1. It was my first step by step recipe
2. I posted pictures of my oven and every other reader of this blog immediately had a gazillion questions about it!
Ok, I tend to exaggerate a bit but in this case, its only a teeny bit. True story.
Considering all the emails I have replied (happily, may I add) on the subject, this post is terribly late. But then, here it is, finally, after a break of 9 days, my longest in a while.
This, is my oven.
And this here, is the list of FAQs. Go crazy folks!
Q. Where did you buy the oven? What's the price?
Amma got this for me from Shah Enterprises in Kottayam, Kerala (that's my hometown). The brand name is OK. I am positive you'd get this in most home appliances stores in Kerala although I am not sure of other places. If anyone has seen or heard of this, please leave a comment.
The price is about Rs. 1200. No, I am not going to convert that into USD for you. Sorry, too lazy.
Q. How big is it?
Hmm.. not that big. Its the size of.. hmm.. ok let me put it this way. An 8x8 tray will fit into it just right. Anything bigger, you will have to maneuver it by tilting the sides, etc. Amma has a bigger one so this is available in various sizes, I am sure.
Q. What's the maximum temperature? Can it bake everything from cakes to bread to cookies?
The max temperature is 220C. Usually, cakes and cookies are backed at 180C. For bread, you need a slightly higher temperature but I have baked plain white bread with very good results. In fact, all the baked good in this site are made in this oven (Update: I upgraded to a Delonghi 26L table-top oven mid 2011).
Q. Does the oven come with a warranty? Is it worth carrying all the way from India to somewhere abroad?
The answer to this really depends on how bad you want that oven. I wanted it real bad because the prices in Singapore for ovens is atrocious. I am used to this since amma has had it for over 20 years. Having said that, this thing works on a filament coil heating system so if the filament gets rusted or broken, it will result in a loose contact which is frustrating, especially while baking. So it depends on your luck on the most part. Some may last only a year but most will go on and on forever.
Good luck and if you have more questions, leave a comment and I will answer them 🙂
Disclaimer: I am not recommending this oven to anyone. This post is more informational since a lot of you had questions about the oven when I put up pics in the butterscotch blondies step by step recipe page. The oven is very basic, quite small and may not work well for all recipes that need to be baked. However, the ones you see on this blog have all been tried and tested in it so you can safely go ahead!
Vidya Venkat
Hey Nags.. I don't use the oven for anything but pizzas and some baked savory dishes - no cakes or cookies or muffins. Used to bake them in my convection MW until it died on me. Now wondering whether I should pick up an OTG or this - what would you recommend?
Nagalakshmi V
i wouldn't recommend this oven for serious bakers since there are a lot of limitations. get an OTG or regular conventional oven that's table top.
manjarishukla
Hi Nags! Just checking on round oven temperatures. Do they vary from other more popular ovens? Does the round oven utilize more time for baking?
Nagalakshmi V
hi, was on a work trip and then vacation so wasn't really checking comments. i am not sure if it takes longer. maybe in some cases it does, so many things can vary according to brand and model and make and voltage fluctuations so it's hard for me to tell for sure. if your cake comes out well, don't worry about it.
manjarishukla
Hi Nags! Just checking on my earlier query. Hope its been rcvd and reviewed?
manjarishukla
Hi Nags! I too have an old round oven(toshiba) that's working well.However, as per the recipe time, i keep the cakes longer, for almost 15-20 min extra. Sometime almost 1/2 an hr extra. Is that so in a round oven? My cakes do rise well. Though the baking time is quite "extra". Is that so in a round oven?!
manjarishukla
Hi Nags! Just sharing some tips on a round oven. I have one(its about 18 years old now!). My cakes come out quite good in this oven.Though the browning takes time. In fact I need to 'cook' the cake for a longer 15 or 20 min. Is that so in a round oven? My cakes rise well in this oven. Today's baking was rather a fiasco! An eggless cake recipe called for baking time of 30 min. I baked it for 50min. The cake was yet undone, gooey and sticky, though it rose beautifully. The voltage is fine in my house. Tell me what could the reason be?!
richa
i wana buy this oven....
Nagalakshmi V
i don't know. i haven't even been to rajasthan
richa
where can i get this in ajmer(rajasthan) ....or can i get this as home dellivery....? plz reply
Anonymous
How do you preheat this oven?
Nagalakshmi V
Just leave it turned on for 10-15 mins
rocky
please can anyone let me know where to locate this good old round oven in kolkata or bangalore