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375 of 380 people found the following review helpful:
Great for all Kitchens... a must have for small kitchens, December 23, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Length:: 5:36 Mins
The Breville Smart Oven is a must-have kitchen appliance. In many/most cases it can serve as a replacement for it larger cousin the conventional oven/range. However, the Smart Oven is much more energy efficient (using roughly 50% less electricity) and can fit into the smallest of kitchens
Things that we enjoy
+ Depending on the setting (Broil/Bake/Toast) you have the ability to manage the temperature zones in the oven. This helps to ensure perfect cooking depending on you individual requirements.
+ The magnetic door helps to prevent any burns (see video)
+ Door seals nicely - reducing energy waste and the unneeded heating of your home.
+ 9 programmable settings - HOWEVER - you also have the ability to tailor the settings to your individual needs.
+ Nice Stainless steel finish will look nice in all kitchens.
+ Despite being stainless steel the surface of the oven does not show too many fingerprints.
+ Three pans included - Pizza - Baking - Broiling
+ Great operating manual
+ Not just a standard toaster oven - this is also a convection oven!
+ AS A OVEN IT WORKS GREAT
Areas to improve
- The cord is a little short (less than 3 feet) - while many people may appreciate a short cord it does mean that you have to have outlet near a space where you plan to use the oven.
- You may not be able to operate other appliances on your electrical circuit - At full heat the Smart Oven will pull between 15-20 amps - make sure that you have at least a 20amp breaker on the plug that you are using.
Final Verdict.... this is an easy 5 stars - purchase with confidence.
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254 of 257 people found the following review helpful:
Beauty and Function - What more can you ask for?, December 30, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I love this product - it is a pleasure to use, functions beautifully, and is beautifully designed.
The other reviewers have already said much of what I would have written. The 'Out of Box Experience' is superb. As another reviewer noted, the packaging is quite a bit like Apple's (see photos) - attractive graphics on an inner box protected in an outer, recyclable box. The oven itself, when compared to the Cuisinart TOB-165 that we have been using (or even the stainless steel TOB-195 model), is like comparing an Apple Mac to a Dell: visually more stylish and appealing, better engineered 'guts', and once operated, functionally very well thought out.
A few years ago, our old toaster oven died and we migrated to the Cuisinart which, like this Breville BOV800XL, is a convection oven / toaster / broiler. We liked it so much, that we gifted several more to friends and family. Ah, if only this Breville had ben available then...
The Breville is so vastly superior in every way - function, capacity, ease of use, and ease of cleaning. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The timer on the Breville turns the oven off at the end of any kind of cycle as you would expect - toast, bagel, bake, broil, pizza, etc.This is hugely wonderful compared to the Cuisinart unit which only turns itself off after toasting - you have to remember to turn it off when in any other mode. (The Cuisinart's timer is 'dumb' - just a beeper.) Also, each Breville cycle has smart default settings, and can remember your own settings for temperature and time, or slices (toast) and darkness, etc.
The BOV800XL accomodates a 13" pizza pan (included). We made two pizzas tonight to test the oven, one fresh (deli) the other frozen. I dialed the 'pizza' setting, dropped the default 450 temperature to 425, accepted convection mode, and accepted the default 12" size for the fresh pizza and pressed the on button. Once preheated, the oven beeped for the pizza to be inserted. At the end of the timed cycle, the oven turned off and beeped again: perfect pizza!
I then did a 9" frozen Amy's pizza. Similar procedure as above, but dialed the size knob down to 9" and pressed the 'frozen food' button. Again, perfect at the end of the cycle.
Toast setting works great - up to 6 pieces of toast, as does the bagel setting, which toasts the top at a higher temp then the bottom to make the top crispy and the bottom warm but still soft. Frozen waffles come out great - crunchy outside and moist inside, instead of all dried out.
For baking, a 13" x 9" baking pan easily fits inside as does, of course, the larger pan that comes with the unit, loaf pans and small muffin pans.
The glass door conveniently labels the three rack positions for broil, toast/cookie/bagel/pizza, and bake/roast/reheat/warm.
The crystalline-looking heating elements (three on top, two on the bottom) seem to heat faster, and more evenly, than the metallic elements in other counter-top ovens. Depending on the mode/cycle, the oven enables or disables certain elements, and changes the wattage of others.
The crumb tray in the front answer another of my big complaints about the Cuininart. No effort to pull the tray out at any time to brush off crumbs, or wash off accidental spills. (The Cuinsart's crumb tray slides out of the rear of that unit, requiring minor gymnastics - enough to put it off until it is really gross.)
The stainless finish and assembly is of high quality, and the oversized handle and control knobs give a feel of quality as well (and match current upper to high end major appliances).
No doubt I'll have more comments after we use the Breville BOV800XL for a few months, but for now, I can only sing its praises.
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Boring details:
Dimension Comparison to Cuisinart TOB-165/195:
The Breville being slightly larger permits it to be used for items that otherwise would have to go into a regular oven. The interior of the Breville is 13 1/2" x 11 1/2" x 5" high (to clear the elements), with a curved recess in the back so that a nearly 13" pizza pan fits. The Cuisinart is 11 1/2" x 9 3/4" x 5" which cannot accommodate pizza, nor a 13 x 9 pan and toasts only 4 pieces of bread.
The small increase in interior space which results in so much greater versatility is at the expense of only an inch of counter space required. The Breville exterior is roughly 18 1/2" wide x 16" deep x 10 3/4" high compared to the Cuisinart 17 1/2" wide x 14" deep x 10" high.
Electrical Notes:
As others note, the oven uses a maximum of 1800 watts, which is basically all that a 15 amp circuit has to offer (most home kitchens will have either 15 or 20 amp circuits). So, you shouldn't use other power hungry appliances on the same circuit as the BOV800XL. As noted in the owner's manual, you must have a grounded 3-prong outlet, which any modern home will have. Even though my kitchen is 20 years old, I'm fortunate that the electrician had included three circuits for appliances so no problems here.
With regard to those concerned about the short cord: do note that electrical codes require that outlets on kitchen counters be serviced by a minimum of two separate circuits and be no more than 2 feet from one another (4 feet at a corner). Even under older codes that permit outlets up to 6' apart, the 3' cord is adequate.
Installation note:
This is a countertop oven. When operating, nothing should be within 4" of any side. Because some people are accustomed to GE/Black and Decker toaster ovens that mount under cabinets, do note that that is NOT an option here because of the high heat and clearances required. You really do need to have enough counter space to accommodate the unit.
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168 of 173 people found the following review helpful:
Like a full-size convection range in a little package -- A+++, December 19, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I am totally in love with this toaster oven! It is a heavy, quality appliance, with numerous handy, smart features. I just got it today, and I will update my review later if needed. I cooked some *perfect* cupcakes in it a little while ago, so I'm going on that experience.
1. The instruction book (with about 30 recipes & ideas) is very easy to understand and follow. We had it up and going in minutes, doing the initial heating for 15 minutes to rid the heating elements of a protective coating. There was some odor (no smoke) with this process, but not that bad, and I just opened a window slightly. After this, there was no smell at all when I cooked.
2. The oven door has magnetized areas that pull the oven rack about half way out when you open the door. It's a great concept, and guess what? -- it works! Makes it so handy to get your food out without reaching in and risking a burn.
3. The interior has .8 cubic feet of space. A 12" x 12" enamel baking pan, with broil rack, and a 13" non-stick pizza pan are included, and fit snugly inside -- a pan any bigger wouldn't fit. I made 12 cupcakes at a time on the pizza pan (using silicone muffin cups) and had plenty of room. (The pizza pan didn't buckle or warp, so it's obviously a sturdy piece.) My 1/4 sheet pan and several other pieces I have fit nicely inside, which I'm so pleased about. This thing fits 6 pieces of toast! (I want to mention that they don't advise using glass baking dishes in the oven. I'm scared of breakage that I've read about, so I don't use glass anymore anyway.)
3. The glass door has markings on it to tell you which position to put the rack in (bottom, middle or top), depending on what you're cooking.
4. The LCD display is very easy to read (esp for someone who needs reading glasses like me). The temperature, function, and time controls are knobs -- similar to stereo control knobs -- and I like that you don't have to keep incessantly punching a button to go up or down; you simply twist to get where you want, and you can go slowly or quickly. Also, there are a minimum of icons (there are 3 buttons for frozen food, convection, & temperature conversion) on the controls -- most functions are spelled out so that you don't have to use a "cheat sheet" to figure out what picture stands for what!
5. The convection feature is very quiet with this oven and you can barely hear it. Some settings such as "bake" are programmed to switch on the convection feature, which keeps down the need to fiddle with several controls to get what you want. I made cupcakes today on bake, and they were done a full 3-4 minutes quicker.
6. The large door handle is easy to grab and open, and stays cool to the touch.
7. The top of the oven gets hot during cooking, so you can keep food warm on a ceramic plate(s) on top while other food cooks. There is also a "cutting board and tray" that can be used on the top but I was unable to find it on Breville's website so I will call them later. (You can also get a pizza stone and pizza crisper.)
8. The crumb tray fits snugly into the front of the unit, and not in the back like other toaster ovens I've had, so removal and cleaning is easy.
The only suggestion that I would have is that a small interior light would be helpful.
As I have always liked about toaster ovens, you don't have to heat up your large oven to bake or cook a meal. And I don't think most of us have convection ranges, so having this feature on a toaster oven is great. I really do have to give this oven 5 stars because it is designed so incredibly well. I may never use my stove again -- except for a full-sized turkey!
UPDATE 12-27-2008: I received an email back from Breville, and they say the accessories for this oven (see#7 above) will be available April 2009. I have been using my Breville daily for a little over a week now, and I can see myself years from now doing the same. Still extremely impressed with this work horse!
UPDATE 3-29-09: According to the Breville website, a pizza stone and a pizza crisper for the Breville Smart Oven will be available for sale 5-9-09. The cutting board and tray that fit on top of the oven has a "TBA" availability date. And I am still considering this toaster oven one of the best I've ever come across!
UPDATE 6-08-09: *Another* delay from Breville for the cutting board/tray and the pizza stone -- those will be available at the BrevilleUSA website (and here at Amazon, I suppose) this month (June 2009), unless they change the date once again. A pizza crisper will be available in July 2009. I continue to use my SmartOven daily, and it has a prominent place in my kitchen.
UPDATE 12-21-09: Looks like all the accessories mentioned are now available at the Breville site. Hope they are soon available on Amazon and available with Prime shipping!
UPDATE: 5-23-10: I see that the accessories for this oven are now available on Amazon. I must say that the prices seem outrageous, and similar accessories at lower prices are made by other manufacturers, which I would explore if I needed/wanted them. I have the Petite Broil and Roast pan by Chicago Metallic (one of my favorite brands of bakeware) and it works wonderfully in this oven. C.M. also makes a whole toaster oven set, including a muffin tin.
It's 1 1/2 years later, and I still use my Breville almost every day -- still love it and not one hint of problems. Crumb tray in the front is SO very easy to pull out and to keep clean.
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57 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
Efficient, Convenient, Easy to Use! Quirks With Steam and Evenness., January 15, 2009
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Length:: 1:22 Mins
How many times do you fire up your enormous oven just to bake a few cookies for the kids? You might spend 1/2 an hour to preheat the oven, then 10 more minutes heating your lonely cookie sheet along with the rest of the unused space around it! It's a pretty inefficient process both in terms of time and energy usage.
The Breville Smart Oven offers a compelling solution to save both time and energy for smaller jobs! Preheating the Breville's relatively small space takes minutes and saves a lot of time in doing so! My wife says preparing the bread and melted cheese of French Onion Soup takes 10 minutes with The Smart Oven when it used to take 40 with our gas oven!
The instrumentation is very usable (see video) and I found the product to be exceptionally well designed with features like included non-stick pans and a magnetized door that pulls the baking tray part way out to help you retrieve what you're cooking.
The only complaints are that the back of the oven toasts a little more than the front, and the appliance is designed to have any cooking steam exit out the front door of the unit (which looks unusual, but doesn't really affect anything).
The Breville Smart Oven is an outstanding appliance, however, and I highly recommended it to save you time and energy for small cooking jobs!
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42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
The "Apple" of convection ovens, December 29, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
I'm a fan of all things Mac so I often use my admiration for Apple as a reference for reviewing products. First, the package arrived today without a dent. It ships in a Breville box (be careful it you ship it as a surprise) inside another box. It is very well packed so there was no damage. Unboxing the oven reminded me of unpacking an Apple product. They really want you to feel that you have just purchased something great. The box is no ordinary convection oven box. But you don't buy an oven because of the box, right? I've posted a photo of what comes with the oven. You get a crumb tray, a wire rack, a two-piece broiler pan and a non-stick pizza pan. That's a good amount of extra stuff. Note that Breville recommends that the broiler pan not go in the dishwasher as it is enamel coated so it's going to take some elbow grease.
This is my third convection oven, My first was a Black and Decker. It was terrible but I bought it before Al Gore invented the internet so there were no reviews to read. The second was a top-rated Cuisinart. The controls on the Cuisinart cracked, warped, toasted and ceased functioning after a year. So I was very excited to get an oven with sturdy knobs and a stainless steel front. Many reviewers have noted the magnetic wire rack device. It's not rocket science. They put two magnets in the door that grab the wire rack when it is in the middle slot. That's the only slot in which the magnets work. It is a nice feature.
I baked a California Pizza Kitchen pizza. It turned out great. These pizzas, although delicious, are notoriously messy. They tend to drip grease and cheese. It did get a little smokey when the drippings hit the bottom elements. The design of the crumb tray catches all this junk for easy clean-up. You won't have to scrub junk off the bottom of the inside of the oven because the bottom pulls out and goes right into the sink.
The next test was toast. Although it's best to use an actual toaster for toast, this oven did a much better job toasting bread than my other ovens, especially the Cuisinart. I started with two slices of sourdough placed in the center. I posted a photo showing you the results. Please note that I flipped over the piece on the right showing you the bottom. It actually turned out better than either of my previous ovens. However, it took over 5 minutes to get this result so it's not quick. But if you get upset waiting over five minutes for toast, then you have other problems.
The top of the oven does get warm, which will come in handy as a food warmer. The handle is sturdy. I appreciate that it does not connect to the front glass.
The electronic controls are very intuitive (like an iPhone) and easy to use. The computer sensor inside seems to work as advertised. This next point is minor but the electrical cord is rather short. The plug-in is a unique design that sticks out farther from the wall than most cords. This might be bad if you have limited counter space and the outlet you're using is directly behind the oven. It sticks straight out of the wall by about four inches. I'm not sure why they designed it that way but for some people this might be a frustration.
What I cannot tell you is how this oven will perform over the months and years ahead. I am hoping that this oven will outperform the expensive Cuisinart. I'll revise this review this summer after we've used it for a while.
Overall, I'm very impressed with this oven. Breville seems to have done some great research on convection ovens. It will be interesting to see how Consumer Reports and the folks at America's Test Kitchen will rate this oven in the future. I'm guessing it will do very well.
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33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
You will LOVE this oven--BUY IT!!!, May 3, 2009
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Before I go into details, first let me say that this has become one of my very favorite kitchen small appliances! I do have some that I feel are equal to it (my KitchenAid stand mixer, my Breville one-cup coffee brewer, and my Zojirushi bread machine) but I don't think any surpass this quality oven. I believe that when I make the decision to purchase a small appliance, I should buy the one I feel to be the best so I don't regret it later on. So, yes, I have spent more money than I had to but, at the same time, I have been not been disappointed with these outstanding appliances.
So far, everything I have made with this toaster/convection oven has turned out perfectly. I find it hard to think of this as a toaster oven, as it is so much more. I know I can prepare family size roasts in it with no problem. The function settings are Toast, Bagel, Bake, Roast, Broil, Pizza, Cookies, Reheat, and Warm. I don't think it's possible that there is even one that I won't use. I have had this wonderful oven for only 4 days and I have used Toast and Bake several times and Broil, Pizza, Cookies and Warm at least once.
I really appreciate the fact that the timer can be set up to 2 hours (some toaster ovens can be set for only 30 minutes) and that at the end of the timed cycle, it automatically shuts off. I know that I can sometimes become very distracted when preparing dinner and could easily forget to shut the oven off as soon as I should.
As far as not being able to use aluminum foil and glass pans, I contacted the company and they said both were allowable with some precautions. Aluminum foil must never touch the quartz heating elements plus using too much foil in the oven can cause overheating and glass pans must not be used if you plan on cooking with unusually high temperatures, such as when broiling. I plan on being very careful with both but I don't view this as a problem. As far as I know, these are actually restrictions on most or all toaster ovens due to the smaller size and higher heat concentrations, but rarely mentioned.
The controls are intuitive and I think, in most cases, this oven can be used without referring to the manual. It is really a "no-brainer". I have read other reviewers mentioning that the knobs are not as substantial as they would like but to me, this is not an issue. I really don't know how weighty they are (or aren't) but they function well and look good, so that's really all I care about.
This oven is easy to clean, especially since you can use spray cleaners. You have to spray your cleaning cloth or sponge and not spray directly into the oven but that works just fine. I love the fact that the crumb tray, which conveniently pulls out from the front of the oven, is the entire bottom of the oven.
The electrical plug, of all things, is also a bonus! It has a large hole in the middle in which to insert your finger to help remove it from the outlet. This seems minor but is much better than having to "wiggle" a tight-fitting 3-prong grounded plug to remove it from the wall. This is really attention to detail! The cord is short (for safety reasons) but works fine for me. However, if your outlet is not conveniently located, I have found in the hardware store extension cords that have 3-prong grounded outlets and are rated for major appliances.
The one minor problem I had was when I broiled some steaks, the kitchen filled with smoke. But I'm sure that was my error and the next time, I will put the rack one notch further from the heating elements. It probably would have been okay if they were 1" thick or less but these were rather thick steaks and barely fit under the elements. But, despite the smoke, the steaks were juicy and delicious and the oven was an easy clean-up.
The ONLY complaint I can think of (and this is REALLY minor) is that there is no interior light. I was aware of this when I purchased it and I now keep a small flashlight alongside of the oven. This isn't really necessary but I love to be able to take a peek at what I'm cooking.
I made a frozen pizza and my husband actually LOVED it (he usually HATES frozen pizza) since it came out tender and crispy, yet the cheese was not burned.
I made toast and it was evenly browned on both sides (with, of course, unavoidable grid marks on the bottom) with a wonderful crispy texture and great taste.
I also made baked potatoes which were plump and beautifully cooked on the inside with a nice crisp skin on the outside, unlike some I have prepared in my regular oven that became shrunken and hard.
I also made a frozen dinner (not a great accomplishment, I know) but I used the convection feature and lowered the recommended temperature by 25 degrees and did not bake it any longer than instructed and it came out fully cooked with the gravy for the Salisbury steak bubbling. So the convection feature really does work--and very nicely, I would say--it is so quiet!
And the last thing I made was a batch of cookies. They were super large and I upped the preset time by two minutes and they came out PERFECT!
In conclusion, I am very happy with this purchase and if I had it to do over, I would buy it again without hesitation. This was very well thought out, both technically and cosmetically, and is sure to be an asset to any kitchen. So don't hesitate, GET IT!!!
Update 11/4/09--I am still lovin' this oven! Seriously, I find I use it much more than I thought I would, as it is so-o-o convenient. Besides functioning perfectly, it is at countertop level, which I find very helpful. If something needs to go in an oven, the only thing that makes me use my full size oven is if the item doesn't fit in this one. But most everything fits and cooks to perfection. If something happened to this one, I have become so dependent on it that I would buy another one without hesitation! I have even put my toaster away and I am tempted to sell it at my next garage sale.
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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
Amazing Full Featured Oven..., December 21, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
There's nothing little about this "toaster oven". It's about twice the size of my cheapo Black & Decker toaster oven. On the other hand, it's quite a bit smaller than my Electrolux convection double oven, and has pretty much the same features. From a size perspective I struggle with whether to keep this or not because of the counter space it will occupy. It's really too big to stow away like I currently do with my old toaster oven.
At $249 this oven is significantly more expensive than the other ones out there. In my current situation I would not pay that much money for an oven like this because I feel like I can get close to the same thing with my double oven, which has a lower oven that is for smaller jobs. In my last house which had a regular crappy GE oven with no convection, this oven would have been a lifesaver because it has the convection, a lot of neat features, and can cook almost everything except for a large meal.
I tested this oven on the "Toast" mode, and it works perfectly. It allows you to choose from 1-6 slices, and adjusts the time accordingly. In fact, it also adjusts the time if the oven is cold, or if it's still warm from recent use. On a "cold start", one slice takes 4 minutes, and 6 slices take about 5 minutes. The oven allows you to choose from light to dark. I feel like if I keep this oven I can eliminate my toaster, which will help.
I also tested this oven baking some corn dogs and pigs-in-a-blanket for the kids, and it worked very well. You can set it to "Bake", select your temperature and length of time, hit start, and it preheats the oven, then lets you know when its ready. It will then start counting down the time as soon as the oven is hot. It beeps to let you know it's done.
I have not cooked a pizza yet, but I looked at the program and it looks like you select "Pizza", put your frozen pizza on the provided no stick pizza pan, slide it in, hit the "frozen" button (looks like a snow flake), choose the size of the pizza (13" or smaller), and then hit start. Babysitter proof pizza cooking....I like this a lot.
The controls on this oven are very intuitive. I have yet to crack the owner's manual, and don't feel like I need to.
I like the blue control screen...very easy to read, and looks very high tech.
The oven gets hot on the outside (duh!) everywhere except the control pad and door handle, so be careful where you touch it. The oven has nice big rubber no-slip feet that keep the oven elevated about 1" above your counter top. So don't be afraid of it possibly damaging your counter if your surface is susceptible to heat damage.
The glass door has indicators printed on the front that tell you which of the 3 rack settings to use for a given purpose. They are as follows: Top Rack = Broil, Middle Rack = Toast, Cookie, Bagel, Pizza, Bottom Rack = Bake, Roast, Reheat, Warm. I think this is a cool feature.
The oven has 4 burner elements...twice as many as my smaller toaster oven. I think this oven has the power and room inside to roast a whole chicken.
The rack automatically slides out when you open the door, and when you close the door it pushes the rack back inside the oven without you having to touch it. This is also a very cool feature.
All of the components of this oven look and feel like they are built with a lot of quality. I'm not that familiar with Breville as a manufacturer, but I am impressed by this oven. The stainless steel finish is of a quality tht matches my professional grade appliances.
In summary, if you have the counter space and a normal featureless oven, this is a great oven to have. You'll pay a premium, but the oven is of high enough quality and features that I think you won't be disappointed. If you have limited counter space or already have ovens with advanced features you may not need this.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
The Rolls Royce of convection toaster ovens, December 26, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
Prior to obtaining this oven, I was already somewhat familiar with its manufacturer, Breville. Not only are they known for producing a high-quality product, but I've always appreciated the effort that they put forth into making an item using quality design elements as well. Most all Breville products look great and this oven is no exception. It has an industrial look to it that will fit in well with any decor, but it goes especially well with my modern, urban tastes.
The materials used in its construction appear to be top-notch. This Breville oven seems to be built like a tank and it exudes quality. It is heavy, substantial and solid. One gets the impression that it will last a very long time.
When I first read about the product, I frankly thought that the price seemed to be a bit high for a "toaster oven". Now that I've used it, I can sincerely say that the price is most reasonable for a product of this quality. In fact, my girlfriend, who already owns a Breville blender, liked my oven so much that she is going to buy one for herself.
While the controls are fairly intuitive, you do need to pay a bit of attention to things. For example, you cannot simply cook a pizza by dialing in its size and walking away. I cooked a 12" thin crust pizza that was frozen and the default cooking time was 22 minutes. That would have been way too long for this particular pizza. Perhaps it would have been the proper setting for a pizza with a thicker crust, but not for a thin crust pizza. So again, pay attention.
The cooking is really quite fast using the convection feature. I can cook a quesadilla in a few minutes. So while it's not as fast as a microwave, it still cooks very quickly and of course it will brown the food, which the microwave cannot do.
I've reheated several food items and it did a great job there as well. Amongst these items were several slices of the aforementioned leftover thin crust pizza slices after they had been stored in the fridge for a day. Had I thrown them in the microwave, I'd have eaten pizza slices with a soggy crust. Yuck. But even after a day in the refrigerator, this oven crisped the crust just like it had been the day before when it arrived fresh out of the oven.
The size of the oven is on the large side. You need to have a decent amount of available real estate on your countertop, so if you are unsure that it will fit, get out your measuring tape just to be certain. The size of the oven is roughly 18.5" wide x 10.5" high x 12.5" inches deep excluding the handle. Including the door's handle, the oven would be about 14.5" deep. The obvious upside to the large size is that you have quite a bit of cooking space inside, so this item is more of an oven than a toaster where I think that most competing products are just the opposite.
The display is bright and I found it to be easy to read. However, I wouldn't have minded if they had included a clock, which would have been a simple and inexpensive feature to add. I would have also liked to see an interior light. While the magnets do pull the rack out halfway when the door is opened, that feature only works when the rack is in the middle position. Perhaps in the future, they could extend the vertical reach of the magnets so that the feature will extend the rack irrespective of the rack's position within the oven.
It's true that the oven does get somewhat hot, but I suppose one should expect that. However, it's not hot beyond reason and certainly throws off far less heat than a conventional oven. Preheating is a fast process and the oven reaches the desired temperature quickly. A button is provided to convert the displayed temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius. This is a feature that won't be used often, but could come in handy when converting recipes.
The bottom line is that this is a slam dunk 5 star product. I wouldn't even think to give it a lower rating for one moment. It's actually one of the best looking, best designed and best performing products of any type that I can recall using in quite some time. Breville definitely put a lot of thought, research and engineering into this one. I strongly recommend this product.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
Wonderful oven with a variety of options, December 25, 2008
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Program (What's this?)
This toaster oven is a bit pricier than more basic models out there, but, if you're willing to spend a bit more, it has a great array of features that make the price a great value and that also provide more versatility in how you can use this appliance.
The oven itself is very large; it can toast up to six slices of bread, and is roomy enough to hold a fairly good sized frozen pizza. It also comes with a 13-inch round pizza pan and a 12 x 12 broiling dish, along with the standard rack. An insert that came in the box also mentioned that you can order various other inserts for the oven, such as a pizza stone, if you'd like even more options in cooking and baking.
The oven also contains three slots to position the rack, depending on what you are making. This is a really nice feature since it allows you to make sure that your food is evenly cooked and properly positioned next to the heating elements.
The digital control module on this is also fantastic. I honestly get a bit worried when appliances begin to look too complicated and I have to read the instruction manual, but the controls on this are very intuitive and user-friendly, and, for the basic cooking features I've used it for so far, I have only had to take a quick peek at the starter's manual, although eventually I will get out the larger Instruction Manual (which includes some recipes) to try out more of the features on this.
The oven has nine settings for things like toast, bagels, frozen pizzas, cookies, etc. that are pre-programmed, but you also have the option of entering your own information to customize how you would like something cooked. When you are using the oven, the control module lights up in a blue color, but, once you are finished cooking, the blue light shuts off after ten minutes (which was a relief for me since I didn't want to have to see a blue light on in my kitchen all the time).
As with any new toaster oven, it does take a little bit of playing with the settings to find those that fit how you like your food. For instance, I used the "middle" toast setting when making my frozen waffles this morning (which is the setting I've been using on our old toaster oven), and it made the waffles a bit too brown for my tastes. As mentioned, though, that just will take a bit of trial and error. Overall, the cooking and toasting aspects of this are great, and the food that I have made it in so far has turned out to be evenly cooked and great, due to the fantastic heating elements.
Someone mentioned in a previous review that the cord is a bit short, but it's not any shorter than cords on other toaster ovens or small kitchen appliances we've owned in the past. In fact, the attention to detail is so fantastic on this Breville oven that there is even a finger hole in the large, thick plug that makes pulling it from the wall very easy.
Overall, this is definitely a five-star product!
Edit on 12/31/08: I wanted to update my review to say that I baked a batch of muffins in this yesterday, and they came out great. This oven is big enough to hold my regular-sized 12-muffin baking tin (which our old toaster oven couldn't do), and the muffins themselves came out light and fluffy.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Falling in love., January 3, 2009
This review is from: Breville BOV800XL The Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ (Kitchen)
I've used it for 3 days now and am a complete fan. I wasted a day because I took the time to read the manual & it scares you by repeating on every page to NOT use foil. I already suffer from being a worry wart but decided this time to disregard the warnings & use my common sense. I would say...just don't cover the elements with foil. But who does that, anyway?
This oven is really wonderful. Tonight I used it to reheat the quiche I made last night (in the oven) & it reheated perfectly; unlike other times in other ovens, where it turns out to be a guessing game. An interior light would be perfect. That's the only down side for me.
As with other appliances I have purchased thru Amazon, the reviews are a great help & often enough, help make the sale. Thanks to all those who take the time to review.
I got this Breville Smart Oven for a Xmas present & am sold on it 100 percent. It IS a smart oven.
Five stars.
January 21, 2010....Well, I've used my oven for a full year now & wish I could give it 10 stars! Just the reheat function alone would sell this for me. I have never before reheated a leftover dish that came out still moist when it should be or crisp when it should be. Wow!
Actually, I do cook from scratch most of the time. I realize that the way I rave about the reheat button that I sound as though we exist on just leftovers...but well, all of the functions are excellent.
This was the smartest & best purchase I made last year.
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