That said, the controls are clearly labeled and straightforward to use, so we’re willing to overlook this drawback. We’d also prefer dial controls over the FlashXpress’s blister-push buttons, but they’re perfectly usable and not as glitchy or mushy as others we tested. A toaster oven is a multipurpose appliance that lets you toast bread and bake or reheat food. It’s also great for use in a small rental with a tiny kitchen and an oven that doesn’t work well (or is missing altogether). If your kitchen is so active that the oven is often full, you can use the toaster oven as Martha Rose Shulman—chef and author of The Simple Art of Vegetarian Cooking—does.
We’ve read through this guide and stand by our recommendations. In our last round of testing, in April 2021, we tried out two trendier models that ultimately couldn’t compete with our picks. The rack fits perfectly into the guide rails, reducing the chance of an accident when placing your food in the oven.
With a cord length of 35 inches, I could place it almost anywhere in my kitchen. That also does away with the possibility of spilling food on the door and having to clean it up. The roll top door appeared to be slightly safer than the traditional fold-down style.
The Cuisinart has four slots for the racks, with metal hooks that pull out the middle rack when the door is opened. It was one of the fastest models to preheat to 350 °F, taking just over three minutes. Some toaster ovens (ones with convection technology, like our larger pick) can even work with air frying recipes, though that may require some adjustments.
In fact, we weighed white sandwich bread and rustic sourdough bread before and after toasting to see how much moisture the bread retained. On average, plain white sandwich bread actually retained less moisture when toasted in the Balmuda than when toasted in our top pick, the Cuisinart. Should you encounter any problems with the FlashXpress hamilton beach air fryer under its one-year warranty, contact Panasonic. Unlike our other picks, Panasonic sells replacement parts for many of the oven’s components (including the heating elements, power button, and door handle). The results gave us a heat map of each oven, showing us how evenly each model toasted and whether there were any hot spots.
Two cooking racks and a removable crumb tray that’s accessible from the front when the door is open complete the assembly. Since this is a large oven, you’ll be able to use much of your own cooking and baking gear, besides the pieces that came with the oven. Of course, since rotisserie is in this product’s name, I had to test out that function—on birds up to 5 pounds, which is the oven’s limit. The most difficult thing about cooking a rotisserie chicken is tying it and getting it balanced on the spit so it can spin properly. Once I accomplished that, the rotisserie worked well, and the chicken cooked evenly.
While the fan isn’t quite as powerful as the ones in most pod-shaped air fryers or air fryer toaster ovens, it produces similar results. That’s because a toaster oven can fit more food at once, and in our experience it cooks more evenly. Generally, you need to increase the cooking time by several minutes and the temperature 25 to 50 degrees to compensate for the toaster oven’s larger cavity. If you’d like to air fry, but you just don’t have the space (or budget) for an air frying toaster oven, then a pod-shaped air fryer might be best for you. Their cooking baskets can also be a little safer or simpler to maneuver than a hot pan for children, new cooks, or those with mobility concerns.
This toaster oven, however, gives you a good bang for your buck as far as functionality and performance. While traditional toaster ovens were large and bulky, the Hamilton Beach Easy Reach Convection Toaster Oven is only 11” x 17” x 20”. We’ve read some user reviews regarding food catching fire in this oven.
We also ran a bonus round to evaluate how well each oven could crisp up the skin on chicken thighs—a very telling test, as very few models excelled at this task. We stopped the baking after 27 minutes as the fries weren’t getting any more colors. This, nonetheless, was over our time limit of 25 minutes, so it was a 0/10. The Mueller could barely fit a 3 lb chicken for our Whole Roasted Chicken test. If you were to purchase this oven and use it to roast a whole chicken, we recommend cutting it open or chopping it into pieces beforehand. The toasting controls can be hard to figure out to avoid burning your toast.