch.
Thank you amprincess and aek for your replies! I ended up getting a Samsung after all, model NX58M6630SS, from Home Depot during their President’s day sale. It was just delivered this morning and hubby will install this evening after work.
I went back and forth with higher v. mid price, since many of the reviews that I read for both price ranges had issues with their ovens right around the 2 year mark that required a series of parts installed. We decided on this model with a 5 year service contract. By the time the contract expires, it will most likely be time for new oven anyway.
Amprincess, thanks for the warning on the convection baking learning curve. My old oven had the both ‘Bake’ and ‘Convection Bake’ options and after using the convection option once, I opted not to again as the heat seemed to produce hot spots which lead to uneven baking. I’ve since learned that it was not ‘True’ convection (lacked the third heating element) hence the hot spots. I’ll make a few tests with my recipes before I commit to my normal balking routine.
Thanks again and I’ll update after a few tests to let anyone who may be interested how this model performs. I received a lot of help from this and other baking forums/ YouTube and will be happy to pay it forward.
