It’s been a year since I wrote an article comparing home bakery bread ovens, and since the original has been published there have been two new entries into the US market. RackMaster unveiled their RM24 back in June, and the My Forno entered the US market just a couple of weeks ago. The original comparison chart has now been updated to include the two new ovens, and I have removed both the Nero and Rofco from the comparison.
The Nero has been removed because the current price of it makes it non-competitive with the other ovens listed, and the distributor heavily recommends the Tom Chandley Pico+ instead which they also distribute. The Rofco B40 in fairness is still a very solid oven, but there is plenty of information out there for those looking at one as an option.
Over the last year I have also had the opportunity to use both the RM2020 and Pico+, so I now have firsthand experience with every manufacturer. I have not had the opportunity to test the RM24 yet, but from all reports it behaves very similarly to the RM2020 with a smaller footprint. Here are my updated thoughts on each of these ovens:
Tom Chandley Pico+
Despite its smaller, single deck footprint, this oven is the only one in this comparison which fits a full US sized sheet pan. This is a helpful feature for baking things other than bread, and sheet pans are inexpensive and readily available. This oven also has the fastest pre-heat time listed at 25 minutes, although in my testing longer was required to fully saturate the stone for baking. For me the sweet spot was about 45 minutes for a full deck of cold dough, otherwise the temperature dropped considerably on loading and did not fully recover.
I like the fact that this oven is modular, so a single oven can be purchased initially, with additional ovens stacked to increase capacity. I also like that there are independent top and bottom heating elements for the deck for precise baking control, and multiple ovens can be set to different temperatures for baking different products.
For me, there are a few negatives to this oven, however. The first is that the heat intensity is much higher at the back of the oven which is entirely metal, and lower at the front which is entirely glass. This meant in all of my testing that rotating loaves midway was necessary to achieve an even, uniform bake. The second issue I have with this oven is that the steam module is underneath the stone, and filling the reservoir was clunky with a risk of burning if not careful. And, finally, this oven draws a lot of power for its capacity, meaning considerably greater energy consumption compared to all the other ovens.
RackMaster RM24
This is the one oven I have not used, but based on user reports this is much the same oven as the RM2020 but with a smaller footprint. The main difference between this oven and the RM2020 (other than the smaller size) is that this oven has 2 temperature controls rather than 4, so it's more of a zone control to even out the heat from top to bottom compared with the Rofco B40 which this oven is directly positioned to replace. The oven dimensions are almost exactly the same as the Rofco, so existing Rofco owners can use the same stand, pans and other accessories if they upgrade to it.
Since I have not personally used one, I will save any criticism for the section on the RM2020, as I have now had considerable use with that oven. Since the design is identical, my best guess is that the issues I have with the RM2020 also carry over to this oven.
Simply Bread
As many of you will know, Sourdough Geeks was an official partner of Simply Bread until a few weeks ago. I want to be clear that I still like this oven very much, and the decision to end that partnership was more about being presented with an even better opportunity than anything else. The Simply Bread oven produces beautifully even bakes, the steam generation is both clever and effective, and the customer service is top class. Stijn and his team have created a beautiful oven which is worthy of the praise it has received.
I have not had any software issues in the year I have owned one, and at its core it is a very simple oven when it comes to performance. I do wish the oven door was a little sturdier and better insulated, and the steam reservoir on the top of the oven is a bit of a faff getting to.
RackMaster RM2020
First of all, I have tremendous respect for Campbell MacFarlane and his contributions to the cottage baking community. This oven is a testament to his problem solving acumen and improved upon the Rofco in just about every way! When I was deciding on a partner for Sourdough Geeks, this oven was a strong contender that just narrowly fell short in my estimation.
When I teach at Bread Camp, this is the oven that we use so I have now given one considerable use. I use a garden sprayer for steaming the oven which does work well, but I have noticed that the bottom deck doesn’t get the same amount of steam as the top. My only other issue with this oven is that it takes the longest to pre-heat, taking over 2 hours to get up to temperature.
My Forno
This oven is brand new to the US market, but it was released in both Europe and Australia about a year and a half ago. It is made in Verona, Italy by a third generation commercial bakery oven manufacturer, and, although this oven is relatively new, it is based on an existing three phase commercial oven that has been converted to single phase for domestic and light commercial use.
In all honesty, I haven’t been this excited about a bakery oven in a long time. Pretty much every oven I have ever used has things I don’t like about it, but this one literally gets everything right. It has a heavy-duty, double insulated door and is the only one in this comparison that is completely cool to touch throughout baking. The steam generation is superb and the steam reservoir door is handily located low on the left side of the oven. It has industrial grade heating elements that heat evenly and efficiently with only 3kW total power consumption.
The only real issue it may pose is its size, as it has the largest overall footprint of all the ovens here, so it likely won’t be suitable in a smaller home space. Like the RM2020, the size is also built for European standard sheet pans, which are a bit shorter than US pans, so that is another consideration. My Forno is about to release a range of sheet pans and custom strapped loaf pans will also be coming soon too. The sheet pans will fit in the pan racks on the optional stand and in the optional proofing cabinet stand also.
Overall this is truly next level oven that has been built for the most rigorous commercial environments, now available for cottage and micro-bakers too.
Conclusion
The truth is that there really isn’t a bad choice amongst these ovens. They are all tremendous bits of kit, and each has a solid use case depending on individual tastes and scenarios. No matter which one you use, they all have the potential to increase the capacity and overall quality of bread produced.
But the My Forno is truly in a class of its own here, and that is why I am not only partnered with them, but I have also retired from production baking to distribute the oven in the US and Canada. So when you select the My Forno as your bread oven, you also get dedicated service and support from me and Pasquale and his team at Pizza Goods.
And there are other exciting products on the horizon from My Forno too, each designed to seamlessly work together to elevate your entire offering. For me, this craft is ultimately about connection. Connection to our food and connection to the communities we build through the bread we bake and share with others. I have truly found my community with My Forno and I hope you will join me too!
*This article solely represents the opinion of the author, and assertions made in it are believed to be accurate at the time of publishing.
