Breville (BOV800XL) Smart Oven Reviews

bought in 2015 so 3 years old now reviewing :)

like most of you I read reviews that are a few days old either folks hate it they got a bad one or they love it but its only been a week ?

so 3 years later and used daily with two kids in the house ones a teen this next to our vitamix is the most used appliance we almost never use the oven anymore

toast and bagels of course enough for the whole family at once

and doing the costco frozen pizzas etc. works perfect ( we do not use pizza mode regular bake)

quick things like chicken nuggets using the convection we get super crispy pieces

we try to cook a lot from scratch and have had no problems using a casserole dish inside this or larger pyrex dishes to cook things

even small hams and potatoes etc.. the thing is wonderful heats up quick does not heat up the whole house etc...

if it broke we would buy another one no problem

I returned 2 other "toaster ovens" to local stores in two weeks (a higher end KithenAid - defective out of the box!, and a Cuisinart - that turned out to be a return put back on the shelf) so I was nervous about ordering this one online, but the reviews and sale price were too good to not try. I'm so happy that 3rd time was the charm for me! I love this oven. Yes, it does get hot on the exterior, but all countertop ovens will do the same- I did order the wooden cutting board for this oven afterward and happy I did.

I've been using this almost daily for the past 3 weeks and it is wonderful to not heat up my traditional oven for my single portions. I'm also very happy with how quiet this oven is when operating - even with the convection feature running. I broil, toast, bake, and roast primarily vegan, vegetarian and some seafood - this oven does it all better than my stove/range. Hummus pizza, reheating some spaghetti and sauce in a casserole dish, the best broiled shrimp I've ever made, roasted asparagus and toasting Ciabatta bread? All Perfect! I'm already looking at all the recipes I can adjust and make in this oven!

My only advice would be, READ the manual, make sure that it's the only appliance running on the circuit when operating, follow the clearance guidelines and unplug when not in use.

Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ

This is a large oven but not as large as some you see at Walmart/Target. It covers the same footprint as my previous one so I am not losing additional space. I do not have a large counter but I prefer using this over the big oven. Having this size makes it a bit more versatile so I was willing to sacrifice some counter space.

Kudos for giving this oven a back light. All manufacturers need to do this. The ON button turns red when in operation and the display turns to amber. Display goes to light blue when it is done and turns off after a while on its own.

Great for wings, using the convection you can crisp them up, Good for pre-cooked wings from a grocery store or take-out as the skin tends to be soft.

For toast I find that a power level of 2 and set the number of bread slices you are toasting to one less will give you toast that is light brown. eg., 2 slices, set to 1. 4 slices, set to 3. You are on your own if you are just doing one slice. Toasting at a power level of 1 leaves toast mostly white.

Toasting level goes to 7 but even 3 would burn your toast and I have never met anyone who likes burnt bread.

Cooking time is given in minutes unless it is under 10 minutes, then minutes and seconds are shown. Even when toasting, the time is counted down, nice.

There are 3 dials.

Top Dial is used to pick the oven mode, such as toast, bake, broil, pizza, reheat, warm, etc.

Middle Dial is used to set the temperature in either Celsius or Fahrenheit. You choose with the smaller button.

Bottom Dial is used to set the cooking time.

There are 3 smaller buttons

1) Top one allows you turn off convection if you want.

2) Temperature display, Celsius or Fahrenheit.

3) Frozen, tell the oven you are cooking something frozen.

This is a good buy although expensive. The design can compliment any kitchen and powerful at 1800 watts. I do have some quibbles but they are not deal breakers.

Quibbles

1) They prominently advertise a magnetic feature where magnets on the door helps pull the rack out. What they do not say is it only works when the rack is set in the middle. If you do not pay attention to their video closely, you think it works at the bottom and top levels as well.

Even if you do not watch the video, they highlight 10 features, see #2 and #5.

1. Easy-clean, stainless steel housing with ribbed plate warming tray

2. Non-Stick Interior with 3 rack positions

3. 13” pizza, 6-slice toast capacity

4. Tempered glass door

5. Magnetic auto-eject rack

6. quartz elements with Element IQ for smart cooking

7. Back-lit easy-read LCD that calculates the correct the time and temperature, illuminating orange during preheating and cooking and blue once the cycle is complete

8. Function dial with 9 pre-set cooking functions: bake, broil, roast, cookies, reheat, pizza, bagel, toast, warm

9. Temperature and time dial with auto shut-off and sound alert

10. Easily removable pull-out crumb tray

Notice how it does not say, only works when the rack is in the middle tier.

#2 says Non-Stick Interior with 3 rack positions.

There needs to be truth in advertising as one would assume it works on all rack positions based on what they say. This is where they get dinged a star.

2) Dials should have some knurling around them. They are smooth so if your fingers are slippery from soap, oil, hand lotion, etc., you have to grab the dials a little tighter. It would be nice to simply apply even pressure all the time without using normal pressure and finding that the dials will not turn because your fingers are slippery.

Knurling takes all but 2 seconds to do on a lathe by hand. Doing it by machine programmed by a computer would take even less time. This little extra shows attention to ergonomics and ease of use.

The quibbles are not deal breakers but for a high priced toaster oven, you want to expect a little more.

I've had this toaster oven since July 2014. The oven itself is good. We use it often. But the pans they included - a pizza sheet and roasting pan - within months they started cracking. The coating cracked I should say. So I put aluminum foil over it because it would be dangerous to cook with it otherwise. This is what it looks like currently. That's not dried food. It is the black non stick surface peeling off.

Has virtually replaced our traditional oven! We use this for anything that will fit. We baked a large chicken for Christmas, plus a huge cheesecake.

- Set time and temp and press the go button

- Beeps when preheated

- Beeps when cooking complete

- Heats up FAST!

- Cools down FAST! Something we really appreciate in the hot South.

- Rated for 12" pizza, but we cooked a 14" Papa Murpheys in ours yesterday, just bent up the pie in the front slightly.

Just plain works. We love it so much we bought one for my sister and my mom. My sister lives in the country and uses expensive tank propane for her oven. This oven is faster and far more economical. She hasn't used her big oven since. Unless we're cooking a turkey or large pizza, we use our little Breville.