We are getting a Gaggenau steam oven because the Thermador chef at the builder show told us that if his house was on fire he would take his Gaggeneau steam oven with him. He was telling my husband that is it larger and he can start smoking his meats in his smoker for 4-5 hours and then finish in the steam oven. The Gaggenau is the largest one so my husband was sold. We are getting the Thermador convection oven (I know they don't match but Thermador doesn't give you credit for buying 2 ovens with them. I love that the Thermador convection oven also has a dehydrator with it too! We are doing Thermador induction stove top and then you get the dishwasher for free. I'm so excited for the induction stovetops (but we are plumbing for gas in case when we sell someone wants gas or when I get old and the pans are too heavy, I can switch to gas. I just hate having to take off the grills to clean underneath because I always have things spilling below the grill. It will be so nice to just wipe off and to be able to use the surface to serve on because it cools so quickly when you take away the pans.

trailrunner, if you do it in your Miele, I guess I can do it in a Bosch, right. I don't drench my oven either.. gone are the days of dumping entire cups of water into the bottom of the oven. I kind of blast it with the garden sprayer (or an industrial spray bottle) several times. I can't imagine bread w/o steam (unless it is challah or something like that). Good point too about the size of the gaggenau.. I'm looking forward to being able to do 4 loaves at once with my two ovens.. a tiny gaggenau certainly wouldn't help my cause.

For reheating, I'd guess if you choose a well thought of model it'll do you just fine. It's a low temperature with steam kind of thing. I have a Gaggenau, the original combi-steam, residential ovens. It's plumbed in, so other than descaling every 4-5 years, it's pretty hands off. It doesn't toast, though I think newer models do. The newer models are also, I believe, supposed to do regulated temperatures for sous vide cooking. I just steam roasted a pumpkin for pie. It was pretty dry inside. I was originally going to get a new pumpkin for pie, but there were none. By roasting on 30% steam, I was able to get it to just the right texture, moist, and the flavor is excellent from the roasting. I steam roast chickens at 60% steam, and plain steam veg at 100% steam (temperature just around boiling). The magic of steam reheating is when you have a dished up plate, with meat, veg and starch. You can put the plate in as served and it will come out with everything gently heated, nothing petrified or overcooked or cold in the middle (especially if it's not too too thick). This is also great for meat pastries and similar that are hard to handle and heat. So for the reheating, the question is size. Will the countertop model hold enough? Depending on how thick the items on the plates are, I can fit 4-6. There are bigger models on the market now. BUT... you can do the same thing in a regular oven if yours goes to a low enough temperature (I can't remember the number off hand, but under 200° F. Place a hotel or sheet pan with boiling water beneath your shelf of plates and let it warm for 10 minutes or so. Maybe a bother and imperfect, but with a little practice you can get it to be good enough. Same with the crusty breads, great chicken, the vegetables and everything else that's great in a combi-steam oven. You can achieve the same things in other ways, but it sure is a nice thing to have. Just for reheating? I wouldn't go for built-in unless it were a daily thing.

Not sure if you’re still looking for feeedback, but just in case, about 18 months ago I renovated my kitchen and went with a Hestan 36” rangetop (5 burner/no griddle), and double Miele wall ovens - Combi Steam XL (plumbed) and convection (also plumbed - burst of moisture feature). Also ended up with a Sub-Zero PRO36G refrigerator. Blew the budget for sure, but couldn’t be happier with these choices. Amazing appliances, all of them. The Hestan rangetop is absolutely awesome to cook on. I never thought I’d see myself with a closed burner system, but with Hestan, you get the best of both worlds. Amazing power, the gentlest of gentle simmers (that hold), and so much easier to clean. Anyway, let mee know if you have any questions. I’ll post a few photos also in case you’re interested in how any of these look.