I can't be of much help as to which ovens are the best sized for you, but convection is good for the second part of baking ( the first phase we try to induce steam to give it a moist rise) in the second phase you are trying to drive out moisture to make the bread light. The main problem you will find is that for most convection ovens, the convection fan is placed in the rear of the oven, and a metal shroud is placed in front of that, so the oven will likely be less deep than an oven that does not have convection.

Convection for bread has always been good when following the procedure described by Barryv. I did a decade and something with baking multiple bread loaves per week in a GE Profile DF range with a convection oven. It worked well for most kinds of breads including baguettes provided the oven was cleaned regularly and fully preheated. (And fully preheated means half an hour, at least, and not what the phony preheat indicators tells you). I'm currently baking in the gas-convection oven of an NXR range and have found it seems to give me a little better control over crust development than I had with the GE -- again, following the steam and then convection procedure.

As for oven depths, one thing would be checking out the detailed specs on sites such as AJ Madison and Lowe's as well as the manufacturer sites. They often list dimensions for usable oven space. Assuming that you want to put baguettes on half sheet pans in longways first, you'll want an oven with a usable depth of 19" or so.

In my limited experience, the convection ovens in GE ranges are among the deepest. The ovens in my now deceased GE dual-fuel and the the freestanding induction range I checked out (a couple of years ago) both had a bit more than 19" of usable depth in their convection ovens. They also were a skoonch over 24" width. Basically, it was enough depth to accommodate the 18" length of a half-sheet pan with a couple of baguettes on it and enough width to get a couple of those pans side-by-side on a rack.

In contrast, ovens rated at 4.9 cu. ft. and less (including my current NXR) have a bit less usable depth and width. My current NXR range exemplifies Barryv's comment about convection fan housings protruding into the oven space and limiting the depth.

A number of GE Models have been recommended here at GW but I can't recall any discussions about the propane conversions. Maybe you can search out some information with a couple of model numbers.

Also, are you looking for a slide-in model (all controls down front and no backsplash) or a freestanding model. Freestanding versions are usually substantially less expensive. Some slide-ins have shallower ovens than freestanding versions, although that is not always the case. Most GE slide-in models have the same size ovens as on the freestanding ones.

A friend of mine has a GE JGB750SEFSS which has a convection oven that is at least 19" deep and with which she seems to be happy with the baking abilities. Consumer Reports also gave it an excellent rating for baking (for whatever that's worth.) IIRC, this range cost my friend something around $1k at Lowe's last spring. It came with propane conversion kit, but I can't speak to how well that works because my friend is not using propane.

Another brand and model that has seen some attention here is the Frigidaire FGGF3054M. This runs about $900 new, reputedly has a 19" deep oven, and is one of the few gas ranges that have a third oven element (so called "true convection.") As on most major brand "true convection" ranges, the convection element runs on a 120v supply and is rated at 350 watts. This does help even out the oven temps and likely helps with baking.

Whichever models you settle on, I advise you to try to see one in person and take your baking pans/sheets to check out the oven depth to be sure it will work for what you want to do.

Hopefully, with a couple of posts to keep this thread going, we can attract the attention of a GW member with first hand experience with propane conversions on the above or similar models.

JWVIdeo is the expert on ovens, and I agree with her points. Another option is whether you would consider baking the baguettes so that the run from side to side, not front to back. One way is using parchment paper to bake your loaves - not traditional of course, but if you could load a number on a parchment paper going from side to side ( rather then front to back ) you can take advantage of the fact that most ovens are pretty wide. I have a 30 inch range and the oven is only about 16 1/2 inches deep, but is nearly 24 inches wide. You would need a wide peel to load the baguettes, but could probably take them off the parchment paper when they are ready to turn. Another option is to see if the oven came with a full extension sliding rack, if so, and you have room to load from the side, you could slide out the rack with the stone on it, then load the baguettes from one side of the rack towards the other side ( I have tried loading a baguette into an oven with the baguette going from side to side using a peel from the front of the oven, and that did not work all that well, and doubt you would be successful loading a number of baguettes in an oven) Pulling out the rack and loading from the side would probably take some time, and may cool off the oven quite a bit. Another option would be to load them from the front of the oven using a transfer board as a peel, but to me, there would be a high degree of danger of burning your hands. The last option, and it would take some doing, is to have someone make a superpeel that is pretty wide, but slightly narrower than your oven. At one point, super peel was offered in a number of sizes, but since it has gone mainstream, I think they only offer one or two sizes. If you google it, you can see how it is designed, and is not that complex, and I have made a few different sizes for me, since the normal size is not ideal for my uses.

Well, thank you for thinking me an expert, but, just for the record, its "his" points you agree with, not "her points." :>)

Interesting ideas on baking the baguettes. Seems to me that preheating with a baking stone (or tiles or baking steel) may well provide a sufficient reservoir of heat to make up for the loss of heat problem while loading the baguettes. With my gas range, I've found it can be useful to put unglazed tiles on the oven floor (per some recipes from vintage Julia Child books from the previous century.) One of my projects for this winter is to try out a baking steel per the Modernist Cuisine recommendations. Supposedly, they work better than tiles or baking stones, at least for pizza. (I'll get mine from my town's metal shop rather than splurging on the MC endorsed one and its large shipping costs.)

Also, I've used parchment from time to time as you suggested and it worked pretty well as long as I kept the heat below 450F and didn't worry about the baguettes' sides being rather blond. Actually, I had never thought of turning my baguettes, but that certainly would even out the browning. Your point about starting with steam and then firing up the convection fan half-way through baking has been the most useful technique.

For bksinaz -- we haven't forgotten you or hijacked your thread. The point here is that there is a lot you can do to even out or enhance ovens without spending a fortune on a stove. Convection is indeed a useful tool for bread baking. Something else to consider is that many major-brand ranges come with three oven racks. For the ones that only come with two racks, a third rack is easily obtained. Depending on how many baguettes you want to bake at a time, you could throw three sheet pans of them into an oven and use the convection to even out the browning.

This post was edited by JWVideo on Thu, Oct 16, 14 at 2:43

Is there something about baguettes that require them to be a certain length? (I know nothing about making them)

@Heidi: it's just another man-thing ;-)

Heidi, they don't need to be a certain length, but most baguettes you see are fairly long, and when scored and baked come out with a particular look with ratio of length to width. They would not look the same at 2/3rd of the length, and if you scaled the height and width to keep the same proportions, it would be a pretty small loaf. I actually prefer a batard because it is much higher, but if you want the classic baguette, it would look a little odd if it was only 12 inches long, and it would not have as many score lines.

Here is a link that might be useful: photo of baguette

Thanks for the explanation and pix--beautiful bread!
Sounds like you need to construct your own brick oven.....certainly there is someone on this site that can help with advice for that :)

@Heidi: I'm pretty sure we're hijacking this thread, but building your own (wood fired) brick oven is not too difficult. I learned everything I needed to know to build mine from the "The Bread Builders": http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Builders-Hearth-Loaves-Masonry/dp/1890132055.

It's fun and the results are very, very tasty (artisan bread wise), although I never tried to bake baguettes in it. I'm pretty sure that baguettes will need some steam injection even in the brick oven, as there's actually too little dough to self-steam.

JWVideo , how do you really like the NXR? Do you have a review posted? What year is it and what model number?

Model year: 2012.

Model Number: DRGB3001 (the same one Costco is currently selling).

Seems like it is beyond your $1600 budget. From time to time, Costco runs a $200 off sale which gets the price down around $1799 (delivered). Depending on your membership level and whether you use a Coscto Amex card, year end rebates might get it down around $1720.

Reviews? Sure.

If you want to read one specifically by me, try the one I posted at Consumer Reports under their review of the 30-inch NXR:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/kitchen-appliances/kitchen-ranges/pro-style-ranges-ratings/models/overview/nxr-drgb3001-99049160.htm.

Post back if you can't follow the link and I'll insert the text here.

There's a ton more about NXRs here at GW, though, with writeups by a lot of knowledgeable folks. Google "gardenweb + nxr" and, at the first listing, click the link "More results from ths.gardenweb.com." Enough to keep you busy for a long time.

Here's some threads I suggest starting with:

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0111540830839.html

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg121732327776.html

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg1015220127829.html?35

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg082114205119.html?106

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0123491328448.html

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0900284530063.htm

ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0515595719743.html

This post was edited by JWVideo on Mon, Oct 20, 14 at 21:14