bakingdutch-ovenequipmentoven
I'm moving into a small apartment with no oven. Before, I had a 16" oven stone to bake my bread and I'm looking for something to keep baking.
Would a duch oven over a gas kitchen work? I can't use coal (I have no terrace or backyard).
Do you have any suggestions to survive without an oven?
You seem to be speaking of gas, but I am not entirely sure. Gas might be easier. A commercial electric oven needs more electricity than usual, in Europe they go on a 380 V line. I don't know if there are 380 V lines in the USA, I think I remember seeing somewhere that they manage it somehow with 240 V for commercial.
The other point is that there may be regulations. You are not allowed to operate any electric or gas device you want to. This is why you can't import a range meant for sale in another part of the world. I think ranges must pass some tests after they are installed in a kitchen, and I can imagine that the safety criteria and maybe even the overall legality differ between home and commercial type ranges. So you should clear that with your regulation body (I have no idea who this might be, just that they exist) before you spend any money.
A completely different thing to consider is that there is an optimal temperature for preparing most kinds of food. If you are making steak on a 3 kW burner turned all the way up, you are doing it very wrong. A stronger burner won't give you steak faster, it will give you raw meat with a charred shell. There are foods which need the high temperature (anything prepared by strong boiling or deep frying, some stir-fry dishes), but for normal cooking amounts of them (4-6 portions at once), a 3 kW gas burner is more than adequate. You will need more power if you are preparing bigger batches at once. If not, the problem may be with your cooking method and not the burner.
You can indeed do what you ask - baking on the pizza stone with a steam pan. It works better to pour hot water directly in the pan when you put the bread in though, rather than just leaving water in the pan. You get a burst of steam and then a consistent small amount. It's a method that Peter Reinhart advocates.
The other common option - especially with high hydration doughs - is to bake it in a covered dutch oven for the first half. This approximates some of the effect of the earthen/stoneware. The steam from the bread itself keeps the environment moist.
You certainly don't need those pots for fantastic bread.
Tonights loaf - no earthenware ;) (I rushed it for dinner, so the crumb isn't what it could be.)
Best Answer
I would recommend a combination toaster and convection oven. While I have a regular oven in my small apartment, I rarely use it in favor of saving energy (and money on my energy bill) by using the toaster/convection oven. I have purchased toaster oven sized muffin tins (just a 6 muffin tin) and a toaster oven sized roasting rack that fits two sizes of meat. My oven came with a roasting pan. The convection features have done wonderful things for my pies. You can get them big enough to make pizza in. As long as you aren't cooking for a crowd, it will work wonders. Things I've successfully baked in there include:
I had a friend who rented a place that has a convection cooking setting on the microwave. We successfully used it to make muffins once, but I haven't tried it further.