Knapp Monarch Redi-Baker

[michaelman2]

Decided to make some homemade biscuits tonight.   Did not want to heat up the large oven and decided to get my grandmother's small oven out.  Many batches of perfect biscuits were prepared using this little workhorse.  

 

Hans, I bet a dollar you have one of these?

 

[tolivac]

What a neat little machine!!Never seen one of these.

 

[mixguy]

Redi-Baker

I have only seen them advertised, never seen them for sale. I grew up a rural area and never seen any K & M appliances in the stores. Toastmaster, Hamilton Beach, Sunbeam, GE, Westinghouse, Universal, and some Dormeyer small appliances in the stores. Guess these were sold in the larger department stores in the 1950s until K&M were bought out. In the 1960s the flip-flop oven broilers became popular and brands such as Munsey, Dominion became known. Lots of women saved trading stamps to purchase small appliances as a gift to themselves. Until the toaster oven made the scene, I can see a Redi-Baker useful in baking 6 or fewer biscuits. I don't think a 6 cup muffin tin would fit.

 

[mixguy]

Redi-Baker

I have only seen them advertised, never seen them for sale. I grew up a rural area and never seen any K & M appliances in the stores. Toastmaster, Hamilton Beach, Sunbeam, GE, Westinghouse, Universal, and some Dormeyer small appliances in the stores. Guess these were sold in the larger department stores in the 1950s until K&M were bought out. In the 1960s the flip-flop oven broilers became popular and brands such as Munsey, Dominion became known. Lots of women saved trading stamps to purchase small appliances as a gift to themselves. Until the toaster oven made the scene, I can see a Redi-Baker useful in baking 6 or fewer biscuits. I don't think a 6 cup muffin tin would fit.

 

[appnut]

Mike, that's quite terrific.  there are two on Ebay. 

 

[gyrafoam]

Hey, that's pretty cool. Looks a lot more solid than a Toast-r-Oven.

 

[norgeway]

Yep

I have one and the larger Redi Oven, these bake biscuits as good as any oven.

 

[michaelman2]

Tolivac, I had never seen one besides the one my grandmother had when I was at her home in the Summertime.   Once Ebay became relevant, I was collecting all the time.   They seemed to be sold in the West and Midwest.  

 

Mixguy, I remember the brands you remember as well.   This little oven really is very basic and there is no insulation surrounding the oven compartment or even the thermostat knob.  The whole thing really heats up.  You are right this was the precursor to the toaster oven.   You are also right, six regular size biscuits work perfectly.  A small cake in the rectangular pan works nicely as well.  A six cup muffin tin will not fit.   

 

Appnut, I checked out the Ebay listings.   Hans mentioned the "Redi-Oven" which is just a bit larger than the Redi-Bake, and it is really good as well.  I have one but the thermostat is bad.   The other one listed is cool too.   I started collecting them and went overboard.

 

Gyrafoam, you are right, it is indeed solid.   This little thing heats up quickly and does not guzzle power like a full size oven.   

 

Hans, Agreed, they really do bake biscuits wonderfully.

 

[spacepig]

We found one of these at a thrift/antique store yesterday. It's cute and it does work. Haven't dried baking anything in there yet as it still needs a good cleaning.

 

[michaelman2]

Jeannine,

That is in nice shape. The thermostats on these units were not always correct so make sure you heat it up with a thermometer and check it out. They bake biscuits and other items to perfection.

They get very hot on top and once you have the temperature dial set and the unit turned on, it is too hot to adjust without a potholder or insulated glove.

 

[launderess]

Same issue with my vintage Westbend "Ovenette"

Have said for ages the thing and similar portable ovens would never pass muster today. Far to many safety hazards, especially for burns.

With the Ovenette once it comes to temp the only "cool" bits are the knob and feet. Everything else including the dial are far to hot for touching without a pot holder or something.

 

[spacepig]

Thank you Mike and Launderess for the comments. I'm anxious to try it out for curiosity's sake. I appreciate the reminder about how hot these things can get, so I'll be sure to have a potholder or oven mitt handy.

Mine came with one small tray and one large tray. Does anyone know if there was another smaller tray, or was it just the two?

 

[michaelman2]

Jeannine,

I noticed the smaller pan you photographed. I think this was a pan someone added to the oven. As Hans mentioned several months ago, there is a larger version of the Redi Baker called Redi Oven. I have several of both and have never seen the smaller pan you found in your oven.

The larger Redi Oven has a square pan that fits perfectly within the larger Redi Oven. The Redi Baker pan, as you also have is the rectangular pan and fits perfectly in the Redi Baker.

A quick tip that I use with these ovens: I heat one and with a oven thermometer inside. I adjust the temp dial and when I get it to the temp I want, (typically 400f for my use) and unplug it. When I want to bake in it, I simply plug it in.

 

[michaelman2]

Small Video on the larger Redi Oven

Jeannine...could not edit my posting above, however this is a small commercial showing the Redi Oven.

http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iv8gqY8epSA

 

[launderess]

Keep in mind you may have to adjust temp and time

For whatever you are baking, roasting, cooking...

Unlike large ovens you aren't heating up much air with these units. Find cakes are done a bit faster than when using regular oven, and often may have to lower the temp just a bit to prevent over browning.

To keep energy use down have a huge piece of "oven insulation" (can't recall where I bought it from) to keep some of that radiant heat from escaping.

Originally bought the stuff to use with my Maxim countertop convection oven that has NO insulation what so ever. But works well enough with the Ovenette as well.

 

[twintubdexter]

glad to know these work well

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">I enjoy looking at vintage small appliances on ebay and always see several of these Redi Ovens for sale, It figures if they sold a lot of them then they must do a good job. Maybe I'll get one. I don't like heating up a big oven for something small for a meatloaf  There's a space under the sink in the guest bathroom to keep it. The kitchen filled up long ago.</span>

 

[michaelman2]

Ovens listed on Ebay

Joe, as you mention, there are several Redi Bakers and Redi Ovens Lister on Ebay. There are several that look to be in good shape aestically. Make sure they include the small baking pan that is designed to fit the model you select. You are also correct when you say they must be built to last. In the original post I mentioned that the one I use almost daily now, was my grandmother’s.

Laundress’ idea of placing insulation on top of the unit is a great one. I had an old metallic ironing board cover that I cut to the shape of the oven and placed several layers of the same pattern on top of each other, creating a good deal of insulation.

These ovens heat up and there is very little, if any insulation in the surround. Hence the warnings about the possibility of an injury if you were to inadvertently touch the oven while in use.

Laundress was also correct about vintage and antique small ovens not being able to pass todays safety standards. I believe manufacturers relied on a bit more common sense than they can, these days.

 

[twintubdexter]

Mike...

<span style="font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;">You last comment is an excellent one.</span>

 

[spacepig]

Thank you all for the helpful information.

Mike--in all the pictures I could find, I never saw a smaller square pan, so it's probably correct that it came from something else. Also, thanks for the link to the video, it was fun to watch.

Launderess and Mike--those are great ideas about adding some insulation. Better to be safe than sorry. While I think both my husband and I have common sense, we are both a bit klutzy, so that extra protection may help prevent some inadvertent burns!

Joe--will try and cook something in it this weekend and give a report on the results.

The person we brought it from was the original owner, and he said he and his wife used it often, and that it cooked a mean cornbread. He was prior military, and he and his wife collected stuff from their travels all over the world. Upon retirement, they realized they had way too much stuff, so decided to empty their storage units and open a thrift/antique store to help get rid of some of it. I bought a vintage beehive hair dryer from them also (turquoise of course).