My Review Of The Breville Smart Convection Toaster Oven

To say I love kitchen stuff is somewhat of an understatement. I LOVE tools and gadgets and appliances for the kitchen. Most of all, I enjoy well designed kitchen products that make life easier, are beautiful, and make cooking more enjoyable.

One of the products that I think can make a huge difference in cooking is a great toaster oven.  A good one can act as a second oven and even replace your large oven most of the time.   A quality toaster oven heats up more quickly than a conventional oven, can make left overs that are more tasty then microwaved ones, and can produce an energy savings for your house. That being said, I have had cheap toaster ovens in the past and found that they break easily and are hard to clean. So this time I was looking for an countertop convection oven that would look great in my kitchen and worked very well. I also wanted something that was easy to clean. After doing some serious research to find the best toaster oven and looking over many toaster oven reviews, I came up with was the Breville BOV800XL 1800 Watt Convection Toaster Oven.

What to Look for When Buying Convection Toaster Ovens

I realized pretty quickly that there are some important things to look for when buying a toaster convection oven. These are:

• The amount of watts or power
• The technology
• The functions of the oven
• Convection cooking that works
• Looks
• How big it is
• Ease of cleaning

If you did what I did the first time I bought one of these and  just go out and buy a toaster oven only based on price then you are looking for it to burn out on you and fast. This is even more true if you are planning on using your oven on a regular basis. So stay with me now as I will go into detail with each of the above points and how they relate to the BOV800XL Breville toaster oven.

How Much Power?

Countertop convection ovens can be extremely versatile appliances in your kitchen, but only if they have enough power to toast, bake, broil, and reheat. If they don’t have enough power then they are basically glorified toasters and won’t function as well as you would like. More power means quicker heating times as well as more flexibility in cooking. In fact enough power actually gives you superior toasting results as well, because it allows the outside of the toast to crisp, while keeping the inside soft and moist. Think about how you will use your oven. If you would like to be able to prepare food like a conventional oven without having to heat up the whole house than having enough power is key.

The Breville BOV800XL 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven has an unprecedented 1800 watts of power making it the most powerful toaster convection oven on the market. Because it has so much power you will want to operate it on a circuit by itself for best results.

It may seem strange, but having a toaster oven this powerful will actually save you electricity. That is because this appliance takes up to 50% less electricity than your oven for the same tasks and will actually replace your oven much of the time.

Tapping into Technology.

If you buy a toaster then you expect it to make toast, right? But if you buy a toaster oven, then you expect it to do a whole lot more, and this one does not disappoint. This stainless steel toaster oven is feature rich with many technologies that make cooking both fun and easy. One of the best features of this appliance is the Element IQ. This controls the heat in very specific ways for different tasks. The results are crisper toast, more tender meats, and perfectly baked cookies.

Most toaster ovens have a toast, broil, and bake feature, but the Breville BO800XL takes it a big step further. For instance, when cooking bagels Element IQ cycles the cooking elements so that it crisps just the top of the bagel and leaves the inside chewy, and it does it automatically with a single setting.

Another customer favorite in this oven is the auto-eject feature for the baking rack. When you have the baking rack set to the center position, the baking rack will automatically slide out half way when you open the door. One thing to keep in mind is that if you open the door too quickly the rack can pop out too far. This is because the auto-eject feature is accomplished with magnets, and pulling to quickly makes the magnets pull too hard. Just pull the door evenly and at a medium speed and the rack will slide out like magic, even if it is completely full. If you have ever burned your wrist or arm trying to get a rack out of an oven, you know how great this feature is!

If you are a cooking enthusiast like me then you will love the plate warming feature. The top of the oven is designed to warm your plates for serving while it is in use. You can put two plates on top of the oven at a time to get them warm for the table. Talk about restaurant quality results.

Fabulous Functions:

The best toaster ovens come with easy to use functions that make cooking much easier. The Breville BO800XL is no exception. It has 9 functions to make any cooking task a breeze:

1. Toast: This is a 6 slice toaster oven this oven that provides 900 Watts of power to the top and 900 watts to the bottom for toast that is crisp and brown on the outside and tender on the inside.
2. Bagel: Works similar to the toast function, however, Element IQ shuts off the bottom two elements during the cycle to create a lightly toasted bottom, a crispy top, and a chewy, moist middle. Bagel perfection!
3. Bake: 1500 watts of power to both the top and bottom elements with a temperature sensor that communicates with the oven so you get even baking results every time.
4. Roast: Delivers 1500 watts of power to the top and bottom heating elements for meat and poultry that is crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside.
5. Broil: High, medium, and low broil settings for ultimate control. 1500 watts of power is delivered to the top 3 heating elements.
6. Pizza: For frozen pizzas that are perfectly done use the frozen pizza setting and the included 13 inch pizza tray (can you believe this toaster convection oven can fit a12 inch pizza?). There is a also a setting for fresh pizza.
7. Cookies: For cookies, strudels, and biscuits – This setting gets your baked good crispy on the outside while keeping them tender on the inside.
8. Reheat: Reheats leftovers without browning the top. I love this feature, because it means no more soggy leftover pizza.
9. Warm: Keeps your food perfectly warm while you finish cooking the rest of your meal.

Convection Cooking for Shorter Cooking Times

Convection ovens cook food more quickly and evenly by circulating the air around the food. In some convection ovens the fan is very noisy, but in the Breville Smart Oven the fan is whisper quiet and the convection feature works great. Here are some tips for getting the most out of the convection feature.

• When using the convection oven feature be sure there is at least one inch around the food you are cooking.
• You can cook anything in a convection oven that you can cook in a regular oven.
• Reduce the temperature of your recipe by 25 degrees and the time by 10 minutes when using this feature – this is a big electricity saver.
• Using the convection feature results in foods that are more evenly cooked and is a superior method for roasting meats. Convection cooking results in juicier and more tender roasts. Yummy.

Sitting Pretty – Looking Good

Personally, I always want my appliances to function well, but I also want them to look great. The Breville BO800XL is a stainless steel toaster oven that is as beautiful as it is functional. The front is minimalistic with a large window for viewing the food, and an oversized LCD screen that is easy to read. The sleek, contemporary lines will complement any kitchen.

Size Does Matter

When you are looking at convection toaster ovens, you need to consider the size. Smaller apartments may need smaller ovens to fit, and for one or two people the smaller size will be ideal. On the other hand, if you want to cook full meals in your oven then a larger size is beneficial and more versatile.

Breville makes two ovens with the the Element IQ technology for just this reason – the Compact Smart Oven which measures 16.5″ x 14.25″ x 10″ and the Original Smart Oven which measures 18.5″ x 16.25″ x 11.25″ . If you can fit the larger size oven, I do recommend it, as it it much more versatile. Measure your space and pick the one that is right for you.

Cleaning Up

Cleaning a toaster oven can be even more difficult than cleaning a conventional oven. The good news is that the Breville BO800XL has two features which make cleaning a whole lot easier. The first feature is an extra deep crumb tray that pulls out easily from the front to clean. In many ovens it is difficult to get the crumb tray out because you have to lift it out or slide it out from the back, so the ease of this one is quite refreshing. The second feature is a non-stick interior, so that when splatters happen they are easier to get off. These two features make clean up a breeze.

What’s Included?

• The convection toaster oven
• 13 inch pizza pan
• Wire rack
• 12” by 12” enamel baking pan
• Extra deep crumb tray
• 12” by 12” enamel broiling pan

Does it Include a Warranty?

Yes, both the original Breville Smart Oven and the compact version include a 1 year warranty.

What Others are Saying.

This oven has received positive reviews from most consumers online with an average of 4.5 out of 5 star rating on Amazon and also positive reviews on the Breville site itself.

Here are some of the comments to date:

• “The Breville Smart Oven is a must-have kitchen appliance. “
• “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. “
• “I am totally in love with this toaster oven! It is a heavy, quality appliance, with numerous handy, smart features”
• “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 Breville Smart Oven is one of those products that often makes you think, hey, why didn’t someone think of that sooner?”
• “The electronic controls are very intuitive (like an iPhone) and easy to use.”

Any Complaints?

In my research I found very few complaints about this oven.  Two people did point out that the oven was fairly hot while in use.  To solve this, be sure to leave 4 inches of space around the oven, and like all kitchen appliances children should only use it while supervised.

Where can you buy a Breville BO800XL Smart Oven?

You can buy this Breville Smart Oven from Amazon. Right now they include free shipping and offer one of the most competitive prices I have seen online for this item. Currently the best deal I have found is at Amazon, especially with free shipping. Click here to view on Amazon.

Where Can You Read More Reviews for the Breville Smart Oven?

The best place for complete reviews from people who use the product is Amazon. Click here to read more.