Bread making

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I have a Force-10, 2-burner European model. My oven is small, but to bakes pretty even. I do find it is slightly cooler in the back. As long as I keep my loafs slightly forward, it works great.

I actually tried the pizza stone idea for a while. Only seemed to diminish my oven’s efficiency and create cool spots. I suspect this is due to the size of my oven — it’s only about twice the size of a toaster oven .

Odd. What it has done for ours is to be thermal mass. Takes a lot longer to preheat, but then the temp stays steady instead of the large ups and downs.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

Odd. What it has done for ours is to be thermal mass. Takes a lot longer to preheat, but then the temp stays steady instead of the large ups and downs.

What size oven do you have?

Like I said, my little oven doesn’t seem to suffer from major heat variations. I’ve noticed it a little cooler at the very back, but this is quite minor, and rarely comes into play.

I suspect this is due to my oven’s small size. But it’s also housed in an alcove that is completely lined with reflective stainless steel sheeting. This is for fire protection on board, but it probably contributes to the heat evenness.

The stone does work once it’s up to temperature, but it is counter-productive for me. With the stone in there it takes the oven quite a bit longer to get to temperature, so more propane. Until it’s fully heated, it creates one big cool spot.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

What size oven do you have?

Like I said, my little oven doesn’t seem to suffer from major heat variations. I’ve noticed it a little cooler at the very back, but this is quite minor, and rarely comes into play.

We've got the three burner north american standard. I think the same 5kbtu burner is used in all of them, so yours being smaller would be more stable than the large oven.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Sailmonkey

We've got the three burner north american standard. I think the same 5kbtu burner is used in all of them, so yours being smaller would be more stable than the large oven.

I bet that’s it. Mine was the smallest Force-10: European, 2-burner. Heats up fast and seems to be quite even.

I compare it to a large toaster oven; no turkey meals for us, but I can bake three loafs of bread at one time using medium-sized pans.

[BlackHeron]

I put the same 2-burner Force-10 Euro small size in our HR-35 when we bought the boat. The original equipment stove was a bomb according the surveyor when we bought it and he pretty much put that on the survey and the insurance company insisted we remove it right away. We don't have any stainless steel surround but there is plenty of air space around it. There used to be formica sheets glued onto the surface of the surround but it was peeling (literally falling) off so I just removed it all when I took out the old stove and went with just the plywood for now, throwing some stain on it.

Thinking about lining it with stainless steel someday. It would be safer and more fire-proof in the alcove, but hadn't thought about the heat-reflective aspect of cooking and evenness, or energy-savings. We have only used the oven a few times although the stovetop got used daily for every meal when we lived aboard during the sailing season. We prepare almost all of our food from scratch/ingredients and avoid most processed crap.

Great little stove, although I wish the big burner throttled down more and the small burner had more BTU. There is very little overlap in the middle between the two burners. The big burner on low heat is almost exactly what the small burner on high puts out. I wish the big burner turned down to lower than the small burner on high. It is a bother having to switch burners sometimes, especially if the other one is in use.

The few times I've used the oven it worked very well. I made eggplant parm one time and it turned out just awesome. I'm looking forward to making some bread in it next year. We are not big bread eaters, but every once in a while it is a treat. I make a lot of Indian dosas on the grilltop though.

[Mike OReilly]

You’ve got a great setup for the stove BlackHeron. I especially like the teak crash bar. I don’t have one, and have been meaning to install something, so you’ve just given me a good model to work from. Thanks

[sparrowhawk1]

I have heard of people using ceramic floor tiles the kind that come in one square foot and I think they might even come in as large as 24in inch by 24 inch. there are different thicknesses and you can cut it to size.

[Olddan1943]

I vote against ceramic tiles on boat. Grout cracks

[Sparx]

A cast iron skillet makes a great baking stone, and serves double duty on the stove top and in the oven.

I have also baked bread on the stove top using a cast iron skillet with a lid.

[sparrowhawk1]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

I vote against ceramic tiles on boat. Grout cracks

Pretty sure that's a joke but just to clarify : used as a baking stone

[Olddan1943]

Originally Posted by sparrowhawk1

Pretty sure that's a joke but just to clarify : used as a baking stone

Let's hope.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Olddan1943

I vote against ceramic tiles on boat. Grout cracks

You do know that the suggestion was to use a ceramic tile in the oven, trimmed to size, in lieu of a pizza stone?

Not to cover a counter with the associated grout lines.......

[BlackHeron]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

You’ve got a great setup for the stove BlackHeron. I especially like the teak crash bar. I don’t have one, and have been meaning to install something, so you’ve just given me a good model to work from. Thanks

The bar is totally home-made by the previous owners. It is super-sturdy though and is connected by a 1/4-20" carriage bolt on each end through the cabinetry with a wing-nut in the inside so it easy to remove if necessary.

I sort of screwed up when I ordered this stove because when I measured the opening I didn't realize that the wood that was framing the top was removable so I ended up ordering the Euro Compact when I could have gotten away with a larger stove. So I had to shim the gimbal mounts out about 3/4" on each side with a bit of wood. Then I decided to put in new mahogany trim all around the stove top and front that I custom cut on a table saw so that it made it look a little better. You can tell the new wood as it is really African Mahogany and not the real Caribbean stuff which I just couldn't source at a decent price. There is a good 2" all around the stove behind that trim. You can see where the Frankenstein bolts for the gimbal mounts to pass through at the top when the stove lifts straight up for maintenance.

I put a little divider in the back to make a wedge-shaped area for storage. Someday I'm going to build a thin cover for the stovetop that hinges up, and maybe accordions out to make a full cover to add more counter space. I left the trim about 1/4" down from the top of the counter to do that in the future. Hallberg-Rassy Rasmuses when new had such a cover and one for the front but I would have had to push the stove too far back in order for it to work that it would not gimbal far enough for me so it sits in storage now because it does not fit with the big oven door handle that the Force-10 has. I've got the covers, the last owners never used them either even though it fit with the original bomb stove. I would like a larger countertop though.

[Don C L]

I know this was mentioned before but for anyone who missed it, here are some better shots of it. This stove top oven is small but pretty efficient and I can vouch for it working, I used to make corn bread and chocolate cake and a kind of quiche thing in my old boat... gotta get a new one for the new boat: Omnia oven

[fallingeggs]

Here is the sourdough just out of the oven. Slashes could be better, the shape higher and the crumb more open. But it is tasty and fun to make.

Attachment 167495

Attachment 167496


My oven doesn't have hot or cold spots, but to create steam (which aids in rising) and a chewy crust, I use a Dutch oven. It gets pre-heated within the oven, then the bread is carefully placed inside with the lid on. The lid is removed the last 10 minutes for browning. Food for thought.