Steam Oven Cooking: Miele's Magic Meals

The Miele steam oven is a versatile appliance that can handle all your cooking requirements, from steaming and roasting to baking. Its 'Combi cooking' feature combines moist and hot air to ensure optimal baking and roasting results. With adjustable temperature and moisture content settings, you can customise your cooking environment to suit any recipe. The MultiSteam technology enhances food flavours and colours while preserving natural vitamins. The steam oven is perfect for dishes where you want to retain or add moisture, such as chicken, fish, meat, bread, pastries, vegetables, fruits, grains, pulses, and desserts. Experiment with your favourite recipes and discover the convenience and versatility of the Miele steam oven.

Breads, pastries and doughs

Breads, pastries, and doughs

Steam ovens are ideal for baking bread, and you can achieve excellent results with a Miele steam oven. Steam ovens are used by bakeries to make their products, so you can get bakery-quality bread at home.

The steam function is especially useful for bread as it helps the dough expand to its fullest, creating maximum oven spring and a lovely texture. The steam delays the formation of a crust, keeping the dough soft and stretchy for longer, so the bread can rise to its maximum volume. This results in a thinner crust, and a moist, chewy texture.

You can also use the steam oven to prove dough, which gives you a reliable, fast way to get perfectly proved dough every time. The temperature is low and stable, and a little humidity is added, creating the perfect environment for a nice rise.

When it comes to baking, you can use almost any bread recipe in a steam oven. Simply combine flour, yeast, sugar, salt with water (and maybe even a good quality oil or butter) and place the mixture into a baking tray inside your oven. Select the type of bread you want to bake from Miele’s digital display and come back later to enjoy perfect bread that’s crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.

If you want to add your own steam, rather than using the steam function, you can try the Dutch oven method: preheat a Dutch oven and its lid, then carefully add your risen bread; recover with the lid, which keeps the moisture that rises off the bread close to its surface, then remove the lid after 25 minutes to allow the crust to crisp up.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 5 cups unbleached white bread flour (around 12% protein is ideal; you can use all-purpose flour but your dough's gluten formation/structure won't be as good)
• 2 tsp instant yeast (1 x 7g packet)
• 1 tbsp neutral-flavoured oil (sunflower or rice bran)
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey

Method:

• Put the oats in the bowl of a stand mixer and pour the boiling water over the top. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
• Add the rest of the ingredients, fit the bowl into a mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix on low speed until a soft, sticky dough forms. Depending on your climate and altitude, you may need a little extra lukewarm water – add up to half a cup if necessary.
• Turn the mixer to medium-low speed for about 5 minutes, until the dough is a cohesive, fairly smooth mass and mostly pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
• Set your steam oven to 95°F/35°C (or, if possible, lower – 82°F/28°C is perfect). Use the dough proving setting if you have one, or the steam setting if you don’t. Put the bowl into the oven until the dough has doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
• Scrape the dough onto a floured bench. Gently press it out into a rectangle about 30cm/12” x 20cm/8”. Fold it lengthways into thirds, gently press back into a rectangle, turn it 90° and fold again (you won’t be able to see each fold distinctly but you’ll have 9 layers now).
• Lift one of the seam ends of the dough and roll it away from you, tightly tucking it as you go, so you end up with a neat, somewhat loaf-shaped blob a little smaller than your pan. The point of the tight rolling/tucking is to make sure the exterior of the loaf is stretched and smooth, rather than wrinkled or torn. This will give you a nice even rise and a smooth baked loaf.
• Gently put the formed loaf into your pan, seam side down (don’t grease the pan, there’s no need). Tuck the ends down if necessary so it looks neat on top. Cover the pan loosely with a plastic shopping bag or a damp kitchen towel.
• Either put the covered pan in the fridge for 8-12 hours, or leave it at warm room temperature (20°C/68°F) for an hour. The dough will rise, but this prove is less about size than doneness. When it’s done, you’ll be able to gently press a finger into the dough and it will spring back readily. If your finger leaves a dent, it’s not ready. If your finger makes the dough deflate and sag, it’s over-proved.
• About 15 minutes before you want to bake, preheat your oven. Set to 400°F/200°C, combination steam setting. If your oven has variable humidity, use 50%.
• Bake the bread for 12 minutes, then leave the temperature the same but turn off the steam (so you're now just baking with dry convection heat). Continue baking until the bread is dark golden brown on top, about 20-25 minutes longer. If you'd like to be certain it's baked, you can test by internal temperature; an instant-read thermometer should read 190°F/88°C in the centre of the loaf.
• Remove the bread from the oven and turn it immediately out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool. It will keep for a day or two at room temperature, however, if you’re not planning to eat it all the first day, slice and freeze it. Individual slices can be defrosted in your steam oven.

Tips:

• A baking stone or baking steel can help you get more oven spring from your bread. Preheat it along with your oven, sliding the dough or the loaf pan onto the hot stone when it’s time to bake.
• If you want to add extra steam at the beginning of baking, mist the outside of your loaf with water before putting it in the oven.
• If you are baking sourdough, you may want to add steam for longer – up to 20 minutes.

Meat, fish and poultry

Steam ovens are perfect for cooking meat, fish and poultry. The steam is extremely forgiving and cooks food evenly, making it difficult to overcook your dish. It's a healthy way to cook, as it requires no oil, and it's also very versatile.

Fish

Steaming is a great way to cook fish, as it preserves the natural flavour and moisture of the fish. It's a gentle, low-risk method that requires very little technique or precision. You can cook anything from fillets to whole fish in a steam oven, and it will always come out plump and juicy.

For a whole fish, you'll want to choose something on the smaller side, like a Branzino, trout, red snapper, or flounder. You can stuff the cavity with aromatics like herbs, ginger, scallions, garlic, and citrus. A whole fish will take around 10-12 minutes to steam.

For fillets, you can use a quick marinade with herbs, chillies, honey, or citrus. Keep the marinating time under 30 minutes, and cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on the size.

Poultry

You can cook a whole chicken in a Miele steam oven. For example, a roast chicken with garlic and verjuice can be cooked in a combination of steam and roasting. First, the garlic is steamed at 100°C for 4 minutes. Then, the chicken is cooked in the oven at 180°C for 25 minutes at 85% moisture. Finally, the chicken is roasted at 210°C for 15-20 minutes at 50% moisture.

Meat

Meat dishes that can be cooked in a Miele steam oven include lamb flatbread pizza, peri peri chicken, honey ginger lemon chicken, and sticky honey soy chicken.

Vegetables

Steaming vegetables in a Miele oven is a quick and easy process. You can cook them on their own or as part of a one-pan meal, such as salmon, asparagus, and potatoes. The steam oven is perfect for this kind of nutritious, low-effort, and high-reward weeknight meal.

The steam oven is also great for cooking roasted vegetables. A traditional roast dinner with vegetables is easily prepared in the steam oven, and you don't have to worry about overcooked or leathery vegetables. You can roast beef, lamb, or pork this way, and the method remains much the same.

The Miele steam oven also allows you to cook multiple dishes at the same time, so you can prepare a whole meal without stress and with perfect timing. This is a great feature when cooking vegetables as a side dish.

The MultiSteam technology in Miele ovens is designed to enhance the natural flavours and colours of your vegetables, while also preserving all the vitamins and avoiding oxidation. The multilevel steam inlet ports cook food quickly and evenly, resulting in delicious and healthy meals.

Some specific vegetable dishes that you can cook in a Miele steam oven include:

• Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad
• Grilled Veggie and Quinoa Salad
• Potato Broccoli Gratin
• Irish Mashed Potatoes

Rice and pasta

Rice

Cooking rice in a steam oven is easy and produces results similar to the stovetop absorption method or a rice cooker. The steam oven method is foolproof, as long as you follow the correct ingredient ratios and cooking times.

The rice-to-liquid ratio and cooking time may vary slightly depending on the type and age of the rice, and the humidity of your climate. Older rice, for example, may be drier and require more liquid and longer cooking times.

• Wash 200g of long-grain rice under cold running water until the water runs clear.
• Place the rice in a flat tray and pour over cold water.
• Cover the tray tightly with foil.
• Place the tray in a pre-heated steam oven set to 100°C/212°F (100% humidity) for 18-23 minutes.
• Remove the tray from the oven, stir through some salt, and let it stand covered for 2-5 minutes before serving.

Pasta

Steam ovens can also be used to cook pasta, and this method uses far less water than stovetop boiling with no risk of boiling over. It is a hands-free method, and the pasta cooks by absorbing water.

• Assemble the pasta pan by placing the desired amount of pasta in a single layer in a sheet pan or other baking dish.
• Pour over hot tap water to cover the pasta by 1/4 inch.
• Season with salt to taste.
• Transfer to the oven and cook until the pasta is al dente, around 18-22 minutes.
• Remove the pasta from the oven and drain off any remaining water.
• Serve with your favourite sauce.

This method works for various pasta shapes, but it is not ideal for large tube pastas like rigatoni. Small pastas like orzo cook more quickly than long pasta shapes like spaghetti, so start checking the oven after around 18 minutes.

Desserts

A Miele steam oven is a versatile appliance that can help you cook a variety of desserts, ranging from cakes to puddings and cookies. Here are some ideas for delicious treats you can create:

Cakes

Steam ovens are perfect for baking cakes, and a simple chocolate cake is a great option. The steam ensures that the cake turns out moist and tender, and you can easily adapt the recipe to include your children in the baking process. For a fruity twist, try a mango and coconut mochi cake, or opt for a classic chocolate fudge brownie with a rich chocolate ganache.

Puddings

For a festive treat, steamed fruit pudding is a wonderful choice. You can also experiment with different flavours and create your own unique version.

Cookies

If you're looking for something sweet and crunchy, try baking choc chip cornflake cookies in your Miele steam oven. For a more indulgent option, you can make French toast with bananas and blueberries, or go for the classic route with simple, buttery shortbread.

Other Desserts

The options are endless, but some other ideas include steamed custard, sticky honey soy chicken with ice cream, or even a mango ice cream terrine with coconut wafers.

With a Miele steam oven, you can experiment with different flavours and textures to create an array of delicious desserts that will impress your family and friends. So, get creative and have fun exploring the possibilities!

Frequently asked questions