Help buying a countertop oven

#1

My wife has given approval to buy an oven. Our main uses will be for things like fish, chicken, and bread. Her budget is up to NT$20K, so we have some wiggle room. The only conditions are that it be apartment-sized, suitable for the higher temperatures needed for bread, and be 110v. Also, we’d like something Japanese because of quality, and it’ll most likely give us the best bang for our buck here (as opposed to something European).

Even if you don’t have any personal experience with this kind of oven, what are some things we should be aware of? Do I need the ability to steam if I’ll be baking bread in a Dutch oven? Do we need a fan? How do we determine the oven’s efficiency and ability to retain heat? What other things should we consider? Thanks.

#2

For typical western applications you need a fan. Avoid steam and other fancy features like a rotating rotisserie chicken stick. Usually the more features the oven has, the less any of them do what you want them to.

For the ability to retain heat, there isn’t much of a secret. The thicker the walls, the more heat it retains. Avoid ovens that appear light and flimsy.

#3

Side point to consider. Does your apartment have a ground connection ? I would ensure this device is correctly grounded, and hopefully also protected by an RCD.

#4

Our apartment is relatively new so, yes, there is a ground connection. I’ve never heard of an RCD before.

#5

A rotisserie option is excellent. Cooks poultry so much better.

We have a Kaiser from Costco. Not sure if they still sell them. It’s lasted 7 years and still working reasonably well.

#6

Same here, around 10 years now tjough and. And yes they sell them still. My only small complaint is that the door does not close super well. Probably that is why when you check with a thermometer it doesn’t actually get quite as hot as you set it. But so far it has been adequate for Breads, Pizzas, Lasagna, cakes.

#7

I have to set it at 200 for something I’d normally cook at 180.

#8

Outside temp is important.
Check to make sure the outside of the oven doesn’t get too hot. If it does, you may need heat shields for what you place it next to.

Size is important too. It is so frustrating not to be able to fit standard size muffin tins or cookie sheets because the door opening or inside is too narrow. Check the size of baking sheets, pans etc that you have to make sure they will fit.

#9

See the threads below. I’m not aware of anything much changing over the past few years. The last one talks about making bread.

I got a Dr. Goods one, five years back; I think it cost around $8,000? Haven’t regretted it. If you’ve got some kind of pizza stone or other heat sink, it’s fine for bread.

I dimly recall looking at Japanese ones in the department stores and being horrified by how much more expensive they are - plus they had added costs, like possibly redecorating the kitchen to fit the oven. I think on Forumosa I’ve mostly read about the Dr. Goods or the Costco Kaiser.




#10

To be honest I was hoping to avoid reading 200-300 posts about other people’s decision-making and just find someone who could address my particular situation. Plus, those threads are kind of old. I don’t think they are very current with what’s out there.

#11

It might be best to change the title of your thread to “Help buying a Japanese countertop oven for under 20k”?

#12

Eh, ovens don’t change that much. And for making bread, Dragonbones’ postings here over the years are probably the best guide you’re going to find for making bread in a home kitchen in Taiwan, and they suggest to me that a steaming function doesn’t matter much. I remain too lazy to make loaves in my oven (I use a bread machine for that), but I’ve made pizza and focaccia in it many, many times, plus quick breads. The broiling function isn’t too hot. Oh, pun was unintended, but I’ll leave it in.

In my experience fancy features are more trouble than they’re worth, because a cookbook is just going to tell you “bake at 500 for 20 minutes and turn once”, without explaining how the heck to adjust for convection or steaming.

Big plus with Dr. Goods is that servicing is apparently easy in Taiwan. I don’t know what that’s like for the Japanese models.

#13

I just bought a DR Goods off FB marketplace for 5k. Still sells on their website for 8500. Mine is about a year old. Good quality. Awesome thick door. They sell two models, 1000nt diff. Not sure what they are…
Mine has no fan, but gets pizza baking hot in 15min.
The top gets hot, more towards he sides, but not blisring hot. Bulding a floating shelf u it for it to keep it out of reach of the girls.
Will update after our first cookie enterprise next weekend.
So far, very pleased