To prep your toaster oven, you’ll need to run several cycles with the machine empty before using it to cook anything you plan to eat. This way, any industrial residues in the oven (these are applied to prevent corrosion during shipping and storage) can burn off and won’t have a chance to get into your food. Do this in a ventilated space if possible; depending on the oven, you’ll smell fumes during the first round or two. While you wait, take the time to wash the rack and accessories in warm, soapy water. You should also know that as soon as the oven is preheated, the timer starts counting down. This can be annoying if you’re not quite ready to put your food in the oven, but we think it’s easy enough to adjust the timer once you’re ready.
However, the Easy Reach didn’t score as well on the ease of its interface. Although consisting of only two simple knobs, the oven’s operation isn’t overly intuitive or as simple to use as it appears. That said, it’s not overly complicated, but it does require a few peeks at the owner’s manual. As for accessories, this oven comes with a baking pan, oven rack, and slide-out crumb tray.
The FlashXpress compensates for the increased temperature by automatically reducing the cook time, so the results are the same every time. These were some of the fastest toasting times of all the toaster ovens we tested. If you get a toaster oven with a convection setting, you can also use it for air frying (air frying is, after all, just convection baking).
Eventually, we were able to find the sweet spot on the dial for our desired doneness, but it took multiple attempts. That said, the toast came out remarkably even for a toaster oven of this caliber. Like most toaster ovens, the Hamilton Beach will get hotter after each batch of toast you make in a row.
I also like to make tuna and chicken salad melts in here, as well as grilled cheeses, and bagel pizzas. This gets my breakfasts, lunch, dinners, and snacks made in a jiffy. Safety
This toaster over is safe to use as long as you clean it properly and unplug it when you are not using it. If you use it properly then you will not have any fires or problems with it. Ease of Cleaning
That’s the only thing about a toaster oven, you have to remember to clean it.
Guided by experts, we spend hours looking into the factors that matter, to bring you these selections. Sharon Franke is a journalist who specializes in testing and writing about kitchen equipment. A thirty-year veteran of the Good hamilton beach air fryer Housekeeping Institute, Sharon also worked as a professional chef in New York City restaurants for seven years. In her free time, she is an avid home cook who is in the process of mastering the art of baking sour dough bread.
Cooking large dishes or gourmet meals will never happen with the Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4-Slice. It’s compact design lends itself to one-and-done, hamilton beach single-serving dishes. You should buy this toaster if you’re looking to save money and don’t need a large, multi-function oven.
However, in our research, we’ve found that toaster ovens have a longer life expectancy than slot toasters. If you don’t have room for both appliances in your kitchen, we’d recommend getting a toaster oven instead. The simple analog control panel makes it very easy to adjust settings on the fly. Once the timer counts down to the Off position, you’ll hear a chime and the oven will shut itself off. Since there’s no digital display, the oven won’t draw any more power even if you leave it plugged in.
Brussels sprouts and frozen crinkle fries came out lightly browned and crisped. However, neither chicken wings or French fries came out with the kind of results we’d expect from fried food. While the Hamilton Beach Air Fryer Sure Crisp Toaster Oven has a contemporary brushed chrome housing, it pretty much has the same design as toaster ovens from decades ago. It has a glass door with a small handle on top that opens downward and three dials that serve as controls. At just 9 x 18 x 14 inches, it easily fits under a cabinet and doesn’t take up excess countertop space.
We found that the displays on the pricier Cuisinart and Breville toaster ovens were easier to read. Keep in mind that a large toaster oven can be pretty heavy and is more cumbersome to move; this means it’s more likely to live on your counter. Small toaster ovens are much lighter and easier to tuck away in a cupboard.