Breville "smart oven"

[Melic]

I've had this oven for more than 3 years, and it's the best money I've ever spent on an appliance.

Big enough to handle almost anything I need an oven for, love the convection feature, everything comes out perfect, and as a bonus it makes better toast than any toaster or toaster oven I ever had.

I got the cutting board too, and as others have mentioned, keeping it stored on top of the oven takes care of the hot top problem just fine.

Only "issue" is the time limit on the controls, but since I've never done a braise in the oven, it's just something to note and deal with if I ever decide to use it for more than 2 hours.

Definitely worth the money.

[ElsieD]

I have one. Beats the heck out of a similar Krups I used to own. Does a great job with roasting vegetables, baking a potato, top browning/broiling an open-face sandwich, cooking an Amy's frozen pizza, and toasting frozen (or fresh) bagels. Good for warming plates, too. Regular toast is OK -- perfect on one side but striped on the other because of the grates. Worth the money. Buy it and don't look back.

I just re-read this thread. I have a Krups that while adequate, I am not entirely happy with. Can you tell me in what ways the Breville beats out the Krups? I am already sold on the idea that a quarter sheet pan will fit into it as I use those a lot, and also that it will fit a pizza. My problem is the Krups is not all that old so I am having trouble justifying the purchase of a Breville.

[Alex]

I have one. Beats the heck out of a similar Krups I used to own. Does a great job with roasting vegetables, baking a potato, top browning/broiling an open-face sandwich, cooking an Amy's frozen pizza, and toasting frozen (or fresh) bagels. Good for warming plates, too. Regular toast is OK -- perfect on one side but striped on the other because of the grates. Worth the money. Buy it and don't look back.

I just re-read this thread. I have a Krups that while adequate, I am not entirely happy with. Can you tell me in what ways the Breville beats out the Krups? I am already sold on the idea that a quarter sheet pan will fit into it as I use those a lot, and also that it will fit a pizza. My problem is the Krups is not all that old so I am having trouble justifying the purchase of a Breville.

I ran into the same dilemma. I eventually decided to take the plunge based on the reviews (and floor model pricing from Williams-Sonoma), and figuring that because the Krups was still relatively new, I could recoup some of the purchase price by selling it on Craigslist. Also, I mentally amortized the cost over its expected 15-year (I hoped) life span; after deducting the expected selling price of the Krups, about four cents a day seemed like a good investment.

The Breville's capacity is a huge advantage for me, too. That, in and of itself, would have been sufficient. (Just the other day I baked banana bread in two 9" x 5" loaf pans at the same time.) It also does a better job of toasting frozen bagels (the ones we cut in half and freeze, not the frozen ones from the store); baking more evenly; and, for Ms. Alex, toasting Pop-Tarts to the proper degree.

I hope this helps.

[ElsieD]

Alex, thank you for responding. How does well does this oven broil? The Krups, when set on broil, cycles on and off. Does the Breville do the same thing or does the broil element stay on until you turn it off?

[mgaretz]

The Breville cycles during the broil but it broils great.

[gfweb]

Cycling is the rule with electric broilers, I believe.

[rotuts]

it also cycles with toasting, which might not be such a good idea, as it then 'bakes' thinner pieces of toast so they are uniformly crispy. you may like that type of toast or not.

I use home made bread (machine bread) and cut it thicker which solves that issue for me. I like toast with an external crunch but some softness in the middle.

[Alex]

I've used Broil only for melting cheese or top browing, which it does just fine.

[lindag]

I tried broiling salmon filets in my BSO with poor results. It didn't seem to get hot enough to do the job.

I've since gone back to using my big oven for that. Otherwise, it does everything else I've tried exceptionally well and I agree with the previous poster who said it was about the best money ever spent on a small appliance.

[gfweb]

My BSO broiler is a hot little mother. Do you have a bad unit?

[Jaymes]

My BSO broiler is a hot little mother. Do you have a bad unit?

Or do you perhaps not put the rack up high enough?

My broiler, like gfweb's, is plenty hot.

[Mrs. Mumford]

My first post! I don't use the broiler often, but it seems to be a higher temp than my conventional oven broiler. For all of those cooks, waiting on the fence before plunking down their hard earned dollars for an expensive toaster oven, consider that every time you use this oven versus your conventional, you are saving money on "killer watts", my term for the higher billing tier on the electric bill. I couldn't understand when my bill started going down. January is always my highest month 300.00 to 375.00,this year it was 265.00. After digging through my old bills I discovered my BSO was paying for itself. The savings are probably highest for us "empty nesters". I just got the pizza stone and used it to cook my focaccia bread, it came out perfect. By the way, I love my BSO!

[ElsieD]

Thanks for your responses. Today I took the plunge and purchased one. I don't get it until August as the store I bought it from had them on sale and I was told they sold like hotcakes and all they had left was the floor model. I did not want the floor model so they were kind enough to order a new one for me at the sale price. Something to look forward it. I also bought the pizza stone and the cutting board and have ordered the 121/2" Big Daddios pizza peel. So should be all set to cook when it arrives. They were nice enough to discount the stone and cutting board as well so it has been my lucky day.

[rotuts]

ElsieD

congratulations. not so much for the BreVille, but the Great Price! why pay more?

I made a small mistake and got the smaller BV as it fit exactly in a place in my Kitchen. should have got the Bigger and done some housekeeping!

[ElsieD]

My Breville oven arrived yesterday and I decided that the first thing I would do is cook up a frozen pizza. I actually did read the directions, just unfortunately, the wrong ones. I read the directions for NOT using a pizza stone when in fact I WAS using a pizza stone. So, since I did not pre-heat properly, I was left with a sodden mess. I managed to get the very wet pizza off the stone, more or less in one piece and right side up and into a non -stick frying pan. I then heated this up on the stove until the crust sort of firmed up enough so we could eat it.

So my question is - how well do the instructions in the manual for pre-heating work?

Also, when I first turn the oven on to pre-heat, the fan sounds like it's rattling in its housing. It isn't real loud, but it is quite audible. Then, after one minute it quiets down. Is this normal?

Off to try making some toast.

[ElsieD]

While I'm asking questions, I'll ask another one. I made the mistake of ordering some "Kobe" striploins from Costco. The mistake is that had I known they were only 3/4" thick I would not have ordered them. Any tips on how long I would broil this in my spanking new Breviile oven?

[rotuts]

trim any tough bit off. you would do better in a very very hot pan for very little time. unless you want to put the B through its paces.

if you want to use the B, trim, and almost freeze the steaks in the freezer. 'Almost' is the key work. then preheat and broil until brown to your choice on one side, just a little time on the reverse side. rest and serve brown side up.

let the steaks talk to you about it as they broil.

Edited July 25, 2013 by rotuts (log)

[ElsieD]

My Breville oven arrived yesterday and I decided that the first thing I would do is cook up a frozen pizza. I actually did read the directions, just unfortunately, the wrong ones. I read the directions for NOT using a pizza stone when in fact I WAS using a pizza stone. So, since I did not pre-heat properly, I was left with a sodden mess. I managed to get the very wet pizza off the stone, more or less in one piece and right side up and into a non -stick frying pan. I then heated this up on the stove until the crust sort of firmed up enough so we could eat it.

So my question is - how well do the instructions in the manual for pre-heating work?

Also, when I first turn the oven on to pre-heat, the fan sounds like it's rattling in its housing. It isn't real loud, but it is quite audible. Then, after one minute it quiets down. Is this normal?

Off to try making some toast.

Does anyone by chance have an answer to these questions?

[MelissaH]

My Breville oven arrived yesterday and I decided that the first thing I would do is cook up a frozen pizza. I actually did read the directions, just unfortunately, the wrong ones. I read the directions for NOT using a pizza stone when in fact I WAS using a pizza stone. So, since I did not pre-heat properly, I was left with a sodden mess. I managed to get the very wet pizza off the stone, more or less in one piece and right side up and into a non -stick frying pan. I then heated this up on the stove until the crust sort of firmed up enough so we could eat it.

So my question is - how well do the instructions in the manual for pre-heating work?

Also, when I first turn the oven on to pre-heat, the fan sounds like it's rattling in its housing. It isn't real loud, but it is quite audible. Then, after one minute it quiets down. Is this normal?

Off to try making some toast.

Does anyone by chance have an answer to these questions?

I'd call the toll-free number and ask them. Mine didn't do this, either the first time or (after that fan started rattling incessantly) the second. Their customer service is excellent, and if there's a problem, they'll make it right.

[gfweb]

I find the preheating instructions to be fine,with the exception of the convection preheating stopping short of the desired temp (as well described by Anna above).

[Alex]

While I'm asking questions, I'll ask another one. I made the mistake of ordering some "Kobe" striploins from Costco. The mistake is that had I known they were only 3/4" thick I would not have ordered them. Any tips on how long I would broil this in my spanking new Breviile oven?

trim any tough bit off. you would do better in a very very hot pan for very little time. unless you want to put the B through its paces.

if you want to use the B, trim, and almost freeze the steaks in the freezer. 'Almost' is the key work. then preheat and broil until brown to your choice on one side, just a little time on the reverse side. rest and serve brown side up.

let the steaks talk to you about it as they broil.

I'd also probably opt to not broil them but, as rotus said, maybe you can try one that way and see how it turns out.

I'd be more likely to bring the steaks to room temp, preheat my B to the desired internal temperature (or just below), then cook the steaks until done, followed by a very quick sear on each side in a very hot pan. (I have a rectangular cooling rack that, serendipitously, fit perfectly above the B's roasting tray.

Just for the heck of it, I did a Google search for "Costco strip loin" (w/o the quotation marks), and found this pleasant and helpful video:

[ElsieD]

While I'm asking questions, I'll ask another one. I made the mistake of ordering some "Kobe" striploins from Costco. The mistake is that had I known they were only 3/4" thick I would not have ordered them. Any tips on how long I would broil this in my spanking new Breviile oven?

trim any tough bit off. you would do better in a very very hot pan for very little time. unless you want to put the B through its paces.

if you want to use the B, trim, and almost freeze the steaks in the freezer. 'Almost' is the key work. then preheat and broil until brown to your choice on one side, just a little time on the reverse side. rest and serve brown side up.

let the steaks talk to you about it as they broil.

I'd also probably opt to not broil them but, as rotus said, maybe you can try one that way and see how it turns out.

I'd be more likely to bring the steaks to room temp, preheat my B to the desired internal temperature (or just below), then cook the steaks until done, followed by a very quick sear on each side in a very hot pan. (I have a rectangular cooling rack that, serendipitously, fit perfectly above the B's roasting tray.

Just for the heck of it, I did a Google search for "Costco strip loin" (w/o the quotation marks), and found this pleasant and helpful video:

http://t.costco.ca/Kobe-Classic-Beef-–-10-Canadian-Wagyu-New-York-Strip-Loin-Steaks.product.100016464.html

This is what I bought. As I said, they were only 3/4" thick. I did broil them, 4 minutes on each side which turned out to be medium. I should have gone with my inital instinct which was 4 minutes on one side and 3 on the other. Normally I cook steak sous vide and them torch them to brown but I wanted to see what the Breville would do with it. So now I know.

[rotuts]

Its a dark and rainy day here, and Im baking up some cornbread in my BV-XL

the kitchen is dark.

made me realize that the BV-XL does not seem to have a light in it to see what's happening.

maybe ive missed it, but that's pretty dumb for $$ 250 ( less at BB&B )

still love it though ....

[rotuts]

the light might have set them back, what ? $ 1.23 ? AUS ?

just to finish up: the little gizmo's that keep the rack from flying out HOT on the BigBoy are only on two levels..

they should be on all levels. thats another $ 1.15.

so we are up to $$ 252.38. still less at BB&B

[gfweb]

The light is the only flaw to me.