Did you know you can cook bread with steam?
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I have a confession to make, I love food.
Not in a casual, “I enjoy dining out” sort of way but in a way that traces back to my early days as a journalist in London’s Fleet Street. I was young, ambitious, and completely broke. So, while chasing crime stories by day, I did what any financially challenged aspiring reporter would do: I took a part-time job at The Dorchester, and later The Savoy, working in their kitchens and as a silver grill waiter.
It was meant to be survival work. A way to pay the rent. A way to eat.
Instead, it became an education.
Working alongside some of the finest chefs in the world, many of whom went on to own celebrated restaurants, I learned lessons I didn’t fully appreciate at the time. Precision. Timing. Discipline. And above all, the importance of equipment that performs without compromise. A great oven, I discovered, isn’t just a box that produces heat. It is the backbone of a kitchen. Consistency is everything.
Fast forward several decades, and several houses later.
Having built four homes in Australia, I’ve developed a very clear view of what constitutes a serious cooking system. Today’s kitchen is no longer about a standalone oven. It’s about integration: steam, microwave, induction, air fry, convection, working seamlessly together.
Recently my wife and I completed a new build in Mosman. My wife was both project manager and interior designer on this home. After considerable research – and more debate than I care to admit – we chose NEFF: specifically, the C29MY7M oven, paired with the B69FY5C Combi Steam Oven, induction cooktop, and a warming drawer elegantly installed between the two ovens.
The decision wasn’t made lightly.
In the past, we’ve owned Miele, partly because there was once a well-worn real estate saying that you needed Miele appliances to sell a premium home. That may once have been true. It certainly isn’t now. The premium apartment market across Sydney and the Gold Coast tells a different story, with brands like V-ZUG, Gaggenau, AEG and integrated Fisher & Paykel increasingly defining luxury.
For us, the clincher with NEFF was not just performance, though that matters enormously, but intelligent design.
Design That Actually Thinks
The first thing you notice is how good these ovens look. NEFF’s Flex Design, with its signature Slide & Hide doors is not a gimmick. In a working kitchen – especially when cooking for a crowd – that extra space makes a tangible difference. Doors that disappear are surprisingly liberating.
BSH, the German company behind NEFF (and Gaggenau), clearly understands aesthetic nuance. Finishes range from brushed bronze to deep black, metallic silver and anthracite grey. They feel engineered, not merely styled.
But design is nothing without usability.
I am reasonably technology literate. My wife, less so, and she would be the first to say it. So, whatever we installed had to be intuitive. I have no interest in appliances that require a navigation degree just to roast a chicken.
This is where NEFF excels.
The magnetic Twist Pad control knob is genuinely clever. It eliminates the need to jab endlessly at a screen. You magnetically attach it to either side of the display and rotate to select options. It can even move between compatible NEFF products. It’s simple, tactile and refreshingly logical.
Tap your cooking mode, microwave, steam, grill, CircoTherm — set your temperature and time, and you’re off. Each mode includes an information button explaining exactly what it does. No guesswork.
The display shows an estimated cooking time that refines itself after 10–15 minutes, becoming increasingly accurate. When the target temperature is reached, you’re given sensible options: finish, extend cooking, rest, or keep warm.
It feels engineered by people who actually cook.
Precision Where It Matters
My greatest frustration with many ovens over the years has been temperature inconsistency. Set it to 180°C and you might get 170°C — or 195°C depending on the mood of the thermostat.
Both NEFF ovens deliver remarkably stable heat.
I once read a review where thermal beads were used to test temperature variance in a NEFF oven. The deviation was negligible. In daily use over the past four months, that consistency has proven true. Whether cooking for 18 guests or preparing a quick dinner for two, the results are repeatable.
General cooking modes are extensive – CircoTherm, top/bottom heat, Circo roasting, bread baking, low-temperature cooking, dough proving, full-surface grill, and more. Many are compatible with the temperature probe, which automatically shuts the oven down once your chosen internal temperature is reached. For someone mildly obsessive about overcooking, this is invaluable.
The warming drawer, installed between the two ovens, is another understated hero. It keeps food at precisely controlled temperatures, preventing that dreaded overcooked finish while you wait for guests to arrive.
Steam, Connectivity and Sanity
Steam cooking deserves special mention. Continuous steam levels can be added during cooking, or you can use Steam Jet, a short burst ideal for bread and rolls, which emerge beautifully crisp rather than soggy. Steam cooking is not only efficient but healthier.
The discreetly hidden water tank slides out via a touch switch, and for those alarmed by instructions to pour 400ml of water into the oven cavity, don’t be. It won’t flood your kitchen.
The ovens connect via Wi-Fi to Home Connect, allowing remote access and monitoring. It’s useful without being intrusive.
Cleaning options range from Easy Clean steam cycles to full pyrolytic self-cleaning, which incinerates grease at high temperatures. In most cases, the steam cleaning function is more than adequate and stops food from drying out.
The Real Test
After four months of consistent use, what stands out is this: these ovens make cooking easier without dumbing it down.
Time is precious in most households.
Even though our children are now grown, I remember those evenings when dinner had to be efficient and quickly cooked.
Today, with built-in air fry, steam, microwave and conventional cooking options combined into one system, the flexibility is extraordinary and NEFF have a winner in the way that multiple technologies have been designed and integrated without any compromises on the cooking experience.
But flexibility is meaningless without reliability.
From my days in the kitchens of The Dorchester and The Savoy, I learned that great cooking is built on controlled heat. Decades later, after building homes and testing more appliances than I care to recall, I can say this: these NEFF ovens deliver.
They are beautifully designed, technologically intelligent, and — most importantly — they cook with precision.
And for someone who once worked two jobs just to stay fed, that matters.
The only real con is that NEFF manuals are a nightmare to understand, so be patient.
