I have a BS, and was not very successful in creating a moist environment using lava rocks in a bread pan. Since it is a well vented gas oven, I think you would need to try the Dutch Oven or steam bread maker http://www.steambreadmaker.com/ or a similar approach. I bought a used Cadco oven and have it in my garage for artisan bread. Since it is electric, it was easier to steam, and during the summer, heating the Bluestar up to 500 put a fair amount of heat in the kitchen.

I am so glad that you piped up about your Frigidaire issue, Practigal. Thank you. I don't think it was a coincidence that you were participating in this thread. So..is it crumbs of rust dropping down from the burner...or, is it rust coming up through the paint...or is it oxidation of the gas itself, that maybe it is burning "dirty"? Good ideas, Mrsnyefnyef. I have an update, but I'll share it at the end of my post. ; ) I agree, Eurekachef. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the BS rangetop after test driving it (unless you don't like standing over a high heat cooker.) "my regrets comments was that I just didn't want you to finish your project and then turn back and say, well I should have..." Ah, I understood what you were getting at much better that time, Gooster. That makes a lot of sense. Here is the update: I found 2 incredibly good deals at Goedekers website this weekend for scratch and dent Miele's. The cooktop (yes, a cooktop, not a rangetop) is 42" wide and has 6 burners. They looked like they are configured *perfectly* for the way we cook. Originally I was looking for all the same BtU's on the burners, but these should work fine because of the configuration. Originally I was looking for sealed burners, which this has. The knobs are off to the side rather than on the front. I find this to be a nice feature since I tend to lean into whatever I'm cooking. This way I won't be lighting the stove with my belly! Also, little ones will have a harder time reaching the knobs. Finally, at about $1200 less than full price, it was too good a deal to pass up. They also had a set of 30" Miele Master Chef double ovens for almost half price (open box). I hemmed and hawed for a while on this one. It's definitely more high-tech than what I was originally looking for. In order to do the cooktop, we'd have to head into wall oven land. Wall oven land was full of techy gizmos. Given that, I might as well try one that is highly regarded by bakers and has the lowest repair rate in the industry (according to Yale Appliance's website, anyway.) Thank you all for helping me process this big decision! I really appreciate the input each of you gave me.

You can bake with both but there are some differences between gas and electric. The differences might be more or less depending on your recipes and what you are baking. Gas ovens need more ventilation due to combustion. The combustion does put out moisture but this is vented out quickly along with more heat into your kitchen. This is more of a drying environment to what you are baking. Electric ovens hold onto more of the moisture from what you are cooking so are more moist. The moisture is beneficial when you want to promote starch gelatinization, at the beginning of the bake cycle and gives a little longer rise and a different texture to the crust especially for bread. This is why you spray water into the oven during the first part of baking some breads. The moistness can also benefit cakes or anything that needs to rise by giving that little extra time. If you read the bread baking forums there are all kinds of work around for this in a gas oven one of which is using a cloche when baking bread to hold onto the moisture. The dryness of a gas oven is good for the second half of baking to encourage browning. This is also why gas ovens are great for roasting. I have baked in both off and on for years. This difference in cakes may be much less for something like a cake mix but more for something with a lot of sugar in it. Some people turn on the convection fan after the cake has risen to encourage browning. If you have an electric oven now with convection and use it to bake cakes, you might not notice any difference from gas. One very nice thing about the BS is that you can use a full sized commercial tray. Some of the other differences in BS and your oven you have now, might depend on the features you have in that oven.

I have now owned my Bluestar RNB for about 10 years. I don't think I have ever cleaned the venturi tubes. I take out the cast iron grates for handwashing ever so often, but I only once washed them in the dishwasher. That happened after the contractors messed things up badly during the remodel. Came out sparklingly clean, but had to be reseasoned with some vegetable oil and an hour or two in a hot oven. Normally, I just wipe with a damp rag, and then every month or two, I try to clean a little more thoroughly. Once or twice a year, I empty out the drip tray. As for baking, the Bluestar has an evenly heating and predictable oven. Holds the temperature very steadily and has a functional convection fan. I liked baking with it, except for the fact that it takes a long time (at least 20min) to preheat properly. I usually keep a big fibrament baking stone in there, but I believe it works well even without the stone. It also has the most amazing infrared broiler. It's such a useful tool. That alone makes the oven worthwhile. After our remodel, we now also have an electric combination steam oven. I find I use if more frequently now. It is much smaller, which means it preheats in no time. That's really useful. Also, there are lots of applications where it is useful to have fine control over moisture. But surprisingly, I find that baking is not really all that different. Yes, you have to make adjustments. But I have had to do that for any of the ovens I ever owned. Every oven is a little different. Fuel source is the smallest issue, IMHO. But temperature stability and even heat distribution does matter a lot. Also, some convection fans are great at spreading out the heat, whereas others result in localized hot spots. So, you just have to figure out these details when you first work with a new oven.