Countertop oven deal alert
Mini-oven fans! Walmart is blowing out their 1.1 cu ft toaster oven for $49!
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-XL-Toaster-Oven-32L-6-Slice-Family-Size-Black-1500W/3319168997
I came across this while hunting for one that was tall inside for baking bread. Most are only 6" or so.
I wasn't expecting much, but I find it is an impressive baker.
All metal - the only plastic is the knobs, feet, and handle.
13.75" W x 12.5" D inside, with an impressive 8" from bottom rack to upper heating elements.
Old school... no fan, no computer. But excellent temperature regulation; only 15º swing @ 400+.
Internal air temp on mine topped out at 440º (empty, in a 68º kitchen).
It appears to use a "variable duty cycle generator" to maintain the set temp, with the on/off cycle much shorter than usual, resulting in the minimal temp swing. The only downside to this is, it takes a little longer to warm up from a cold start. A tradeoff I'll take any day.
A well-designed radiant oven.
Wow, a 15 degree swing sounds very good for a countertop toaster oven.
My other two large countertops have swing in the 50-60º range. They both have much longer on/off cycles.
and in toast mode (both upper and lower elements on), it definitely bakes hot, relative to the temp setting on the dial. Which is a good thing, IMO...
I was using a dark steel loaf pan and it overcooked the crust relative to the top. I've never seen that from any other TO. I usually have to cover the top to keep it from burning. I could/should have pulled it 5 min earlier.
This is definitely a radiant oven. The short on/off cycle means the heaters are always red. Everything inside is reflective. No fans or vents. The rear panel surface is sculpted to scatter its reflection. The black pan soaked it all up.
Next time I'll monitor pan temps instead of air temp.
Encouraging first results!
Here is the same loaf, everything the same except baked differently.
The first one was 28 min @ 450º in 'toast' mode (both burners on), then 5 min of 'bake' (just bottom burner). Doing the latter was based on prior experience with these small ovens burning the tops before the rest is done.
This bake was also 28 min @ 450º Toast, then 5 min of Broil (only top burners). It also had a steam pan on the bottom (though it didn't use much water).
Much better. I'm liking this thing. (Forgot to take the pic before cutting into it!)
If you ever bake a simple crusty loaf in it, please share your results. Thank you.
Yippee
a "simple crusty loaf"?
The recipe I'm using to test it is a pan bake of Rusbrot's baguettes with CLAS.
It is nice and crusty with soft interior.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/73869/challenger-bread-pan-alternatives#comment-530590
If I can't replicate the result in my bread machine but your mini oven can, I'll definitely consider buying it.
😃😃😃
I've never baked like that.
But... I have one of the the speckled oval roaster pans, and it fits perfectly in this oven (13.75" wide) :)
Could you please show me a picture of the roaster pan in the oven?
😁😁😁
With plenty of room to spare on both ends. (Bad kitchen lighting, no sun today...) :(
This is a big TO !!
👍👍👍
Darn! It's out of stock!😭😭😭, but, I found it on Ali!!! Paid $10+. The only problem is, where will I put it? I suppose I'll figure that out when it arrives.
It shows as in-stock for me. How about the ship-to-store option (it's free)?
They had a huge pile of 'em locally.
Mine will live in the laundry room when not in use.
It's not available in my area, whether for in-store pickup or shipping to the store or home.
Yippee
How can you tell when it's reached the right temperature? Does it signal like a regular oven does?
Yippee
This is a basic oven. No electronics inside. The only signal is from the mechanical timer, you can set it for a preheat period.
What I see so far is, since this is primarily a radiant oven, it doesn't require a full warm-up of the air inside. 5-10 minutes is fine. During the bakes I described above, I put a thermometer inside next to the pan. It warmed up to 330 and held steady. Very little swing. But the loaf cooked much faster than a 330º bake. So measuring the air temp is not going to tell the whole story.
Example: I baked the same loaf, same pan, etc. a few weeks ago in a Euro-Pro JO287 oven; similar size, same wattage, etc. but the interior is dark, not reflective, and it has a much longer on/off cycle. It definitely requires a full warmup, to heat the oven walls up to temp. And it still has a 50-60º temp swing... It took 45 minutes for the JO287 to bake this same loaf, versus 33 min in this oven. And I had to cover the top with foil for the last 10 min in the JO287.
Every oven is a little different. This oven definitely bakes hotter than the internal air temperature measures.
EDIT: For comparison sake, here is the same bake (same recipe, pan, etc) done in a Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 in Toast mode (upper and lower heaters on, convection fan off). It uses a similarly-long on/off cycle like the JO287, with simillar temp swings inside. This took 45 minutes @ 420º (preheated), with foil on top for the last 5 min.
Can't wait to try it out! How long did it take to reach 440°F?
Yippee
Like I said, while baking those loaves it topped out at 330 or so. But that's air temp. When I first tested it, it got to 440 but that's in an empty oven and it took a long time, 40+ min. By then any bread would have burned :)
Thx!
and I hope you grabbed one, because this thing is fantastic for baking bread! Put a small pan for steam in between the bottom elements (the small pan that comes with the B&T proofer is perfect) and it makes the best crusts of anything I have ever experienced. And in 2/3 the time of other ovens, with little or no preheating!
Radiant ovens rock!