In my experience (of having lived with both kinds) the electric oven is more evenly heated and dependable for cooking/baking times. I especially notice it with baking cookies, the part of the tray on one side of the oven is done before the other and I have to rotate the tray during baking time or else half the cookies are darker than the others. My first house had an electric oven but I have a gas range now, and I cannot wait for our building to be done so I have an electric oven! Others may disagree but for me that has been the case.

I have a friend who is a professional chef - he went to cooking school in Switzerland, apprenticed in a high-end restaurant in New York. When he re-did his kitchen, he only wanted an all-gas range. He said he preferred the broiling function on a gas oven for a real char on meats that he couldn't get with electric. Also, he said baked goods were moister with gas. Also, Julia Child used an all-gas Garland in her home.

I love my all-gas Dacor range. I have no complaints. I don't know if Susanpn's issues were related to the fact that her oven was gas, or whether it was the particular machine or brand that she had.

If you are going to get a dual fuel range (I am assuming that is what you mean when you mentioned an electric oven, correct me if I am wrong), make sure you have the wiring for it. If not, you will have to pay an electrician to wire it. This electrical work could be cheap ($100) or could be quite expensive depending upon where your electrical box is and your home's setup.

It depends how/what you cook.. here's my view.. I prefer gas ovens for broiling, roasting/braising meat, and baking bread. Electric, in my view, is superior for more delicate items where an accurate and even temperature is important (souffles, cakes, cookies, etc).

In the kitchen we're doing I'm going to have an all-gas range and an electric wall oven.

danielle - If I had my drothers I'd do what you're doing, but not so much because I'd have a gas oven for roasts and electric for souffles, but more because an AG range is cheaper (and broiler better) and gas wall ovens are barely available. That said, your view is the cookie-cutter response given here and everywhere, so I'm wondering if it's based on experience or "conventional wisdom". I do wonder how many bakeries and restaurants find the difference appreciable enough to warrant investing in electric ovens. (That's a question - I'm not saying they don't, I simply don't know. But would be surprised if they do.)

Just to add this: my gas oven experience has been with lower-end ranges, not professional gas, so perhaps that has to do with it. Right now I have a GE average gas range, similar to the last house's, and while broiling and roasting were never an issue in either of these gas ovens, (I've never done bread (gasp!) the baking-- especially cookies -- has been my trouble/annoyance. It makes sense that a professional gas oven would not have these issues, especially at the cost/detailed workings of that level appliance.

ya think,

My advice was based on experience, but I'm wondering if a perfectly installed/calibrated, high-quality gas oven would get better results. I definitely had to stop baking souffles and any cake/baked good in a rectangular pan because of the uneven results when I had only a gas range available to me.

On the other hand, with a very primitive electric wall oven, I got decent results for cakes, cookies, and things like that.

The obvious solution to the AG evenness problem (if indeed you have that kind of problem) is to turn your cookie sheet (or whatever) half-way through the cooking process. The only items I can think of that might respond poorly to this are souffles, gougeres, and possibly puff pastry (this is based on my own trial-and-error experience with the AG range).

I really got great results with the AG for meat, bread, and less sensitive items like lasagne (and other "casseroles").

Good luck with your decision. I have an all electric range now (about to re-do the kitchen) and I really miss the gas oven (not just the gas burners).

FWIW, my experience has been with inexpensive gas and electric ovens, I do all kinds of baking and I've never noticed any difference worth mentioning, in any aspect. I think people are tempted to think an electric element is somehow more a gas flame but it's mostly a myth. Any oven is a combination of an insulated box, a heat source (whether flame or element)and a control system (thermostat). With the burner in most gas ovens these days "hidden" beneath the floor of the oven, there's no edge in evenness to an electric element. Whether gas burner or electric element, the thing is either on or off. Any difference in accuracy comes down to the control system and there's no reason for those to be different between gas and electric. In short, you can design a good or bad gas or electric oven but the fuel you burn doesn't really matter much.

The oven in my current $800 all-gas range works perfectly in that respect, no cookie sheet turning required. I realize that's not the class of equipment that gets discussed much here but my point is, even in that price range you can have a great gas oven. Like some others here, if I'm buying a range, it's all gas. Dual fuel is always more expensive for the same specs, offers no real advantage and usually an inferior broiler. If it's a wall oven, gas is rare anyway so there's no reason to choose other than electric.

I posted recently on another thread about this issue. It is extremely difficult to satisfy the "which is best" dilemma, because rarely is everything else equal except for the heat source. I've cooked in and on lots of crappy appliances over the years, including electric ovens where I had to rotate my cookie sheets half way through the bake cycle to achieve marginaly acceptable results. In fact, every different oven I've lived with required adjustment periods to identify and deal with varying behavior.

I chose all gas for my recent renovation because 1) I didn't have the space to consider separate cooktop/oven, 2) the $$$ differential for dual fuel was scary (but I more than spent it on my vent system!) and 3) personal testimonials from folks I know who love their gas ovens. My DCS has a convection option to even out potential hot spots, plus the monster broiler cited by the previous poster.

i agree that is has all about to do with what and they way you cook.

i found that my old gas oven heated up a pizza stone (placed on the bottom of the oven) to much higher heat than does my new electric oven. if i could do it all over again, i'd have a fully gas range, and a single electric wall oven, rather than double electric wall ovens. without a doubt i would do it this way, and threads like this remind me of the mistake we made!

I think as far as the uneven temp you can have that in either oven. It just depends on the oven.
This subject came up a lot in the past. It boiled down to something similar to danielle00's post. For meats etc gas has moister heating so it is better. For specialized baking electric had the edge. For short cooking times like cookies it didn't make much difference. I would think if one has room what danielle00 is doing would be perfect.

For what it's worth, I've just run off to engage in some primary research. Two sheets of butter tarts (total 39 3" tarts) side by side in the oven of my 36" DCS AG with the convection bake ON. 450F for 10 minutes. A few of the tarts on the edges were darker than the centre ones, but not unacceptable.

I've only had this range in action for about a month so far, and its been fine for muffins, breads (yeast & quick), and butter/sponge cakes - no discernable hot spots beyond the butter tart experience. I've only roasted one leg'o lamb, but have a couple of chickens lined up to roast tomorrow.

I've never made a souffle. But I'll keep it in mind, as a future research project.

Great discussion and timely for us. We are leaning toward the DCS 36" range. My husband cooks and I bake so I was planning on the dual range. But now that I read this thread I may reconsider given the price difference. Here's the catch: we have to use propane fuel. I'm going to look at the DCS specs for the propane oven after I send this off, but does anyone have experience with a propane fueled oven?

If you can cook and bake you can cook and bake in anything. I'd done it in a special pot on a gas ring (inc. chocolate chip cookies), in totally awful appliances, and in the very best ovens.

Re moisture: It's true that there is a slightly higher amount of moisture in a gas oven because of the burning fuel, but if that's your deal you can also use an electric oven with a bain marie, put a ramekin of water in the oven, or crack it open and spray with mist.

Re char: Char comes from heat, and especially proximity to heat, not from fuel. Some electric ovens come with high intensity broilers.

Re control: I don't have personal experience with top notch gas ovens, but from what I've heard they make them nowadays with convection, good sensors and electronic temperature controls. They may not have the precision of a Gaggenau electric, or even a Miele, but it should be possible to get a very good result on your delicate baking. I have made all kinds of touchy things, including souffles and brioches, in the really crappy gas oven that came with the house. It has no proper temperature control and is very uneven. It should be a lot easier in a really good gas oven.

Personally, I like the precision. I like it because sometimes I just have to turn out scads of food and don't want to be bothered "interacting" with the oven contents-- checking on them, rotating them, adjusting the temperature, etc. So I don't just want an electric oven, I only want a Gaggenau.

Markw and all, thank you for the feedback re propane. Your comment confirms other recent research/feedback. We're taking the plunge and going AG.