Baking in RV oven

[rolling condo]

I use an unglazed tile in my oven like others have suggested. I bake pies, cakes, pizzas, casseroles very sucessfully in it.

 

[therealsimpsons]

I just read this thread. What a novel idea. Baking!..In that box under the stove burners. We have always thought it was just a very large bread box! Who would have thought!  ;D

 

[Wanderman]

I've been over everything I could find about Propane RV ovens. They work. Not really well, mainly due to poor temperature control and lack of insulation. The stone will absorb an awful lot of heat energy and re-radiate it back into the over. It WILL keep the temperatures more consistent, but takes longer to heat up and cool down.

I have a convection microwave in my RV and as long as you understand it will cook a bit differently and adapt your recipes (well, most of them anyway) it can cook some spectacular meals. Believe me...I love to cook! Especially on the road or in the middle of nowhere.

This week I wrote an article about regular ovens versus convection microwaves, it has some useful info and tips.

You can view it at: (Link in signature line).

Of course, it mostly boils down to personal preference.

YMMV,

Rich "The Wanderman"

 

[Wigpro]

I just read this thread. What a novel idea. Baking!..In that box under the stove burners. We have always thought it was just a very large bread box! Who would have thought!  ;D

That's pretty much what mine is used for, although this winter during the cold months, I did remove the bread and made a few nice casseroles and burned the BeJesus out of the first one, but adjusted and the second one came out perfect! Normally I am on the grill but now that I have actually used the oven on cooler days, I find it a nice respite from grilling outside in the cold weather...plus some different menu items....

Not normally in to baking, but just may have to give that a try soon as well....

Thanks for reminding me....

Jim

 

[mnmnutswer]

A flat stone wall to wall in the bottom above the burner works great. Check with Pamper Chief for a proper size stone.

 

[halfwright]

I took an old cookie sheet that fit side to side in the oven. Then, with the ball part of a ball peen hammer, put dimples in it. I tryed to keep them in a line for apperance. The dimples raise the pan you are cooking in slightly allowing circulation underneath. This seems to prevent burning on the bottom, which was "she who must be obeyed" was concerned about.

 

[karlandlois]

I use my oven all the time. I used to singe cookies, cakes and bread.  I was told that a Pizza stone on the top rack.  I bought one, still using a cheap cookie sheet and no more burns or cooking to fast on bottom and not on top.  I make bread and it bakes beautiful in 30 min.  A person, who does not full time, once asked me, "How do you cook in this kitchen"?  Simple, I bought a large cutting board at Camping World that fits the top of stove. I move that over to the sink and it gives me a lot of space.  I bake all the time in cooler weather. I have a free standing table and make big meals and invite a couple in for a nice home cooked meal. My little kitchen does everything  my big kitchen did.  The best thing, smaller space to clean up. We have a Montana fifth wheel and my oven is right on temp. It is a Magic Chef and it is great. We have been full timing for 7 years now. One learns to adapt.

 

[John From Detroit]

I put my Pizza stone on the bottom... Had it break the other day (I think I was making cheesecake and it is likely some water hit it when it was hot) still works though.

Did make a loud BOOM when it broke though

BTW.. Good cheesecake.

 

[PatrioticStabilist]

What gets me is why don't they improve these stoves?  My newer motorhome had the same stove this old one does.  Almost 20 years and same thing, you know they could improve them a lot if they would.  Guess the folks that cook aren't vocal enough.

I cooked and baked in the newer one, haven't baked in this one.  And no I don't think the oven had been used in either.  The microwave that was in this old one didn't work so we replaced with the same kind micro convection but I haven't tried the convection, need to.

 

[OSUTRIKERS]

Trick we learned a month ago from a friend was to take an old 13 x 9 pan, bend one end up the opposite way. This allows the pan to be inserted easily on lower shelf and this forces the heat up and over to get more even cooking.

 

[herekittykitty]

Glad this thread was resurrected, because I've been trying to figure out... these rigs I'm looking at with no oven at all, which just have a "convection/microwave" in them... how am I supposed to bake in those things?

What the hell IS a convection/microwave anyway? Is it just a microwave with a blower? You can't bake in a microwave.

I do make most of my own food at home now, including taco shells and (oil-free) potato chips in my oven. So do I pass on the rigs with no oven in them, or is there some secret to baking in a microwave that I don't know about?

 

[Larry N.]

A convection oven is for baking (not just an added blower), and the combo microwave and convection works well. We have one in our MH, and we've baked biscuits and casseroles, etc. You do need to follow instructions for your unit, because they sometimes make it a bit confusing to operate at first, but they do have a preheat mode like a regular oven, and (size permitting) will bake most anything that a regular one will, though cooking times will need adjusting. We have a "toaster oven" at home that is also a combination with a convection oven, and it will bake, too, though it is rather small as ovens go.

Note that the regular gas oven in most motorhomes tends to be very uneven in its heating and the temperature settings tend to be off a ways. There are several threads here that discuss those problems. But many folks really appreciate having both kinds on board, while others like the additional drawer space that replaces the gas oven.

 

[Ned]

A convection oven cooks using very hot air.  It doesn't use the microwave portion of the oven, but there are combination settings that do use both parts of the oven.  We have been using a microwave/convection oven for over 16 years and it cooks very well once you get used to it.  The convection oven cooks much better, more evenly and quicker than the typical gas oven in RVs.  Read the manual that came with the oven and get a convection oven cook book and I think you'll really like it.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

A convection oven is a real oven, but it cooks by circulating heated air (convection) rather than direct radiation from a heating element. So, you can bake but you cannot broil.  A good quality convection unit bakes very nicely, in our opinion much better than the typical RV gas oven, which is very uneven in heat and prone to burning things.  The better convection ovens can be pre-heated to any desired temperature, and they do an excellent job of maintaining the temperature setting.

I recommend the GE Spacemaker or GE Advantium convection/micros. I'm sure there are other good brands, but we've had those models in two coaches and they have performed flawlessly.

 

[Jeff]

I certainly am not the culinary side of our house but I can offer this advice with a convection oven: Start small and do not experiment on guests.

 

[ArdraF]

What the hell IS a convection/microwave anyway? Is it just a microwave with a blower? You can't bake in a microwave.

The others explained what it is.  We have and use both the convection-microwave and the RV propane oven.  When it's cold outside I usually use the propane oven because it helps the inside of the motorhome get warm.  When it's hot outside (like 110 degrees) I tend to use the convection because it doesn't heat the motorhome up as much as the propane oven.  Sometimes I use both of them simultaneously.  It really depends on your lifestyle and the type of food you eat.

The convection oven does an amazing job on things like pork roasts.  We learned not to cook meats in the microwave and I was a bit leery of using the convection for meat, but was very pleasantly surprised.  By the way, our old Sharp has Compu-Broil, Compu-Roast, and Compu-Bake.  You can broil in it.  I've seen it done at Sharp cooking seminars but haven't done it myself.

By the way, the Advantium is an entirely different method of cooking that uses light instead of circulating hot air.  I also have seen it demonstrated at seminars.  It seems more complex than the convection-microwave.  At least it has more choices in it's menus (electronic not food).

I liked the convection-microwave in the motorhome so much that we also bought one for the house.  If you buy Corning baking dishes they can be used in the microwave, the convection oven, or the propane oven.  They also nest which is important in a space-limited RV.

ArdraF