You will get more responses on the kitchen forum.

My priority is first...service. If I purchase something, can I get it serviced easily?

I can not get Miele or Thermador serviced easily so neither would be my choice. I had a Gaggenau combi in my last house. Loved it. Ruled out this time because I can't get it serviced easily.

So, if I want a steam oven that leaves Wolf. Good reviews so going with Wolf.

There are several threads on Wolf/Miele Combi Steam you can search. My thoughts:

Thermador - smallest capacity of the 3. Fewer cook modes

Wolf - easier to clean, less control precision than Miele, No broiler. It is a very good oven.

Miele - great ability to control amount of steam similar to Gaggenau. Has the XXL and plumbed options. Decent broiler. Not as easy to clean as Wolf. It became my choice and would choose again.

Service is important as it is a complex machine and I have had 2 major repairs under warranty. Get the longest warranty you can.

They both offer demo classes in their design centers so you should try to see if you can attend or make an appt to stop by and get a demo. I took a loaf of my sourdough and baked it at the wolf center when I was detemining which model I preferred.

I went with Miele as I wanted to control how much steam was added when I baked my sour dough. The results are great. I did get a nice loaf out of the wolf when I went to their design center using their auto program but I have no clue what it was doing and the bottom was not as brown as I liked as it was a “cold start” program and the loaf not loaded on a pre-heated stone. I love my Miele - it is a wonderful tool and oven.

Janicone- mind sharing which no-knead recipe you like?

And sorry to get off topic, but are y’all saying steam ovens are better for baking bread? I had no idea!

The combi steam is particularly great for breads that you bake and want to add steam to the early stages such as lean doughs like sour dough. It also aids in the rise process for yeast breads. For example I do my second rise to top of pan then put in my combi steam using the below program - I converted to Fahrenheit for my oven:

40˚C 100% humidity 8min

50˚C 100% humidity 4min

180˚C 50% humidity 10min

180˚C 0% humidity 15min

at the180˚C 50% humidity stage. Dough has risen way beyond the tin.

My rolls get far more rise than not using steam. I made a batch of rolls once and got almost no rise as my yeast was pretty much dead. So I made out the rolls and let them rise for 30 min - which was not much and then baked with the above program and they turned out almost as good as with good yeast. I was pretty impressed.

Both the wolf and miele have auto programs for bread which can be useful. Miele details in their user manual what the stages are for their programs so you can start with theirs and tweak if desired.