Can you recommend an electric range?

[whygee]

I was wondering if anybody had a recommendation for a freestanding electric range.

Mainly, it has to be able to hold a high temp like 600 F.

I would like the cooktop to be induction and, pushing my luck, the oven to have the steam feature.

[barryvabeach]

I can't help on finding an electric range that goes to 600, or that has induction, but I think that the only company making a steam feature on a range for the US market is Kitchen Aid and their steam assist, though I may be wrong.  If you want a true steam feature,  Wolf, Thermador, Gaggenau, and some Miele's have convection and steam - though I don't think any of them come near 600.  I have gone with separates to get an electric pizza oven that goes over 600, and a convection steam oven for other cooking.  Here is the link to ajmadison, a Kitchen aid dual fuel with steam assist. http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/KDRU767VSS.html

[apizza]

whygee, after seeing barryvabeach's post it may help to give us the price range you are in. It appears steam doesn't come cheap. Back to the spray bottle. 

[barryvabeach]

Sorry, I should have pointed out that pricing usually goes -  standard range, standard range with stainless steel,  pro range, pro range with stainless steel, then at the top of the list pro style range with dual fuel - which can go between $5,000 to $10,000 without the steam assist.  Kitchen aid used to make a steam assist in its regular line, but I can't seem to find it.  Here is the wall oven with steam assist for about $2,800, http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/KEBU107SSS.html  and you could get a separate  induction cooktop.  I doubt the wall oven would hit 600 degrees, and of course the poster wanted a range, not a separate cooktop and oven.   For about the same $2,800 to $3,000 you can get a steam - convection oven, sometimes called a combi, but the high end on those is usually closer to 450 or 500 degrees - though the preheat times are usually sub 4 minutes since the oven cavity is so small.

[whygee]

Thank you for for replies! Sorry I didn't come back to you earlier.

I would say that the main thing is that I'd like to have an induction cooktop. Steam would be a nice bonus but maybe I should wait until I move to a kitchen with a wall oven (my kitchen is not configured to have a separate oven/cooktop so that's why I need a range) My house doesn't have gas either.

Maybe you have an opinion on the electric oven range that can reach the highest temperature?

[barryvabeach]

Sorry, I have not done any research on electric ranges.  From the little I have looked, most ranges don't even advertise their top temperature.  All other things being equal, you will get more heat ( not higher temp - but quicker getting to a particular temp ) if you have higher watts in the elements  -  and usually you can find the element rating somewhere in the detailed description. 

[scott123]

Whygee, I've never seen an electric oven with a dial that didn't either go to 500 or 550- at least, not here in the states. In Europe, you frequently see ovens that go below that, which are abysmal for pizza.

Some ovens with dials that go to 550, especially older ones, can reach 600 actual temps, but you'll also find the occasional oven that undershoots it's target temp. I know of no currently available models that can guarantee that they'll run on the high side.

I think you can hedge your bets a bit by going with a 550 dial oven, with the ability to go 35+ degrees via calibration.  I don't have a model in mind, but I think calibration is popular with most high end ovens.

Wattage will give you a pretty good idea of what it can do, but a look inside the oven, at the actual coils, will go a long way as well. Neapolitan wattage is pretty much impossible to find, but a broiler with plenty of passes will go a long way for NY style bakes, and could encroach on Neapolitan. You can't have too many broiler watts.

Here is the Rolls Royce of electric broilers:

http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,16227.msg167250.html#msg167250

To be honest, while doing your homework before shopping for an oven is the right way to go, we haven't had a whole lot of these types of conversations on this forum.  While just about any 550 dial temp oven should serve you well (plus perhaps a convection feature that allows convection at 550), if you can post any details of models you're looking at here, it will go a long way in helping us help you narrow down the field to the worthiest of candidates. If you can post photos of the broiler element, that would be useful too.

[jduchon]

I have been experimenting with a Thermador 36 inch dual fuel range.  Max setting on dial is 525.  For more heat I tried the Broil function it also has a convection broil setting.  In convention broil the in-oven thermometer is maxed out.  It looks like around 600 degrees (past all the markings).  I am looking for an infrared thermo to get the real temperature on the stone.

JD