Most bakers use wall ovens, I think. My own are way out of your price range. Unfortunately, ovens seem to be the forgotten stepchild of the current crop of ranges. You might look at Electrolux--I don't know specifically but some people like it. Lars, here, has a new range, so I hope he responds. If you don't get a lot here, may I suggest you try again in Appliances in a week with a different title? Perhaps "best range oven under $2K". Just to change it up. The responses you get depend on who happens to be looking at that moment and how much time they have to post. Good luck.

I've always been able to bake in all the ranges I've owned over the years, which has been 7 of them, gas and electric, including used, builder-grade, and new ones I've chosen myself. I've always made all our breads and baked goods, so any oven I own gets a true workout and a large variety of things.

What I did when I replaced my last oven (9/2012) I hit the library and checked Consumer Reports for more information and ratings of different brands and models. Found a model that had the features I wanted (including price), and something I could purchase locally. I checked comments on-line. I ended up with a Maytag (convection oven) that has Aqualift because I don't like the high-heat self-cleaning ovens (which I consider expensive and toxic to run to clean an oven). My oven cleans with 16-oz. of water in the bottom of the oven with steam,at a lower temperature than self-cleaning ovens.

So take your wish list and check out Consumer Reports as a starting place. Go to your local appliance stores for even more information. You're the one who needs to be satisfied with the choice. I'm already happy with mine ;-), but it's already considered "old" at 4-years old, and that's the biggest problem with taking recommendations here at the gardenweb. What was available 4-years ago may not be available now, may have been changed so they aren't the same, was bought out by another company, made someplace different..... Any number of variations. The old - I love my 25-year old "whatever" doesn't sell well because it's no longer available, is it? And when you own something new, it hasn't stood the test of time. Good luck with your search.

-Grainlady

Outside of my own ovens which are old and likely outdated but work for me, my experience has been with the GE Profile....both at church and my son's....good ovens!! And the stove is great too....love that high heat burner and the center griddle and burner.

Thanks - I did check out consumer reports and I don't think they have rated ranges in a while. The only GE Profile Induction Range they tested displays as discontinued. Generally this GE series does well in ratings, so I may just go with it. I just wondered if anyone has bought in the last couple of years that they love for baking - especially induction.

Bonnie

I have a gluten free bakery (just me) in a separate kitchen than my home with 2 old ovens that work fine but with the aid of an oven thermometer as any dial isn't always an assurance of proper temperature. One is a Kenmore regular white range and the other is a Frigidaire black drop in style - thanks to Craigslist each were $50, both more than 10 years old but hardly used. Seems everyone wants stainless steel nowadays and remodel their kitchens, tossing perfectly good ranges for SS. They both have electric rings because I do a lot of canning and glass tops don't do well with all that weight.

The one I really, really like is my Maytag Gemini in the house for my wheat-based baking and everything else. The top is glass, there are two ovens - one half sized on the top that is perfect for a single pan of cookies (or a pizza, or to broil), and the lower oven is over sized with three racks, can get 2 more bought separately. The bottom rack slides out on its own rollers and is perfect for the big turkey that sometimes goes in there. The only down side is that you have to stand away from the bottom door when you open it because there is only about an inch of clearance for your toes. That's how they made it an over sized lower. The bottom one is convection which is great for cookies, cupcakes and cheesecakes but convection is not recommended for bread or tall cakes because the tops brown before the middle gets done. However, you use less energy with convection because you cook at a lower temperature for a shorter period of time, thus saving money. Alas, this model has been discontinued, probably because it cost more. The newer model ranges (all companies, across the board) have a shorter life span and need more repairs according to my neighbor the 40 yrs being a repairman. He suggested for those looking for new ranges buy a used one and research those made more than 8 years ago. Mine is 16 and the only repair has been for a broken latch when I dropped my biggest cast iron skillet on it. He also said that no one uses a warming drawer that was "all it" and wasted the size/volume that the main oven could have used.

My DIL the cake decorator/baker, loves her Electrolux double wall ovens with Wave Touch controls because she can put 8 to 13 cake pans in at a time, depending on the sizes - think wedding cake tiers. They all have roller bearings on the racks to make it easiest way to get them in and out without sloshing. She also likes the features included for dehydrating, fast preheat, temp probe, slow cook, bread proofing, and both have broil and convection, and she uses all of them. Of course, hers cost a bit more - like $3,000, plus installation fees if you are not comfortable doing it yourself (it really isn't hard - it's plug and play).

A the others have said, figure out what you really need then go look. There are a lot of ranges with bells and whistles that don't get rung or tooted.

Nancy

I already know what I need. I just need an oven with even, reliable baking, including, true convection. Based on what I've seen, my guess is these days, most new ovens provide that. Just wondered if any bakers here have bought something (slide in range - maybe induction) in the last year or two.

Thanks,

Bonnie

Our range is only a few months old, and I do love the oven with the convection feature, but like Plllogs, mine is not in your price range. I would love to have wall ovens, but my kitchen does not have room for it, but I can still dream. I have a Bertazzoni, which does make a convection version, and that is in your budget, if you are looking for a wall oven. We opted for red, which is one of the reasons (although perhaps minor) that we chose Bertazzoni.

I used to bake professionally at a restaurant in San Francisco, but that is another story, and from a long time ago.

I do a lot of baking, including some wedding cakes, and I've made macarons more than once. I have GE double ovens, less than a year old, and I love them. They are wall ovens, however, not a range. I didn't get convection on purpose, Elery had convection at his house and I never got anything to bake correctly and the fan noise made me crazy. I made sure I did NOT get convection when we bought the new ovens.

So, not induction and not convection, but less than a year old and they are GE, they've given me no problems, bake like a charm (even macarons), I love 'em, it's my favorite thing in the whole remodeling job.

My GE dishwasher, now that's a whole 'nother story, it's a complete piece of carp.

Annie

Thanks Annie - I think GE will be the way to go. They seem to have high marks in general. I think the newer convection ovens are not as noisy, but they definitely do make some noise. So I just need to decide if I want to spend the extra money for the induction. It's very tempting. We'll see...

Oh - by the way, I think I used one of your scone recipes but converted it to gluten-free. They came out great! :-)

Hooray for the gluten free scones, I haven't tried those yet. I've made some passable gluten free biscuits, though, and they are very much the same. I ought to try scones. Maybe this weekend, it's going to be COLD!

Good luck with that oven too...

Annie