Judy, it's not so much the higher wattage on the medium burners that you need as on the big one. You should be able to use a flat bottomed wok on that and get plenty of power. I understand shy, but they really are there to help you. The Miele showroom in Beverly Hills is an especially friendly space, and considering its location I have to think that that's corporate policy! Hm... above statement was made without thinking through your way of cooking. The wattage on the mediums is important if you have a really big pan that you're transferring from the wok into, so want to wok on one of the smaller burners. If you're not ready to cook something yourself in the showroom, ask for a personal demonstration. Even boiling water should give you a good idea about the heat and responsiveness. Could you work up the courage to make an appointment and go watch the salesman or chef use the unit? Or get a pushy friend to come along and speak for you? It's important for you to be happy with your choices, and one of the best ways to do that is to actually see the appliances in action. Re gas, yes, you can use the wok burner with a grill plate, but there are single sided ones that you can easily use on induction. Also, some of the double sided ones with shallower edges work okay as well, at least on some cooktops. I have always roasted eggplants and peppers on the gas flame to get them charred on the outside and not overcooked on the inside (a distinction which may just show up my lacks as a cook in not being able to do this in an oven). I have a little barbecue grate that's made for the purpose. It's a trick that's not for the faint of cleaning, however. Nolamom, the magnet test is a great way to assess whether the pots you have will work with induction, but if you're buying new it's probably worth your while to get pots that are known to work particularly well. Since I already have a lot of Le Creuset (works great with '60's coils, gas and induction all and I love the enamel), I don't know the specifics. Do a search here and you'll find recommendations. Some steel cookware has different amounts of steel in the sides of the pan and the bottom, so it cooks a little differently than one that's all the same. Some have more steel than others. Etc. Cast iron is pretty much cast iron, though weight and thickness will effect the way a particular pan works in comparison to another. Enamel shouldn't matter (it's an insulator but I haven't heard that it impedes magnetism). I have a little Turkish coffee pot which is stainless but doesn't attract a magnet at all. I can't remember if I tested it on Mr. Induction (all this stuff is packed for demo), but I'm pretty sure it won't work. :) Anyway, what I'm trying to say is if you're buying something new, make sure it will work well rather than just work.

I have a Viking combi steam, so the settings don't actually relate, and have played with a number of different approaches. Just wanted to chime in to point out that the 0% setting means that it is vented to the open, and the 30% setting means that no steam is introduced, but the vents are closed so that any steam coming out of the bread stays in the oven. I make ciabatta very often, some sourdough boules, and batards ( a baguette is too long to fit in my oven) I normally use only 100% whole wheat, so my results may be different from yours, but I find that I miss a higher starting temp. My oven can't go any higher than 440 F. I have tried using a baking stone with a preheat using the combi steam function for about 1/2 hour, and that works okay, though I have a sneaking suspicion that the steam is getting into the stone, and then comes out when I turn off the steam after the first few minutes ( just a suspicion, could be totally off base on that ). I usually switch to a regular convection oven setting once the bread has been in 3 or 4 minutes. When I remember, I also open the door briefly to let out any moisture, then reduce the temp setting. Unfortunately, the Viking doesn't allow custom settings with changes in modes, so I can't program it to do that on its own. I am not sure I understand your first step - if you set it to 100% steam ( in my oven that would be steam only ) it is limited to 212 F . To go above that I have to use a combi mode. The Viking doesn't have steam pop, but if I were you, I would leave it in at 100% steam and continue to steam pop during the first 4 or 5 minutes, then set it to 0 % for the rest of the bake. For sourdough, a longer steam time can help.

For 1) Your Miele combi should come with a cookbook, and recipe in MasterChef program is basically a series of oven settings applied to particular food. Here is a version for Australia market. And these two pages are samples of what recipes in Miele combi look like. Programs are there for convenience, however, if you know how you would like to cook a dish with different stages, programming it yourself via M-touch interface is very easy, and that's how I use the oven now by programming stages of cooking myself, and sometimes save them as user programs. For 2) if I am not mistaken, Gaggenau floor is where steaming bay locates, hence no bottom heating element. It is an evaporative steam generation system, also used in older Bosh, Siemens, Neff and AEG, Electrolux. In contrast, Miele, V-Zug and Wolf use external steam generator and inject into cooking cavity. Unless you have recipes in mind for using conventional heat (bottom element and top element) with moisture, then you won't really need it. There are some roasting recipes and baking recipes in Miele cookbook that use conventional heat and moisture. Myself, I have been using it for initial phase of bread baking to create steam saturated climate and minimal air movement. In Europe and Australia, BSH has released new version of Bosh, Simens, and Neff combi steam ovens with larger capacity of 47l, top and bottom heating elements, and external steam generator. Gaggenau probably will follow with their own version soonish.

Yes, I have one. I have a glass one, two aluminum ones and two cast iron ones. I always use a cast iron pan that is divided into wedges when I make them though. I have a favorite recipe and I just copied it and went to post it and lost the whole darn thing. Don't have time to type it over but will do it later. I was raised in a house where we had home made biscuits or corn bread every night, and corn bread was no great treat to me, although since I have grown up (and old), I realize how very good my mother's cornbread was compared to most I have eaten since. The recipe I have though...is so good that it is worth the extra ingredients and care to make it. It is called Quintessential Corn Sticks. I will post it later.