But if you’re looking to do a lot of air frying in your toaster oven, you may want to check out our separate guide to air fryer toaster ovens. High-end hamilton beachs 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. It’s not the model for anyone who is looking for a replacement for their full size oven.
The cheese topping on Bagel Bites didn’t melt as evenly in these models as our picks, and the bottoms were burned. Also, the wide gaps on either side of the oven racks allowed bread to slip through the slots and onto the bottom of the oven cavity. A standard quarter-sheet tray (and if you put a quarter-sheet tray on each of its two racks, that’s equal to a standard half sheet pan you’d use in a full-size oven). It can also fit a 12-cup muffin tin (ours measured 14 by 10.75 inches) or a 9-by-13-inch baking pan (without handles).
Roll-top door makes it easy to clean, reach, or quickly transfer hot food. Like traditional ovens, many toaster ovens use convection heating or at least offer it as an option for baking. Other models make up for the lack of convection with multiple heating elements placed around the oven. The GE Quartz Convection Toaster Oven and the GE Calrod Convection Toaster Oven are identical, hamilton beach toaster oven except that one has quartz heating elements and the other has Calrod heating elements. The quartz model costs about $25 more than the Calrod version (at the time of this publishing), but there wasn’t a huge difference in performance between the two. The underside of the toast we made was very uneven and patchy in the GE Quartz, while the GE Calrod toasted a bit more evenly.
We measured the cooking chamber volume to be around 12.81 liters, slightly different than the manufacturer’s provided capacity of 11.67 liters. Different from most other toaster ovens, the Mueller’s Bake function only uses the lower heating elements as opposed to lower and upper. For our Toast test, we started off by trying the Medium Toast setting which was around 3 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The four pieces of bread on the upper tray level came out only lightly toasted on top except for one golden brown piece. We then cranked it up to the Dark Toast setting—around 4 minutes 50 seconds on the timer—which, unfortunately, burnt the toast a bit. In terms of design score, the two toaster ovens are quite equal.
Quartz heating elements also cool down faster, are more energy-efficient and easier to clean but not as durable. Both units only have analog control dials and no internal lighting so there was nothing particularly convenient about them. The Hamilton does offer more cooking space though, fitting 6 slices of toast despite being a medium size. You can buy Hamilton Beach toaster ovens starting at $30 to $60. Some higher-end Hamilton Beach toaster ovens have a roll-top door. This opens upward and rolls over the top of the unit rather than opening outward and potentially getting in your way or taking up counter space.
The baking pan doesn’t fit into the guide rails and has to on top of the rack. This may prevent the full use of the oven’s capacity and lead to some inconveniences during cooking. Unfortunately, the 31127D doesn’t have any interior features worth mentioning, not even internal lighting or a convection system like the Cuisinart TOA-60. These heating elements are made of quartz which uses infrared light to cook foods faster than the more common nichrome counterparts.
Some ovens’ results weren’t dark enough; others were overdone or unevenly cooked. This was also one of the only models in this price range that could bake chicken thighs with a golden brown, crispy skin. Up against bigger, more expensive toaster ovens, the FlashXpress more than held its own. Similar to many other small toaster ovens, including hamilton beach the Comfee CFO-BB101, the Mueller lacks a convection fan and an interior light. In addition, it only has two heating elements which can usually lead to uneven heat distribution compared to four or more heating elements. However, you won’t get the stellar performance and extra features that you find on the more expensive models.
Safety
I feel peace of mind when the children are using this toaster oven, because it is so small, unlike the regular oven, where they could possibly burn themselves quite badly. Ease of Cleaning
Just pop the tray in the dishwasher, or rinse it off in the sink, and pop it back in the oven for easy clean-up that takes up virtually no time at all. Durability
I have had the same toaster oven for about five years, and have had no problems whatsoever. Design
The black design matches all the rest of our black kitchen appliances. Without a doubt, the Cuisinart distributed heat evenly across its voluminous cavity, toasting nine slices of bread in a single batch to near golden-brown perfection.
Inside the box are also a user manual and a simple recipe booklet. Nonetheless, our chef decided to stop the roasting as the color wouldn’t improve anyway and to avoid overcooking the meat. This cooking time was the equivalent of a 6/10 according to our data. It’s important to think about both the internal and external size of any toaster oven you’re considering. We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space.
The toaster oven is a perfect solution, and it does all that while using less power. The 2-in-1 combination oven and toaster allows you to do more in less space. Bake, broil and toast by switching cooking modes easily with the slide of a lever. We also see a place for the Easy Reach in an adventure van or other type of RV. It takes up little space and is lightweight, simple to use and to clean. When we combine its lower price with its ability to compete with higher-priced models, we feel the Easy Reach is a great buy.