But this idiosyncrasy didn’t negatively impact any of the items we cooked—most toaster ovens heat at least 10 to 15 degrees over or under the set temperature anyway. Some toaster ovens, like our budget pick, are equipped with only two heating elements. But fewer heating elements aren’t necessarily an indication of poor toasting performance. If the oven cavity is small, two elements are enough to regulate heat. That said, avoid larger toaster ovens with only a couple of elements because they won’t be able to distribute heat evenly. The more heating elements a toaster oven has, the bigger and more expensive it will be.
Toasting Evenness
Great on thick toast like Texas toast or bagels. I sometimes like a thin toast product that a regional bakery chain makes and that I have to really watch as it will burn. Safety
I like that the appliance never gets overtly hot even on the chrome. You don’t have to worry about burning your wrists or fingers when you go to get your toasted item. The automatic shutoff is phenomenal for my early morning brain fog!
The toast setting is what you should use for a standard piece of toast or English muffin. Use the bagel setting for bagels and thicker slices of bread. Odds are you won’t be sharing much of the frozen foods you cook in the Easy Reach. Due to its compact size, it barely accommodates a 9-inch pizza, while the most other ovens fit a standard size 12-inch pizza.
Do this in a ventilated space if possible; depending on the oven, you’ll smell fumes during the first round or two. While you wait, take the time to wash the rack and accessories in warm, soapy water. We found the same heating map inconsistency when toasting bagels. The oven is only big enough to toast two full bagels at a time. The half-bagel slices in the front toasted perfectly, while those in the rear of the oven were paler and less crispy.
That said, the controls are clearly labeled and straightforward to use, so we’re willing to overlook this drawback. We’d also prefer dial controls over the FlashXpress’s blister-push buttons, but they’re perfectly usable and not as glitchy or mushy as others we tested. In every round of testing we conducted for this guide, we started by filling each toaster with as many slices of basic white bread as we could, then set each machine to toast at medium shade. The results gave us a heat map of each oven, showing us how evenly each model toasted and whether there were any hot spots. I’ve tried many of these toasters and they usually break, like the button would get stuck on the bottom and not release, resulting in burnt toasts.
To see if this appliance is a worthwhile purchase, I put it to the test over the course of several weeks. The roll-top feature allows the user to access items by reaching down to them, making it much easier to adjust or remove food without bumping into the oven or burning your hands. Many toaster ovens have very hamilton beach toaster little space between the racks and the interior sides of the oven, making it challenging to adjust or remove food. We also liked the fact that the Easy Reach’s door is completely clear, which allowed us to monitor all of our food in one glance. We also love that the entire door can be removed for easy cleaning.
Durability
Although I typically leave this out on my counter, if I need more room for baking I will move it. I move it pretty often, and I never had a problem with anything breaking on this toaster. For the past two years, two Wirecutter employees have used the Hamilton Beach for basic tasks like making toast, reheating pizza, and baking frozen snacks. One of our testers initially tried toasting bread in the baking pan, which only browned the top of the bread. As with all models, you want to remove the pan and toast bread directly on the oven rack.
This no-frills model lacks many of the features included in our other picks—such as digital controls and preset cooking features—but it heats evenly. The Hamilton Beach’s humble size makes it ideal for kitchens with limited counter space, but it’s still large enough to fit four slices of bread. This toaster oven runs cooler than other models we tested, so you’ll need to increase the temperature by about 25 degrees when baking or roasting. But we think that’s a forgivable drawback considering the low price. Its convection fan has two speeds, like the Cuisinart’s, but the high speed is slightly more powerful and can crisp up food faster. Just avoid using the lid if it has a non-metal knob that could be damaged by close contact with the heating elements (use foil to cover the pot instead).
Reflects how easy the controls are to set and how clear they are. Due to its contents, this product cannot be shipped via our Priority Service or sent to Alaska, Hawaii, P.O.