Do I need a double oven??

[AssemblySquare]

I have always wanted an eye level oven… but now I’ve seen how it would look in our kitchen I realise it won’t work because it reduces the available worktop space. So I’m back to built under or free-standing - no room for a range cooker. Built under doubles seem very small, freestanding just seem to ruin the sleek finish I wanted. Should I just stick to a built under single? We’ve had that for years but I hanker after a double oven again.
Should add we’re a family of 5, none of us are especially keen cooks!! We do need space to make decent meals though!

Can people give examples of every day dinners that need double oven?

Loved my whole life with just a single snd curious what I a missing

How about getting a big single oven and a freestanding microwave that is an oven/grill too? I have two single ovens at eye level but like to have occasional big family meals (10+ people). They do take up to much worktop really.

@midgemagneto

Can people give examples of every day dinners that need double oven?

Loved my whole life with just a single snd curious what I a missing

A roast dinner is so much easier. You can do one in a single of course but after a double oven it’s harder work with more planning involved!

I’m swaying towards a built under double at the moment - which brands/models are best? I’ve always rated Belling but their built under doubles seem v small. Seen a Smeg one that has a brilliant sized main oven but DH will faint at the price tag!!!

I've just bought a freestanding double oven to replace my single oven, best thing I ever did

I use the 2 at the same time for eg grilling salmon but roasting vegetables in the bottom, slow cook something on low in the bottom but have roasties on higher in the top, Yorkshire puddings in the top - Un disturbed at high heat with other bit of roast in main oven. Also together I think they’re bigger than a single? Plus lots crammed into one oven takes longer I find.
Some are a bit wider than others get as big as you can. Not sure about brands- ours was cheap but it’s been going 4.5 years and just had the heating element repaired and it’s good to go again.

I don't like freestanding double ovens,I prefer a freestanding single. You end up with more space in a single.

I'd give up worktop space for a large double oven any day.

This thread is fascinating, it's never occurred to me that a double oven, at either level, isn't just the norm if you have space/ funds etc...

Anyway @AssemblySquare Neff are the best IMO. My 10yo one is the equivalent of the ones they use (or did, not seen it in a while) on GBBO. Still in fine fettle.

You can get single ovens that you can split into two, if you want to cook at 2 different temperatures, although can't use the grill and oven at the same time with ours.

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It's £5 to start with cancel at any time.

BTW neff, Siemens and bosh are the same company

We just got two normal size ovens and put them on top of each other. Does away with the issue of half a double being small, and gives lots of flexibility

Can people give examples of every day dinners that need double oven?

We have a range so 2 ovens and a grill. Our last house we had a single oven including the grill. So, we constantly use the grill to warm plates when something is cooking in the main oven. We also grill things while using the main oven (me cooking a casserole, the teenagers having beans on toast as a 'snack' to keep them going for tea) and if the teenagers decide to bake something in the afternoon we can still make tea using the other oven. If doing a big batch of cooking or baking two ovens that can be at different temperatures are a gosend. My Mum uses one oven for her main course and one for her pudding. When making a big roast it's good to have the second oven for cooking all the different side dishes. As a family we bake and cook a lot, while it's possible tk survive with one oven having two is very useful. However, if you don't cook much then a slow cooker is probably a cheaper alternative to a second oven.

@midgemagneto
For us its more the importance of being able to grill and use the oven that comes up a lot eg bacon and hashbrowns, sausages and chips, burger and chips, roasted veg and meat.

For us we do struggle as our oven is fairly small so if you wanted to cook a joint for example, you couldn't fit anything other than potatoes in there, so no roasted veg, pigs in blankets or Christmas sides

We cook , bake our own bread, cakes. eat out or takeaway very rare . Once this year so far

With a roast I let the meat rest

Quite fond of mash with sausage though and might dry fry rather than grill

I certainly prefer a double oven in a tower, but if you have very little worktop, consider a combi microwave in a wall cabinet.

you'll need to measure your eye level to see how high it can go, so you can still easily reach inside, and it might mean the cabinet has to come lower than your others. Wall cabinets are usually about 700mm or 900mm high. I have a combi in a 900mm high x 600mm wide wall cabinet, the top half has a top-hinged door and holds plates, though if you are not tall it woulf be safer to use lightweight, non breakable things like cornflake packets, pasta and cake tins. In my case the wall cabinet is an extra-deep one, they are sold as "boiler cabinets" around 400 and 500mm deep (an ordinary wall cabinet is 300mm deep), though a carpenter or kitchen fitter can cut down or assemble a cabinet in any size you want.

We have a double oven and just use the top one to grill.

Whenever we try to use the top oven as an oven there is loads of smoke presumably because of grill grease splatter. Without doing a full clean after every grilling, any tips to avoid this?

Any help much appreciated!!

OH's copy of Which? arrived today

@Teenagers2grownups0

We have a double oven and just use the top one to grill.

Whenever we try to use the top oven as an oven there is loads of smoke presumably because of grill grease splatter. Without doing a full clean after every grilling, any tips to avoid this?

Any help much appreciated!!

this is quite common where vapourised and splattered fat collects on the cold oven heating elements, and burns off when you first turn them on.

in most cases, the oven heating elements are inaccessible, under the floor or behind the fan, so you can't really clean them. If you turn them on for a few minutes after grilling, it will burn off the fat before it accumulates into a large amount.

Thanks @PigletJohn. Great idea and makes sense, I will start doing that after it’s next cleaned.