I have seen ads for the Rofco, and while it looks great, the price is pretty steep, and while the B5 is only 1,300 watts, which would be no problem for a 120 volt line, it comes as 240 which means running a special outlet for it.
After seeing what Danny has done with a steam generator http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/61210/external-steam-generator and my own experiments with a combi oven, http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/60910/tartine-bread-combi-oven which were good, but having the fan going the whole time was drying out the bread, i decided to try to imitate the Rofco in my Cadco convection oven.
The Cadco is a true convection oven, meaning it has no bottom element, at least not my model, and the heat is supplied by an element in the rear, and a fan moves the heat, so there is no way to generate heat without the fan.
I loaded the oven with 3 firebricks, and then a pizza stone, and preheated it at 525.
I didn't time how long it took, and did some errands. When I was ready to launch, I turned off the oven, then sprayed a hand held steamer for about 45 seconds into a pipe which I had connected to the rear port in the oven. I kept the oven off for the next ten minutes, and the loaf rose beautifully ( Hamelman's Baguettes De Tradition using 100% AP flour ). I then opened the door to vent the moisture, then turned the oven back , on to finish the bake.
I won't say it is a good as a Rofco, but I was quite pleased with the results for the first trial.
Well done Barry - a good solution to the severe limitations of a convection only oven for bread baking. I'm lucky because my oven has top and bottom elements as well as convection.
Your solution reminds me of this TFL post I found a while ago, though I think Rodger's is an oven of no return!
Lance
Thanks, I had not seen that page. He was much more adventurous than me. Good for you having top and bottom elements, that would be ideal.