In article >,
Louis Cohen > wrote:

> Maurice M wrote:
> > Im considering a couple of different Bosch ovens, one of the points of
> > difference is the higher specd model HBN560550A, quotes a mximum heat of 300
> > deg C vs the 250 deg C on the model below HBN540550A.(Australian model
> > numbers)
> >
> > Is this higher temp a worthwhile feature for cooking (pizzas, sealing
> > roasts etc) or is it just used in the auto cleaning program?
> >
> > thanks
> >
> > Maurice
> >
> >
> That would be about 470 vs 580° F. If you bake very thin crust pizza or
> baguettes frequently, you might want the slightly higher heat (but I
> think you would be fine with 250° C and a couple of thick pizza stones).
> The only other thing that I can think of for an oven hotter than
> 250° C might be roasting breaded chicken or fish as a lower-fat
> alternative to deep-frying them.

As a point of reference, the el cheapo Hotpoint that was recommended by
Consumer Reports can do 550 F.
You can also recaliblibrate the oven very easily with a few keystrokes
plus or minus 30 F. My oven was perfectly calibrated as delivered
(verified with several quality thermometers). Because of this I can
trick it into going to 580 by miscalibrating it.

Baking pizza at 550 worked very well. I have not yet tried jacking it
up further.

Incidentally the Hotpoint (forget model # but it was plugged by CR) cost
me $400 on sale at Best Buy. It will not win any beauty contests but
people ought to look at it seriously - both on the stovetop and oven it
compares very favorably with stoves costing considerably more. Even
more interestingly, it has few of the downsides associated with $$$
stoves e.g. people claim the outsides or control knobs etc. of several
$$$ stoves are too hot to touch (claims I have read at the appliance
forum at: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/appl/). I cannot help but
giggle - GE can get simple things like this right and deliver at $400
pricepoint but Bluestar, DCS etc. cannot.

Incidentally, the Bosch does look well designed.

Roland