Breville "Smart" oven vs. Oster "dumb(?)" oven.

[rotuts]

im wondering , and I think its been mentioned before 

 

using shinny side up on the crumb try if the bottom of the toast does not brown well ?

[gfweb]

Or maybe a trial of shiny aluminum foil on the tray

[rotuts]

in thinking about the uneven toasting :

 

Im wondering if the bottom heating elements get dirty over time ?

 

maybe they can he cleaned ?

 

which I doubt.

[lindag]

I've tried cleaning my oven with its steam clean function.  Also tried the foil on the crumb tray, neither was successful.  That's why I ordered the replacement tray.  Hoping that will do the job.

BTW, the toasting on the bottom is rather stripy, if you get what I mean.  There are untoasted stripes on the bottom side.

[rotuts]

love to hear if it makes a difference.

 

i have noticed those stripes , but the toast was so good Ive ignored them

 

forgot completely that the steam-clean would of course clean the heating elements.

 

maybe they need to be dried carefully to prevent calcium build up ?

[Darienne]

So we bought a Breville in July 2017 and it has been of great service in our cooking and baking regime.  I've hardly used the full size oven since.

 

However, there is this ONE THING:  the Breville will not accept a 9"x 13" pan and only because of the small handles/edges part.  It's a matter of less than an inch.   So this morning, with making Pannukakku in mind for lunch, I got out a variety of 9x13 pans, all of which have edges/handles which preclude use in that oven.  Altering the Pyrex is out of the question.  The metal pans hold promise, and I have this very clever DH and he is going to either cut off the offending edges /handles  or more likely bend them up so that the pan will fit in nicely.  Of course, it would be a problem with some contents...too heavy or too sloppy to risk getting them out of the oven without handle bits.  But Pannunkakku is lightweight and is solid in form when baked.  

 

I'll report back.  

[Darienne]

So Ed decided to bend the edges of the handle parts under and I still have a bit on each end to use as handles and it should work very well.  I'll include a photo of what he did...although I don't need any comments on the state of my pan.

  

[MelissaH]

We have a sliiiiiightly smaller pyrex pan (maybe 8 by 12?) that does fit into our BSO. It's not enough smaller to be a problem in cooking things designed for a 9 by 13 pan, but it's smaller enough to fit. Ours is old, but I think they're still available.

[rotuts]

Ive used aluminum semi-disposable pans for 9 x 13 baking in the BV-XL

 

I line them with parchment paper so they don't get dirty and re-use them over and over

 

esp for a standard Rx of boxed brownies ( Betty C's)

 

I just bend the edge a little and it fits right in.

[mgaretz]

I found a pan, actually more of a cake pan, that was 13x9 at Target that just fits.  What I did was to take a piece of string and cut it to the length that would fit in the oven then used it to measure pans at the store.

 

Of course now I have the Smart Oven Air which is much bigger and fits a 13x9 with handles without issue. 

[boilsover]

40 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

We have a sliiiiiightly smaller pyrex pan (maybe 8 by 12?) that does fit into our BSO. It's not enough smaller to be a problem in cooking things designed for a 9 by 13 pan, but it's smaller enough to fit. Ours is old, but I think they're still available.

You should not be using Pyrex in the BSO.  I believe the manual says as much, and World Kitchen certainly warns against placing Pyrex within 6" of electric elements.

[Anna N]

One needs room around a pan for air to circulate if you hope to cook things evenly. So if a pan just fits it still may not be appropriate. 

[Darienne]

28 minutes ago, boilsover said:

You should not be using Pyrex in the BSO.  I believe the manual says as much, and World Kitchen certainly warns against placing Pyrex within 6" of electric elements.

OK.  I have skimmed through the manual (BOV845,  all models) and cannot find any mention of Pyrex at all.   The only thing I can find which might be applicable is :

"Caution should be exercised when using pans and dishes constructed of materials other than metal. "

And I would not own or use the latest Pyrex dishes period.  They took the borosilicate out of it, thus robbing it of its acclaimed safety factor.  End of buying new Pyrex for me forever.  I do have a good selection of old Pyrex, unscratched, etc, and I use it constantly and carefully.  (Although I can't use the 9" x 13" pan in the Breville...alas...)

 

I'll look up the World Kitchen warning...

 

Added ten minutes later...good lord, they make the new Pyrex.  Well, so much for that one....

Edited January 6, 2018 by Darienne (log)

[boilsover]

5 hours ago, Darienne said:

OK.  I have skimmed through the manual (BOV845,  all models) and cannot find any mention of Pyrex at all.   The only thing I can find which might be applicable is :

"Caution should be exercised when using pans and dishes constructed of materials other than metal. "

And I would not own or use the latest Pyrex dishes period.  They took the borosilicate out of it, thus robbing it of its acclaimed safety factor.  End of buying new Pyrex for me forever.  I do have a good selection of old Pyrex, unscratched, etc, and I use it constantly and carefully.  (Although I can't use the 9" x 13" pan in the Breville...alas...)

 

I'll look up the World Kitchen warning...

 

Added ten minutes later...good lord, they make the new Pyrex.  Well, so much for that one....

 

 

And FWIW, I think Anchor Hocking gives the same warning...

[MelissaH]

22 hours ago, boilsover said:

You should not be using Pyrex in the BSO.  I believe the manual says as much, and World Kitchen certainly warns against placing Pyrex within 6" of electric elements.

I checked the manual, which says, "Caution should be exercised when using pans and dishes constructed of materials other than metal. If using ceramic or glass pans or dishes it is important that they are oven safe to prevent cracking." This old Pyrex pan is of an age to be the good stuff. I appreciate your warnings, and someday I may get bitten by it, but for now, it seems to work for us.

 

As far as air circulation, there's definitely enough room at the front and back for air to circulate freely. We might not get full circulation on the sides, as there's not a huge gap (like maybe half an inch on each side), but again, we haven't had any issues.

[andiesenji]

I have had absolutely no problems with my older Pyrex  in the Oster,  but I mostly use Corning ware - white or the Visions amber.  The maple/mustard ham I cooked last Monday was a very long, slow roast in my biggest Corning roaster. 14" x 11.5"  

 

I baked several loaves of bread  in old Pyrex and Fire King  loaf pans.  I used the "Turbo Convection" setting for these because I have found that it is less likely for the tops to brown too quickly with the boost in air circulation.

 

It's possible that it is the larger interior volume of the Oster that lessens the problems with non-metal ovenware.  I've baked numerous pies in Pyrex or in my Emile Henry deep dish bakers.  For cakes and quick breads I use the paper molds (not so good for yeast breads because they deform and I wouldn't leave them in the molds anyway.)

[IEATRIO]

I own two Breville Smart Ovens, and I have generally been happy with them, and find that they have extremely even heating which can be handy for baking (I make toast in a toaster so don't care too much about how it handles toast).  

 

I have begun to experience a big problem on both of my SmartOvens though, in that the fancy circular power buttons no longer function reliably. They beep as if they've been activated when pressed, but most of the time the on/off switch has not actually been activated.  This is an annoying problem when turning the machines on, as sometimes you think the machine is on and preheating, only to return to a cold "off" oven.  Its a much worse and potentially dangerous problem though when the oven is on, and you think its been turned off, but in fact remains on.  It sometimes takes 10 presses or more to work the switch.

 

Since this is happening on both of my units, both bought at different places and at different times, I'm wondering if this is a widespread defect.  Has anybody else experienced this problem with their Breville Smart Oven?  I think that Breville uses this circular button-switch design in lots of their products, and perhaps these have an issue too.  In any case, users should be on guard to make sure that their devices are actually switched off when the button is pressed.

[Darienne]

17 minutes ago, IEATRIO said:

I own two Breville Smart Ovens, and I have generally been happy with them, and find that they have extremely even heating which can be handy for baking (I make toast in a toaster so don't care too much about how it handles toast).  

How long have you owned each oven?

 

We have found  that all electronic products simply fail after a certain length of time.  Just part of this AI life we lead.  

 

We used to shop at a certain local appliance dealer which closed up years ago.  DH was a former teacher of one of the employees who told him that if someone gets five years from a stove, fridge, etc...that person is very lucky.  

[MelissaH]

We're starting to have a little bit of an issue with our BSO XL's buttons, in that they don't do what they're supposed to do all the time. Hit the on button, and it turns the convection on or off. Hit the convection button, and it changes from F to C and vice versa. A little care when pushing the buttons has worked for us, so far.

[Anna N]

30 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

We're starting to have a little bit of an issue with our BSO XL's buttons, in that they don't do what they're supposed to do all the time. Hit the on button, and it turns the convection on or off. Hit the convection button, and it changes from F to C and vice versa. A little care when pushing the buttons has worked for us, so far.

Same here.  So far only annoying. 

[gfweb]

A 4-5 yr old BSO just died after a few months of erratic buttons. The buttons on the new BSO-air are more solid feeling

Edited February 1, 2018 by gfweb (log)

[rotuts]

 

why they have ignored Steam DownUnder

 

Ill never know

 

such a shame

 

[gfweb]

1 minute ago, rotuts said:

 

why they have ignored Steam DownUnder

 

Ill never know

 

such a shame

 

 

Perhaps all the air fryer ads on TV pushed them in that direction

[rotuts]

Dummies

 

all of of them .

[Fernwood]

6 hours ago, IEATRIO said:

I have begun to experience a big problem on both of my SmartOvens though, in that the fancy circular power buttons no longer function reliably. They beep as if they've been activated when pressed, but most of the time the on/off switch has not actually been activated.  This is an annoying problem when turning the machines on, as sometimes you think the machine is on and preheating, only to return to a cold "off" oven.  Its a much worse and potentially dangerous problem though when the oven is on, and you think its been turned off, but in fact remains on.  It sometimes takes 10 presses or more to work the switch.

 

Ours has been the same for over a year.  I know it has been that long because I thought to replace it with a Cuisinart steam oven for Christmas 2016 but then BBB didn't really have a CSO to send me, in spite of accepting the order online.  So we kept on using the Breville.  Sometimes the problem seems a little better for a while, then a little worse.  I assumed that eventually I would be forced to replace it but I fantasized that Cuisinart might bring out a larger steam oven if I stalled, so I keep on jabbing at that button.