Things in loaf pans are generally not suitable for convection baking because the sides of the pans prevent the heat from circulating around the item you're cooking. Convection works best when the heat can surround the item - roasts are a good example where convection works really well. Also, reduced temperatures and times are a GUIDELINE for convection and it's usually one or the other - in my gas convection oven I generally keep the temperature the same and things take less time - but things like cookies that bake quickly won't get done any faster - they'll just bake more evenly.

Sorry hvtech I did not see this post but will answer now. I don't think that there is any disagreement about how the oven works but rather if this is going to impact the way you use your oven. "without actually owning and using the oven, I don't think you can draw the conclusion that you have" Capital is very specific about how it works. I merely point out what they have written. What specific conclusion do you disagree with? "I also think there is confusion about what preheat mode on any oven actually is. You said in an earlier post that most ovens will go into a preheat mode after a small drop in temperature (25 degrees or so). This is not the case. On most ovens, preheat mode comes on exactly when you'd think - only when the oven is preheating. Not when it is just trying to maintain temperature." The point is not what you are calling the heating cycle, but the fact that it exists, and is responsive to the thermostat which keeps the temperature tightly controlled. Some people use the word loosely to mean whenever the elements come on. For a long time the preheat was the bake element coming on and this was indicated by a little red light. The same red light came on when the bake element came back on to maintain the temperature. Now you have the possibility with some ovens of more elements coming on during preheat and a little light that says "preheating" during that time and the little light may or may not come back on after that. To be more specific, you can call it "preheat" when the elements in the oven are on until it reaches temperature and call it "recovery" when the elements come back on to maintain the temperature. For either, it is the heat coming on when the oven temperature is more than 25F (or whatever defines the thermostat's parameter) from the set temperature to allow a rapid return to the set temp. Every oven I have ever had, probably 15 or so have operated this way- controlled by the thermostat -except one. In some ovens, like Capital electric ovens, the heating is done in a totally different way. The preheat comes on and heats the oven to temp and then a computer program takes over and turns the element on and off rapidly according to "logic" mentioned by Trevor above. It does not know if the oven door is open or a large amount of cold food has entered the oven cavity. It just keeps oscillating blissfully at the same rate unaware of the new burden it has received. The thermostat does not come into play for a long time because it is set so that there has to be a 150F differential, according to the manual, quoted above and confirmed by the notes from the factory. " Preheat mode on ANY oven (not just Capital's) is intensive and has the potential to burn food, so it only comes on when there is not supposed to be any food in the oven." I would not say "ANY" oven. They are all very different, especially electric ovens. The preheat can potentially cause anything from almost nothing to browning to burning depending on how the oven is designed and the food you putting in it. There are some ovens that allow you to put food in the oven and then set a time for it to start cooking. This is very common actually and there are some ovens that advertise no need to preheat. I would not bake a cake in them but you can bake something like a casserole. The preheat is not as intense in those ovens. Ovens that might be more intense would be those that use convection or a combination of elements to rapidly preheat but even this varies widely. " From the user guide and factory info, the only thing that it looks like Capital does differently is engage preheat after a severe drop in temperature (which shouldn't happen in normal oven use, as Trevor's testing indicates)." ----->Please define "normal use"<----- " I can't find any evidence that just because the CC engages preheat after a large drop in temperature, it will also have issues maintaining the set temperature without preheat mode." Capital spells it out for you. "No quick recovery. Oven will cycle normally despite large temperature drops due to the door being left open, or the oven set temperature being reset to a much higher temperature. The recovery time can be very long for large differentials between oven temp and set temp." In real cooking, you loose heat under certain circumstances. Open the door a few times and you are baking 100F below the set temp with no ability to recover. Another major point. It will not allow the temperature to be reset higher in a timely way unless you open the oven and induce the 150F degree differential and then you would have to take the food out while the temp goes up. "My Electrolux and KitchenAid ovens NEVER engage preheat mode once the oven is heated up and neither have any issues maintaining temperature." The little light that says "preheat" may not be on but my Elux is still rotating through the same elements as when it preheats . they cycle on and off according to need. The only difference is that the convection fan does not come on in bake mode or run high speed in the bake convection mode. Mine has a little picture showing which element is on and when. Whatever name tag you give this ability, this same mechanism does not exist in Capital Electric ovens according to their literature. Make of it what you will. "I know that you had a Dacor oven with issues maintaining temperature, but I don't think you can assume that just because the CC oven sounds like that oven, it will actually work like that oven." HaHa, that oven was what made me study ovens. I am not going by my oven at all, but again what Capital has written themselves. This is why it pays to read use and care manuals.

Don't get a cooktop. You waste valuable real-estate by moving the knobs to the top, and with gas tops, reaching over hot pots to get to the knobs is very annoying. Get a rangetop instead. Having the knobs in the front works much better. On the other hand, if you decided on induction, then cooktops seem more common; but then, they also don't suffer from the same issue of lots of hot air rising around the pots. As for wall ovens, I'd recommend getting at least one CSO. Miele makes a particularly nice plumbed model. It might seem smaller at 24", but I'll bet that it'll be your most frequently used appliance. I have a strong preference for Bluestar's open burners. They are super powerful, have a good low-end, and you won't find any gas stove that is easier to clean. Of course, induction makes cleaning even easier. I actually do like my Bluestar oven. But it does require at least 20-25min to preheat for the 30" model. A 36" oven will take even longer. On the other hand, my Miele CSO is ready to use within minutes.

@Heather Spencer I'm not a pro but I dove into the ventilation question a bunch when I was looking at what to do in my own kitchen. There are a ton of posts on it here, too. ventilation is pretty location dependent as far as what you can get away with, but what you should do is use a hood that's sufficient for the range you buy, and provide the makeup air system that's required for it. If you are anywhere that has cold seasons, or if you live in a tight house, you need to have makeup air. Passive systems work in temperate climates, but not so great in cold climates. The makeup air system is designed to prevent a backdraft situation with combustible appliances. In a cold climate with good insulation, houses don't leak, which means your hood vent will suck more air from your house than can be replaced by leaky doors and windows, causing a dangerous situation. The higher the CFM, the harder it is to replace the air without a system in place (gas dryers, gas water heaters, gas fireplaces, and even bath fans contribute to this calc). For a 48" range you need a serious range hood (Wolf recommends 1100 CFM for their 48" range if I remember correctly). Anything over 400 CFM typically requires makeup air. I ran through the calculations in the code in my state when I was trying to decide on a range and found out that it didn't take much to throw me into full makeup air system, so I decided to go with induction. If you choose a 48" range and pick a lower CFM range hood, you'll end up with smells and smoke, unless you just have the range because it's pretty and don't do more than boil water or make grilled cheese on it. So, in order to do it properly, it costs money. More in cold climates, where makeup air needs to be heated. Less in temperate climates. My builder estimated about $5-6k for the makeup air system (not including hood). I priced out what I would need from fantech, and it got me close to that number. So it is true that the ventilation + hood can be as much if not more than the range itself. ETA: this isn't specific to 48" ranges - Wolf recommends 500 CFM hoods for their 30" dual fuel range, so it's more about the power of your range than it is about the size of it. But generally the bigger your range, the more power it has.