Types of Commercial Ovens: Buying Guide

In many ways, a commercial oven is the centerpiece of your kitchen. Able to cook, roast, broil, bake and, in some cases, steam, it’s an essential component for your business. So, when it comes to choosing an oven for your commercial kitchen, there’s a lot to take into consideration. If you’re trying to decide on the right commercial oven for your establishment, our guide will help walk you through the many options, features and more.

Types of Commercial Ovens

Standard Oven

A basic oven that can cook most food products. Because they’re not specialized, however, they may not evenly cook certain types of food products. Also known as “radiant ovens.”

• Used for—basic cooking and baking needs

Convection Oven

Similar to standard ovens, convection ovens provide air circulation to the cooking process. Fans installed in these ovens help circulate warm air inside the oven to evenly cook the product.

• Used for—Bread, pastries

Combi Oven

Combi ovens (or “combination ovens”) is the perfect marriage between steam and convection ovens, as it has the capabilities to do both. Because of this, combi ovens can cook food fast and consistently.

• Used for—Breads, pastries, vegetables and rice

Conveyor Oven

Utilizing a system consisting of convection cooking and a conveyor belt, conveyor ovens are perfect for fast-casual restaurants who are cooking large quantities of food quickly. Some are available with forced air impingement, which pulls moisture from the product’s surface and reduces total cooking times by as much as 20% to 25%.

• Used for—Pizzas, toasted sandwiches/paninis

Cook-and-Hold Oven

These types of ovens both slow cook food and provide a holding cabinet for the finished product. Cook-and-hold ovens help reduce product shrinkage, and keeps food at a safe, ideal temperature throughout service.

• Used for—Roasting meat, vegetables and dough proofing

Deck Oven

Deck ovens sport large stone shelves that are heated via a heating element to cook and bake products. Brick ovens are a recognizable type of deck oven predominantly used in pizzerias.

• Used for—Baking and pizzas

Rotisserie Oven 

Rotisserie ovens are a specialized type of oven used primarily for cooking and roasting large portions of meat. The meat is rotated on a spit over a heating element, allowing the product to evenly cook as it spins.

• Used for—Large amounts of meat

Steam Oven

A healthy alternative to frying certain food, steam ovens cook the product using steam. This type of oven can evenly cook food fast, while keeping in the nutrients of the food item.

• Used for—Vegetables

Oven Comparison

You probably don’t have unlimited space to fit every type of oven under the sun in one commercial kitchen. So how do you choose between the options above to ensure you’re getting one that works best for your needs? Thanks to chef Frank Barrett-Mills, you can compare your options to find which is best for you.

Deck Oven vs. Conveyor Oven

Deck ovens are great to cook large batches but will require staff to be more hands on during the cooking process to prevent burning product. Whereas a conveyor oven is good for a high production turn over and enables staff to be more grab and go with the final results. 

Combi Oven vs. Convection Oven

While a combi might cost you more, it gives you never ending possibilities of what a pro chef can cook inside. A convection oven can provide you with consistent results every time, making both units worth the extra cost over a standard oven. 

Steam Oven vs. Speed Oven

A steam oven can deliver more moisture when cooking for things like seafoods and vegetables. Whereas speed ovens are meant for quickly producing small batches of food. It can be considered an a la carte style oven due to the size. 

Speed Oven vs. Convection Oven

The biggest difference between these two will be your size and cooking time. With large batches you’ll need the larger convection oven, but it will take longer to cook than the speed oven. However, the speed oven is made for smaller portion sizes and not full meals. 

Steam Oven vs. Combi Oven

A steam oven is only meant to be a steam oven. If you’re exclusively steaming dishes then this is a perfect fit. However, a combi oven is able to accomplish steam and convection cooking to give you more options. 

Gas vs. Electric

One of the biggest decisions you’ll need to make when deciding on an oven for your commercial restaurant is whether it should be gas or electric. While it’s a debate that’s often had when it comes to commercial kitchen equipment, both gas and electric ovens have their own unique merits. Take a look at each and decide which is right for your business:

Benefits of Gas Ovens 

• Cost-to-own is less over a prolonged period of time
• Heats up quickly, so there’s no wait time to start cooking
• Ideal for high-output cooking

Things to Consider with Gas Ovens

• Requires a gas connection
• Safety precautions and equipment need to be utilized, especially when cleaning
• Could yield uneven cooking if not monitored properly

Benefits of Electric Ovens

• Easy installation with
• Can be energy-efficient, especially when using an ENERGY STAR®-rated unit
• Cooks food more evenly

Things to Consider with Electric Ovens

• Requires a large amount of electricity to operate
• Takes longer to heat up in order to cook
• Best for lower product output, unless the oven is specifically rated at a higher voltage

Maintaining a Commercial Oven

Just like any piece of equipment in your commercial kitchen, your oven will need to be regularly maintained. This ensures that your oven operates properly during each shift, and helps prevent costly repairs. No matter what type of commercial oven you have, make sure you take care of the following maintenance tasks:

• Clean Your Ovens Daily—It’s important to clean the interior and burners of your oven daily. You use them often and they require TLC. Pay attention to cleaning components like the oven racks and the main interior portion. Additionally, if your oven has a cooktop with burners, those will also need to be cleaned each day.
• Specialized Ovens Will Need Specialized Cleaning—Depending on the type of specialty oven you have, you’ll need to clean it differently from a more standard oven. Be sure to have special attention given to conveyor, deck and convection ovens.
• Check the Oven Door Often—Seals and gaskets wear down over time, so it’s important to keep an eye on the door’s components to make sure they can be serviced and replaced before they wear down too much. If not properly maintained, the interior of the oven runs the risk of not maintaining its heat, causing food to be under-cooked.
• Have Your Oven Regularly Maintained—Certain components in your commercial oven will need to be regularly checked and maintained by a certified service technician, such as the thermostat. Be sure to follow your owner’s manual to know when to schedule preventative maintenance for your oven.

Check out our commercial oven cleaning and maintenance guide for complete tasks and tips.