lucy, there's most definitely a learning curve on the oven settings but as other suggest, I'd do a test. Buy a Duncan Hines cake mix. Any flavor. Bake it exactly as the recipe states in any pan on the third runner up using convection bake. In my oven, no matter which pan I use, mixes come out exactly to the minute as 246 says. Or, buy some Toll House cookies in a refrigerator pack and do a test with those, also using racks in center of oven and Convection Bake. Be sure the splatter screen is removed in the back of the oven as it's easy to forget to remove it, which will delay your baking time (ask me how I know, lol). If your oven does a mix or cookies on time -- mine does this perfectly -- we can coach you until you get the hang of the various settings. If it doesn't, as 246 says, there is an issue for Miele to adjust. 246 knows the differences best since she went through a replacement. Re the pie -- over on the other Miele thread there's a photo of my apple pie. I mostly use Intensive for all pies as that browns the bottom of the crust and makes it crisp -- think you can see that in one of the pix I posted. No worries as we're all around to help out.

Ginger, yah, thanks, I thought very briefly of pre-cooking the apples but didn't really want to. I guess I've done it in the past - years ago. Thanks for the reminder. Lindac, you, too, have a good reminder that this kind of cooking is more art than science and needs flexibility. Still, in my memory, Granny Smith apples have always been pretty much the same - tart, stiff, etc. Taking your tip, I could have changed the second pie to account for the extra juice. Roselin32 and khandi, likewise you have a tip that may be necessary - but I've been doing this for a long time and have never have added thickeners. May have to change. I appreciate your thoughts which got me thinking. Today I remembered that in the past I always layered apple slices in the shell, sprinkling each layer with sugar and cinnamon. This made rather compact pies. Last week I mixed the sugar and apples in a bowl and dumped it in the pie shell. What this did is to create a pile of fruit which probably didn't collapse much, so the juice cooked out to the bottom while most of the apples - firm granny smith - stayed in a pile. I'll try again.

Jo Ann, The big trick is not to trip off the box and break an ankle ;) A lot depends on how you like to work, and what else the island is for. I should have mentioned that my island is my higher work surface (38"), but it's also deeper than my 24" perimeter. The box for me is for if I want to roll on the island. I think my too tall clogs might actually be a better way to go for me. ;-) Is your island a big area? lots of cabinets? Prep sink? All that stuff? Or is it relatively small? Mine is only about 5'x3'. A great prep height for taller people like me (and I have an alternate prep area at normal height elsewhere). Similarly, a smaller island that's a good baking height for you might be useful, if there are other tasks you want to do at that height. A large island, that takes the place of a whole wall or similar, for architectural reasons, as well as the other people considerations Trailrunner mentioned, is probably better off at a standard height. Before I decided on the box/clogs thing, I came up with all kinds of convertible notions. For instance, a pullout rolling table with marble surface, complete with legs, with a cabinet underneath and a drawer above. No problem for the cabinetmaker, but I couldn't figure out how to keep the flour from getting into the cabinet. A baking/chopping center, with rolling height marble, and a fitted piece of butcher block that fits on top to counter height. Butcher block is heavy, though, so moving it might be too much of a pain if the rolling area is big enough for shortbread cookies or gingerbread, which don't like a lot of rerolling, and cut better with more rolled at once, than small batches. A baking cart that fits into a niche and pulls to center floor (for easy cleanup). There were more. Clogs, or a box, seem easier.

Here are some pie crust tips.... -The texture and flavor depends on the type of fat you use. Personally, I haven't used shortening for decades and avoid it entirely, but when it's used in pastry it has a high melting point, is easy to mix, and you are less likely to over-mixing the pastry (over-mixing results in too much gluten being developed and a tough crust), and shortening usually results in a flaky crust, but it lacks flavor. I prefer coconut oil for pastry, use about 25% less, or coconut oil and butter, and follow the same mixing "rules". -Butter (and occasionally people blend butter and shortening or butter and lard for the best of both worlds), when handled correctly it will result in a supremely flaky crust, more so than shortening, lard or oil pastry. It also has great flavor. -Lard is similar to shortening and the reason it's excellent for pastry is due to the large fat crystal, which doesn't break down under heat as quickly as butter. "Good" fresh lard is hard to find - make your own, it's simple to do - and avoid the hydrogenated "crap" found on the grocery store shelves. Lard is also an acquired taste - the flavor is uniquely it's own. Those of us "of-an-age" have fond memories of pastry made with lard (and don't forget fried chicken in lard), but not everyone likes the flavor. Check out small meat processing plants and see if they render fresh lard, especially leaf lard. Oil- This is probably the easiest pastry to make and the easiest to handle, BUT, it doesn't have the classic qualities of a well-made pastry. It is so tender you will need to roll it out between two sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap. As a decades long foods judge at County and State Fairs, don't use an oil pastry to be judged at a fair. If it's the kind you and yours love, that's great, and it's neither right or wrong to make an oil pastry, it's just not the one I would submit for judging because it doesn't have the same characteristics as one made with a solid fat. -The next choice is going to be the type of flour. Pastry is tricky because it requires enough gluten in the flour to give it enough strength to hold together, and each step of making pastry is geared towards minimizing the gluten development. The most common flour used is all-purpose, but I'd suggest using flour even lower in gluten than that, such as bleached southern all-purpose flours like White Lily, Martha White, Gladiola, Red Band. These flours are best used for pie crusts, biscuits, quick breads and muffins. If you use 100% whole wheat flour, I'd suggest pastry flour milled from soft white whole wheat. -You strive for two characteristics in a baked pastry - flakiness and tenderness. The best method for achieving this is to add the fat in two portions. The first half is added to the flour so it is very finely mixed into the flour. Where the fat coats the flour, the liquid can't penetrate the flour so the gluten develops in short strands, hence the term "short crust pastry". This addition of fat will tenderize the crust because the fat interrupts the formation of gluten. The second portion of the fat cut into the mixture is left much larger (about the size of small peas). This second addition of fat will build flakiness. Each place there is a large bit of fat, the heat from the oven will melt it and create a pocket of steam. The steam lifts a layer of the pastry to create flakiness. If you choose to make an oil crust, oil acts like a warm fat, which coats each particle of the flour so well very little gluten develops and the pastry will tend to be mealy rather than flaky and tender. Don't confuse the way the baked pastry breaks and crumbles when you cut into it as flakiness. One improvement is to use extremely cold oil, but you can't get flakiness because there aren't any little blobs of fat to create steam that makes a flakey crust. Without the little blobs of fat, there is less evaporation making a tighter, firmer crust, which is neither flaky or tender. -Some pastry recipes call for vinegar. Vinegar is an acid and brings one more tenderizer into play. The acid softens gluten and breaks apart the gluten strands. -If you are making a pastry that will hold a hefty meat filling, choose a recipe that contains an egg. The protein provided by the egg will reinforce the structure of the pastry. -It's usually water that holds the mixture together. Use cold (not ice cold) water and add as little water as possible! The higher the protein count (gluten) of the flour, the more liquid it will require, and you may find that a difference in the brands of all-purpose flour available. If using Southern All-Purpose flours or pastry flour, it has less protein so it will generally require less hydration. Gluten is like a little sponge, and the more gluten the more hydration it will soak up. I would avoid King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour for pastry if at all possible because it's much higher in protein than National Brands (Gold Medal and Pillsbury). If that's all you have to use, add a little more fat, or add a little vinegar with the liquid to help shorten the gluten formation. Recipes using vodka are also popular. -Mix only until the lumps of dough begin to adhere together and STOP! You will then form the dough into a flat disk, wrapping it in plastic wrap and refrigerating it. While it is resting in the refrigerator, the flour will continue to soak up the available moisture, and more importantly, the gluten will have a chance to rest. If your dough is sticky and difficult to roll out, this means you have over-developed the gluten. You should only need a small amount of bench flour to successfully roll the pastry out. -Martha Stewart has a great recipe made in a food processor, and the trick to using a food processor is to freeze the fat before adding it. -Enemies.... 1. Warm ingredients, warm surface for rolling it out, and warm hands. If you have warm hands you may want to dip them in cold water (and dry off) before handling the pastry dough. 2. Over-mixing, which develops too much gluten and you will find yourself with a sticky dough and a tough pastry after it's baked. 3. Not enough chilling and resting time. If you don't chill and rest the pastry before rolling it out, the gluten won't have a chance to relax. When you've placed the pastry in the pan and stretch it even more by manipulating it, you also need to let it rest in the refrigerator to keep the fat well-chilled. If you don't, when the pastry shell is baked it will shrink. Gluten has a great memory and will spring back if you didn't allow it to rest and relax before baking. Hope this is some information you find helpful. -Grainlady