Fingertips intact, I started taking a closer look at the toast I was making. At a glance, it looked fine as far as toast goes, but compared to what the other models in this roundup were making, it seemed to skew towards dark if set to medium or above. Additionally, I wasn’t getting even results on both sides of my bread — certainly not a deal-breaker for a $30 device, but something to consider if you’re splitting hairs. The toasting controls can be hard to figure out to avoid burning your toast.
After setting the desired temperature, we allowed the oven to preheat and then checked the temperature at timed intervals. Simply use the HSN Return Label within 30 days of receipt to return
your item for a free replacement of the same item in a different color or size. If your request for an exchange results in any additional merchandise or
shipping costs, and you paid by credit card, your credit card will be charged
for those additional costs. Payment methods other than a credit card may result
in an order cancellation & a refund may be issued. If the requested
exchange is no longer available, including items on waitlist and advance order,
HSN will issue a refund and not deduct the HSN Return Label fee. I tested all seven of its browning options on standard white bread, all leaving the bread crisp and brown but not charred or burnt.
There really isn’t a whole lot to say about the usability of this toaster. You put the bread in, you select the desired doneness, you press the lever down, you wait a minute or two. For what it’s worth, the lever mechanism never stuck or gave me any difficulty throughout hamilton beach toaster oven dozens of tests, and the crumb tray was cooperative, too. Nobody wants to waste time thinking about toasters, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want one that works well sitting on our kitchen counter. To that end, the CNET Appliances team is here to help.
The electric current moves through a series of slender conducting filaments. If you’ve ever looked inside your toaster while it’s working and noticed glowing, red hot wires around your slice of bread, those are the filaments doing their job. The filaments beam heat toward your bread using infrared radiation. The steady supply of heat from the filaments rapidly cooks your bread. For manual toasting, you get a smooth-turning doneness dial arbitrarily marked with nine settings. Other toasters might offer less — the $100 Cuisinart CPT-440 offers just seven, for instance.
Breakfast foods don’t get much more ubiquitous than toast — and that makes toasters relevant to just about all of us. It’s important to think about both the internal and external size of any toaster oven you’re considering. A large toaster oven that also works as an easy-to-clean rotisserie oven; earns our expert’s approval. We also see a place for the Easy Reach in an adventure van or other type of RV.
We spent a good work week with these things, and we’ve got plenty of toasty insight to share, all in the name of a better balanced breakfast. 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.