In my last house I had an old gas double oven and a separate gas cooktop. I am a baker first and a cook 2nd. I always had beautiful cakes, cookies, breads etc. When we redid the kitchen I was disappointed not to have the gas double oven option (we were not looking at high end items -- I got GE profile electric double ovens and gas cooktop) At no point during that remodel did I think (or be told) that you can't bake cookies, cakes etc well in gas ovens. Now with this remodel all I am hearing is the difference in baking with gas is sub par if you want to do cakes cookies etc. and it is making me 2nd guess myself even though until the last couple of years I have always had a gas oven. The good news is is that I think the Wolf DF is really ugly and I really like the looks of the 48" AG -- plus it is cheaper -- and I know I can cook well in it -- only thing that is really holding me up is the no self clean -- I am just not an oven cleaner :-(

aocat--it's probably similar to the lemon/water recipe for cleaning the microwave. I use 3 1/2 cups water + 1/2 cup lemon juice in a 2 cup measuring cup. Place in microwave and run it on high for 3-5 minutes. Leave door closed for another 3-5 minutes after. Then open the door and wipe everything down. The steam generated from the water & lemon juice softens any dried on debris and it wipes right off. In the oven, I would think you'd put the water/lemon juice mixture in a glass oven-safe baking dish and turn the oven on until the water gets hot & it steams up a bit--if you have a proof setting, that may work as well. Turn the oven off and allow it to sit with the door closed for ~5-10 minutes, then wipe clean. If you have a microwave, I would think it would work just as well (and save electricity) to get the water/lemon juice mixture hot in the microwave first, then place it in the oven. While you're waiting on the oven, you could wipe the microwave down. Hope this helps!

If you're looking to control the temperature with the accuracy you want for controlled smoking, then you probably want a thermistor or thermocouple, a PID, and a SSR. The first senses the temperature, the second is a controller designed for this, and the last converts the low-level output of the PID to being able to control the 10A or so load of the heating element. Probably something around $100 in parts to do that. Take a look on the coffee boards for parts lists -- places like Home Barista -- search on "PID" and "Silvia" and you'll find all sorts of options (they like to control the boiler temperature). You'd want some knowledge of electricity and electrical safety before hooking up anything like that (or the other options described here). On a side note, if you're remembering something with a big knob and lots of copper windings, it's probably a Variac, not a rheostat. Rheostats have the unfortunate property of literally "burning off" the excess power, and can get as hot as the heating element in some cases.

People mistakenly think natural stone quartzite is heat proof. It is not. The Natural Stone Institute recommends trivet use on all natural stones for this reason. Installing natural stone over a combustible wall does not make that wall noncombustible according to the NFPA. From Bluestar: BACKGUARD  All ranges require a backguard. Most models have the option of using: island trim (standard); 6” inch; 17” inch; 24” inch high shelf.  If you are using an island trim, a six inch clearance between the back of the range and a combustible surface is required. If an island trim is to be used without this six inch clearance, the back wall must be constructed using non-combustible and heat resistant materials that extend below the top surface of the range a minimum of six inches.  All backguards follow the same basic installation. Remove rear grates, slide backguard over rear of unit, align holes, use hardware supplied to fasten backguard to unit. A minimum of six sheet metal screws (more depending on width) are to be installed, three on each end and more along the bottom edge.  Remove the two rear ring grate/top grates from the cooktop surface. Sheet metal screws must be installed into the cooktop support. Screws are installed on each end ring grate/top grate position. Replace the removed grates.