Barrytm

A log is a great idea, I would add some entries for pre sous vide activities - sometimes I sear or smoke before sealing and sous vide, or brine before sous vide, I would also add an entry for whether the protein had been frozen before sous vide. Also add entry for whether you froze it after sous vide before finishing, otherwise, you are good to go. The main things are time and temp, since they have the biggest impact. I like your conclusions line, though it gets tough to accurately describe moistness in words.

AlaMoi, I have never used one, but the PizzaParty is a wood fired oven, that is mobile, and fires up pretty quickly, under half hour , and most users are pretty happy with it. http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=42091.0 I have the Blackstone which is great for pizza, but not designed for bread.

Franci, the main issue I see is that I don't know how you will get the high temps needed for Neapolitan and at the same time get top heat to balance the bottom heat without a broiler. I did want to point out that the Unii gets mixed reviews http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=42123.0 If you can afford the Blackstone, http://www.amazon.com/Blackstone-1575-Outdoor-Pizza-Oven/dp/B00CELFJ4A?ie=UTF8&keywords=blackstone%20pizza&qid=1462238090&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 and have the space to use it outside, that would be the way to go, it gets mostly positive reviews on pizzamaking.com.

Petty, it is a shame that the phrase pasta machine means two entirely different things. One use, which is the Phillips machine, you dump in flour and eggs, the machine mixes and kneads the dough, then extrudes it through a set of dies into different shapes. I had one, it was very heavy, pretty loud, some of the dough would be left behind in the machine and not get extruded and took quite a bit of time to clean, so I gave it to a charity. Purists will say that unless you get one with metal dies, which cost a lot more money, the results will not be very good, though I thought the results were definitely satisfactory. If you don't have that type of machine, you can mix the dough in a regular mixer, like the Kitchen Aid or better yet a food processor ( extremely quick to make in a food processor ) and then you let it rest 20 or 30 minutes, and then you roll it out and cut it into the desired shape. For the rolling out, you can use a regular rolling pin - and some semolina flour for dusting the board, and that works pretty quickly. The other option is to buy what is referred to as a pasta machine or pasta maker - Atlas and Imperia are two well known brands. The machines are not as heavy as an extruder, but are very sturdy, and you clamp it to a surface, and run the dough through the machine a number of times, each time you adjust the rollers closer so the pasta gets thinner. Then you put on an attachment which cuts the pasta into fettuccine, or spaghetti , or if you have different attachments, some other size. The Atlas or Imperia can be fitted with an electric motor, I have one and it does make the process much easier, you can keep two hands free to feed the pasta through the rollers and retrieve it. If you used a rolling pin to flatten the pasta into a big sheet, it is pretty easy to cut into fettucine sizes, I haven't tried cutting it into spaghetti. Even though I have the Atlas with the electric roller, I more commonly use a rolling pin, it takes about the same amount of time to roll it out, but a lot less time taking the machine out of a cabinet and putting it away when I am done. Here is clip from Jamie Oliver making pasta with a food processor and a pasta roller machine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upi5SkWXeBM My advice is to ask around and see if someone you know has a pasta roller machine and ask to borrow it and try it a few times to see if you like it. I am not a fan of an extruder machine for the reasons above. If you don't have a food processor, your money would be better spent on that, because it can make pasta dough, dough for bread, and many other things. BTW, after you finish resting the pasta, warm it up in a microwave for a minute or so, it makes it much easier to roll out.

I looked at the kickstarter page briefly, and maybe I misread it, but it does not appear to be a true combi. I read it to say that it switches from different modes such as steam to bake very quickly, that would suggest it does not have a steam bake mode , but again I may be mistaken.

Paul, another option is the Super Peel, I have never had a pizza stick to it, no matter how high the hydration http://www.amazon.com/Super-Peel-Pizza-Solid-White/dp/B001T6OVPO Plus, I have let a pie sit on the peel for quite some time ( 5 to 10 minutes ) and it still launched cleanly. I don't have any interest in the company, but am a big fan.

Franci, nice oven. It depends on what type of pizza you want. If all you want is a crispy crust, good heat from the bottom will do that - your oven bottom may work fine. For many, the main issue is balancing top and bottom heat - and as Scott pointed out, get high heat to both the top and bottom will get a pizza that is light and airy, with a puffy crust. If you add just high heat from on top, with no extra boost from the bottom, the top will get burned before the bottom is done. The other example, which is your case, is that the bottom will get nice and crispy, but by the time the top starts to brown, the bottom will be black.

Agree with the others about sous vide retaining moisture. Due to your wife's concerns, you should also consider equilibrium brining of poultry. Together with sous vide, that would be the ultimate in moistness.

Chris, first, you are right, Kenmore does not actually make appliances, they rebadge appliances made by another manufacturer - similar to a private label. Different models are made by different manufacturers, so one Kenmore model may be a rebadged Bosch, and another may be by Maytag. Whether yours is a Bosch or not, I don't know. Second, smells from dishwashers is a very common complaint. There is at least a few posts every month or so on gardenweb. Here is a search I did, but you may want to do a more thorough search and include the Bosch name in the search and use odor instead of smell. http://www.gardenweb.com/gardenweb/query/smell-dishwasher

Catherine, I think most user reports I have read suggest that steam clean is more of a gimmick than a benefit. Many others are opposed to self clean, since there are frequent complaints by owners that the self clean cycle overheated the electronics and caused problems with the oven. Since you are only looking at a second oven, a combi (steam plus convection ) is an ideal choice. The oven cavity is usually pretty small, but that allows it to come to temperature very quickly - 5 to 10 minutes, and most of us that have them use them far more often than the full sized oven in the range - think of how rarely that is filled to capacity.

The super peel is a great way to load bread or a pizza with no risk, and no flour. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NGOOM6K?keywords=superpeel&qid=1445821457&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1 I use a regular metal peel to retrieve pizza, but nothing beats this for loading a pie into the oven - I have not had a single pie stick to it, and I use a very hydration dough.

I am a fan of the Sinbo http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GN2KU0O/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687602&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B004ZVJ088&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=11QBRGT9947PSKKZ9YGW It uses a different design, and for sous vide, you can use flat bags, which are much cheaper than the food saver bags. It isn't designed for vac sealing liquids, but it does have a way to keep liquid out of the motor if you are sealing something in liquid. While the reviews on Amazon are not very high, if you read them, you can see one reviewer downgraded it because it does not seal mylar, and some complained that it doesn't have all that much suction. For sous vide, I don't need to crush a can, I need to remove the excess air so the bag won't float, and the product will be in full contact with the bag, this one does that.

I use Vacucraft containers to store my bread. Amazon does not appear to carry the set I bought which includes a large and small rectangular containers, and large and small round containers, though here is one set http://www.amazon.com/Vacucraft-4-Piece-Cylinder-Vacuum-Container/dp/B009BGV2EC/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1443357301&sr=1-7&keywords=vacuum+container I wrap the bread in plastic before I put it in the container and think it stays fresh longer. The containers are small, so I have to slice the bread into large pieces first, and I do find that it develops mold pretty quickly - usually within 6 days, even for sourdough leavened doughs.

I have the Anova One, and normally use it in a pot on the stove with a silicone cover on the top. I nearly always turn on the Anova, set the temp, and then turn on a burner and watch the temp reading on the Anova and turn off the burner when I am within a few degrees of the set temp. I try to make sure that the gas flames are under the pot, not overlapping the side where the Anova sits.

Franci, have you considered a Cadco. I have the quarter sized model. http://www.amazon.com/Cadco-OV-003-Convection-1450-Watt-Stainless/dp/B0073UR364 The height is only 15 3/4, the interior cavity is 14 w by 9 h by 11 1/4 deep http://www.cadco-ltd.com/download_spec_sheets.html Mine sits on top of my dryer. They make a half size, which also runs on 120 volts, though you don't gain any height, it is wider, but it is a little pricey.http://www.amazon.com/Cadco-OV-013-Convection-1450-Watt-Stainless/dp/B001EQ83OY/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1442750837&sr=1-1&keywords=cadco+convection+oven Used ones are pretty easy to find on ebay, and sometimes even Craigslist. The fan is pretty strong, but they sell a disc that sits on the back of the fan to lessen the airflow they call it an air deflector plate http://www.cadco-ltd.com/convection_oven_access.html#AirDeflector, it is $40 for a round piece of metal with two hooks and a few holes, so I made a similar sized disk out of sheet metal, and it works fine. The fan does not cut off when you open the door, but the unit is well insulated.

I think that an Anova post said that the most frequent cause that owners thought that the Anova was not calibrated correctly is that they did not allow enough time for the water to stabilize its temp . I think there is a method to reset the temp readings on the Anova through the startup program for version one https://support.anovaculinary.com/hc/en-us/articles/201704230-System-Calibration but not sure about version 2 http://community.anovaculinary.com/discussion/105/system-calibration-procedure-for-anova-precision-cooker, but I wouldn't mess with that if I was you. If you prefer your burgers a little rarer, just subtract 1 to 1.5 C when you set your Anova. I have had mine for quite some time and find that I often prefer a slightly different temp than I see in a guide.

Scott, heading back to your original design question, though veering off in a different direction, you should be able to comfortably launch and retrieve a pie with a 3 inch clearance. IIRC, I have done it with less. Either buy, or make, a superpeel, you should have no trouble launching in a very tight space.

Susie, sorry, I don't make cake, so I haven't tried it for that. I did use it to cream whipped cream, and that came out well. It has a separate bowl and whisks for egg whites and a separate whisks for thicker ingredients. Unfortunately, the manual is more IKEA pictographs than descriptions, so I am not exactly sure what they recommend for cake batter. There is an Amazon review from back in 2006 that says it is great for cakes, but you need to have the butter at room temperature http://www.amazon.com/Electrolux-White-Assistent-Stand-Mixer/product-reviews/B00006WNNH. These reviews are of the Assistent Model sold under the Electrolux name, but it is the same manufacturer as the current model, and the same machine, except the current model has a higher speed and a larger motor.

Eric, I buy as many kitchen "toys" as the next guy, but it is hard to justify paying now for something that may come out in 2016. Especially when you read the Sept 2014 posts ( nearly a year ago ) in which is sounded like you were ready to bring it to market then. That, plus the name change, makes me pretty nervous.

Ken, what are you planning to use it for? For bread, there is really no contest. The Ankarsrum is a bread making monster. It is extremely well engineered, built like a tank, and has some features that the KA doesn't have. The motor is awesome. It never slows down no matter how much you put in it, and it doesn't whine or growl or get warm while kneading. The bowl is very big and very heavy duty. Most of the time when you watch a TV show where they use a KA, the person using it reminds the audience not to turn it on when you just added flour, you need to pulse it on until the flour is mixed in, otherwise the dough goes everywhere, and most complain that it is pretty awkward to add additional ingredients. The Ankarsrum doesn't have either of those issues - flour doesn't fly everywhere, and there is no problem adding ingredients as you go, the bowl is wide open. It also has a timer - if you want to knead for 5 minutes, set the timer, and 5 minutes later it turns itself off. It can knead very small amounts of dough with no problem - other machines can struggle getting a good knead on small quantities. The main downsides are the cost and there is a learning curve on how to use it. While some come with a kneading hook, most of us use the roller and scraper, so it takes a little time to learn how to use it. I have not used it for cake or cookies, so can't speak to that. I have made puddings and mousse with no problems. BTW, I have an older KA lift bowl mixer, and have owned and used Bosch Universal ( though not the plus ) Bosch Concept and Bosch Compact. If you haven't already, check out the reviews on Fresh Loaf.

Degas, I do a three step for ribs and turkey breast, and am very pleased with the results. For Ribs - usually I use St. Louis style cut, I apply a rub and let rest according to the regular instructions for smoking. Then set up my smoker and shoot for between 175 to 225 , and when it is at temp with smoke, I throw on the ribs. I smoke for one hour, then vac seal, and cook for 2 days at 143, then when they are done, I throw most of the packs in an ice bath and freeze, the one that is going to be eaten then is put on the grill with a little sauce. Comes out perfect. Turkey breast is the same, though I usually smoke it only 45 minutes, and different sous vide cook times and temps - then put in cast iron pan to sear. It is a lot of work, so I try to do multiples when I do it, but the taste and texture is worth it. I have read somewhere that the vast majority of the smoke flavor comes in the first hour- don't know if that is true, and have also read that you can have too much smoke on some foods, like turkey, and that fights with the taste, so the short smoking times work for me. I am actually going all the way outside the box tonight on sous vide - I am trying chicken kiev - so the schedule is cut a slot in the breast for filing, brine, sous vide, then insert the filling, stitch close, bread, pan fry for a few seconds, and serve. I am not thinking that it will be better in terms of taste, but I am planning to make this dish for about a dozen people next week, and am afraid if I do it the conventional way, many of the pieces will be over cooked.

Since you are mixing by hand, you might want to do a search on stretch and folds - it adds some time to the process, but takes less work than kneading, and you will soon develop a good feel for how well developed the structure is. Here is one clip I just found from a quick search, you can see the improvement in the dough from a few stretch and folds. I normally do 4 spaced about 20 minutes apart. Also, I don't put it back in the bowl each time, I just invert the bowl over the dough between folds.

Not only is Scott right on the money about the problem with top heat based on the layout, his opinion is confirmed by looking at the video showing them cook pizza - there is absolutely no browning on the top of the pies.

I agree with Edward. Most combi's are very expensive, and if you get the "cheap" ones ( $3,000 to $4,500 ) they are not ideal for baking bread because the upper limit is about 440 F, the interior is quite small, and the convection fan is always on. A deck oven is ideal. Blodgett and Bakers Pride make several. Another option designed for homes, but I think have been used in a few small bakeries, is a Rofco http://pleasanthillgrain.com/rofco-electric-stone-oven-b40-bread-oven , which would take up less space. The combi would be great for reheating, because the food stays moist, but doubt you would be doing much reheating for breakfast or lunch.

Not a flash in the pan. Sometimes I go a week or two without using it, other times I use it twice a week. To add to the other suggestions, it makes fish foolproof. No worry about over cooking and having it come out dry.