Home baking v Commercial Baking

[Almondmeal]

I live in a small unit apartment with a kitchen-dining room and absolute no space for even a domestic build in oven. The past years I have been making basic cakes with my mini portable oven which seems alright because all that I ever made when I first started learning to bake was brownie, chocolate cake, and cookies. But as time goes on I want to try something different, like profitetols, pastry goods, bread and other desserts that do not require me to bake 6 or 7 times compare to a one time bake off if I am in a Commercial kitchen. Last year for christmas, I had to bake 3 gingerbread man a time and it took me forever to finish baking off the whole dough from 1 recipe! There are things that I want to try making but it just doesn't seem to work considering the time and space which ended up being the dessert not worth making at all! I have thought about installing a proper domestic oven but the building would not allow as it would change the structure of the building. Is there a bigger portable oven out there? Is there anything else out there that could make a small home a "bake possible" place?

[Lisa Shock]

I can't recommend a brand, but, I have seen countertop convection ovens that hold half sheetpans.

[HungryC]

Check out the Breville countertop ovens. While it won't hold a sheet pan, it is pretty roomy. You can get baking stones to fit it, too. http://www.brevilleusa.com/baking/the-smart-oven-tm.html

[baroness]

A Cadco might fit your requirements.

[Blether]

I can't vouch for the web site, but something like this should work for you. Feel free to have at it yourself via this Google search.

You should be able to find a countertop microwave model that also works as an electric oven. Mine (Japanese model) is a Panasonic with big internal space and two trays for baking big batches. It also broils.

[JBailey]

Sur la Table offers a 'pizza and snack' oven by a company called Fusion. They say it has a 16 inch opening and can be adjusted between 150 degrees F and 500 F. Delonghi makes a similar oven to the Breville, if I am not mistaken.

[Wholemeal Crank]

I have a Sharp convection-microwave that does bake, but it is small enough that loaves of bread nearly always are burn on top because there just is not enough room between loaf and top element. My father had a larger version of the same thing, and his worked beautifully for breads & pies, but was still on the small size for things like cookies and crackers where large surface area and ability to bake two layers at once are key for getting through the stuff quickly enough.

I just checked their site, and I can't be sure without checking at home which is which. I just know that the one is perfectly useful, and the other is not so much, and will report back when I can check their sizes.

[Isabelle Prescott]

I have this Avanti model (see website below) which has 2 electric burners on top and a convection oven with rotisserie big enough for one chicken. Not sure how much bigger the interior is than a large toaster oven. I have baked one loaf of bread in it at a time.

My BF used to live in a small apartment with no stove in the kitchen so we bought this and I cooked gourmet meals with it. Now I sometimes use it on my 26 ft. boat when we are in a slip and have access to shore electricity. We purchased it at Fry's but I'm not sure they still carry it. It can be ordered directly from Avanti.

http://www.avantiproducts.com/products/id/448

[Almondmeal]

Thanks for the great infos! I've checked the websites on the link you guys sent me, though still a small oven but so much better than the one I am using. So there is something out there that suits a small place I am so Glad!

[technophile50]

If you're really cramped for space, I'd second the recommendation for a convection/microwave combo, with qualifications. You'll make some tradeoffs - size, whether or not it broils, microwave power, price.

Since I'm a member, I checked out CR.

The Kenmore Elite 6790 convection/microwave oven gets a "very good" rating from Consumer Reports(68 pts), and fairly high marks from most user reviews at various sites. 1000 watt microwave, 1500 watt convection oven, 1.5 cu ft capacity(1.2 usable per CR), but no grill capacity. ~$330 "midsized" 23"w 20"d 15"h

The Cuisinart CMW-200 is 1000 watts microwave, 1500 watts convection, grills, but has only 1.2 cu ft capacity(0.7 per CR), and a good (58 pt) rating (dinged for ease of use & defrosting performance). ~$245 "compact" 21.20" x 19.00" x 12.20"

The Haier MWM12001SCG[sS] is 1000 watts microwave, 1500 watts convection, grills, 1.2 cu ft capacity(0.7 per CR), a very good(64 pt) CR rating (dinged for ease & defrosting, quieter than the Cuisinart microwaving), ~$140. "compact" 20" X 15" x 13"

[technophile50]

I forgot to mention that a common complaint for lesser reviews was that the exterior of microwave/convection combos gets a lot hotter in oven mode than people are used to. Most of the other bad reviews were for early failures - but if you're the one in a thousand that get a lemon, its going to tick you off, and you are more likely to publicly complain.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Mom just checked in with the info on Dad's Sharp convection/microwave--it was the R-9H76, a discontinued model, but the key point is that it is a 1.5 cu ft model, interior 16 x 16 x 9, and that size was practical for a lot of baking that just doesn't work well in the slightly smaller one that I have.

This appears to be the current version of the 1.5 cu ft model.

Aside from the size issue, which limits how often I actually bake in mine, it has worked great for a decade, and my Dad's is now 15 years old and got heavy use with microwave and convection.