The included rotisserie spit removal tool worked, but I felt it was a bit silly. In the end, I preferred to don my waterproof grill gloves and just reach in and grab the spit. The De’Longhi Livenza Digital Convection Oven did not toast evenly in our tests. It also had a difficult hamilton beach mixer time maintaining its internal temperature (which fluctuated between 322 °F and 369 °F when set to 350 °F). 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.
The biggest drawback to this model is the toast shade setting on the timer dial. You have to turn the knob past the 10-minute mark and then reverse it to the desired shade setting. However, it’s difficult to determine exactly where the dial should be placed for your preferred toast shade. Eventually, we were able to find the sweet spot on the dial for our desired doneness, but it took multiple attempts.
While a yellow cake baked up moist and tender in the recommended time, it didn’t rise very high and the top crust was quite dark and unevenly colored. If you’ve never used a toaster oven, the first thing you need to know is that it’s not a toaster. Mind you, you can make toast with it, but that’s hardly its only use or even the primary one.
It’s nice to be able to adjust the rack position in your toaster oven to accommodate cookware of different sizes and make adjustments depending on what you’re cooking. The rack should be in the center when toasting, for instance, because heat comes from the top and bottom, but when broiling, you want to position the rack closer to the top heating element. When baking, you might need to set the rack lower to fit tall foods or deeper dishes. Capacious size can toast 6 slices of bread, a 12-inch pizza, or a whole chicken.
After setting the desired temperature, we allowed the oven to preheat and then checked the temperature at timed intervals. The time it takes to toast a full batch of bread at the medium setting. When the time came to remove the chicken from the oven, I used the special tool provided. While I managed to get the chicken out, it was an awkward process.
For instance, our budget pick, the Hamilton Beach, has the same quartz elements as the Cuisinart Chef’s Convection Toaster Oven, which costs more than $200. And the Wolf Gourmet Countertop Oven we tested, which normally costs over $700, uses Calrod elements, which are typically found in cheaper models. So, it’s not always worth paying more for certain elements, as performance varies with every oven. High-end Hamilton Beach toaster ovens are priced between $100 and $170. These ovens are way more than just toaster ovens (though they can toast too), with options for convection cooking, air frying, and more, plus quality features like digital controls. We think it’s a great choice for people who are looking for a traditional toaster oven primarily to toast all kinds of bread, heat frozen pizzas, and air fry chicken nuggets or frozen fries for the kids.
The tray in the bottom of a Hamilton Beach toaster oven collects crumbs and other food debris to help prevent mess. You should empty this once every week or two depending on how frequently you use the appliance. It might seem like a hard task to find your perfect Hamilton Beach toaster oven, but we’ve done our research.