Breville the Smart Oven® Pro, Convection Toaster Oven, Small Electric Countertop Oven, BOV845BKS, Black Sesame

A most excellent small countertop oven! This is my second Breville oven as I liked the first one so much, I gave it to my son! When this came up on sale on Amazon, I decided to purchase it as it was such a good deal! We don’t use our regular oven anymore except to bake bread as the interior is larger. The Breville oven does everything else. It toasts bread, bagels, bakes chicken wings, pies, cakes, and anything you can fit inside it. Breville came out with a version of this oven that air fries but we have a separate. ninja air fryer that works great on its own. I think the value of this countertop convection oven is perfect without the air frying feature. Two friends have bought this oven after seeing it in our home. It’s a great product I would highly recommend!!!

I have forced my mother onto a diet because her cardiologist wants to give her bariatric surgery before he decides if any surgical intervention is necessary on her heart. One of the biggest problems about cooking when you are single is that your oven is too big for little jobs. In my mother's case, it also holds baking sheets, cooking pots, strainers, etc. Between lugging out all that stuff, heating the oven, the wait, it is a little inconvenient. And obviously resorting to the microwave and convenience foods has hurt her. So I figured a small convection oven would be a good idea. It is convenient. It can handle a roast or a chicken. But it can also make a nice baked potato and roasted vegetables. My mother refuses to read a manual. Giving her a new phone every couple of years requires my taking dangerous amounts of Xanax mixed with alcohol. Computer pop-ups notifying her of updates result in harried phone calls. Tablets, Rokus, Blu-Ray players ... God help me. I wonder why I ever do it. (The obvious answer is so the neighbors cannot speak ill of me.) But the set up on this is simple enough that even she can handle it. The first nob is for method, the second is for temperature, and the third is for time. Yes, there is a convection setting button and one for frozen foods. She even figured those out. But it is intuitive. She knows now not to have anything touching the walls of the unit. She knows that it is necessary to pull it from the wall when she wants to use it. She knows not to touch the sides unless it has cooled down. What I am trying to say is that my mother, who was a government employee, can figure this thing out. It is great for cooking a one-pound pork tenderloin. It is great for baking a pork chop. In other words, it is great for a single cook. The window tells you what level to put the baking rack at. The bottom tray pulls out for easy cleaning. And because I read the manual, I was able to explain about not touching the elements when wiping down the inside, etc. This is a great little device for the single cook. One of the hardest parts about making food for oneself is either portion size or that you have to make big food and be stuck with it all week if you don't freeze it. This and a FoodSaver (which I also bought her) lets you buy a big roast and cut it down and vacuum seal it. Couple things I have noticed: 1) People who show photos of blown-out wall outlets or burnt walls or ruined plugs didn't read the manual. It clearly says that it should be four inches away from anything on all sides and six inches from anything above. This sucker gets hot. It is not insulated like a regular oven. Don't put it in a hole for a microwave, even if you have heat sinks all about. 2) If the thermal fuse blows on your oven, it is actually a five-dollar part and there are ample YouTube videos on how to fix this. It is easy to get the OEM replacement. There is no reason to throw the oven away. I'd also argue those who have this problem may be leaving their oven too close to walls. 3) I don't think convection saves a great deal of time. I cooked a one-pound pork tenderloin in there and followed the old rule about one-third less time at the same temperature. It didn't really work. But if you let the oven cook and use the convection, it results in a nicely cooked outside. I wouldn't say it is a sear, but it looks nicer than if one merely baked it. 4) This thing is great with frozen pizzas. It is auto-set for this and you just put it on the included pizza plate and let 'er rip. The convection gives a nice, even cooking to it and it doesn't come out all cracker dry and browned like in a conventional oven. Plus you don't have to look in on it every two minutes to see if it is done. It is hard to find a sweet spot on frozen pizzas in a big oven. Probably because of uneven cooking. I have not baked cookies or pastries in this oven so I don't know how that goes, especially with convection. I have only cooked meats, vegetables, and potatoes. Vegetables roast so nicely. I attached a photo of some Brussels sprouts I recently did. I think a single person or a couple will stop using their large oven if they get this. I am surprised that studio apartments don't just provide one of these and an induction top to save space. I am looking to build a very small home and I plan on doing just that. This is a fantastic little oven, and if used properly will produce satisfying results. Just read the manual. It is not as simple as just plugging in and making something. You do have to know how to use it.

I purchased this toaster oven on March 3, 2020, and I have used it at least once a day, every single day, in the nearly two years since. I have never once had even a slight issue with this fantastic oven. My English muffins come out consistently every time — all the muffins are the same level of brownness, and from one day to the next, they are absolutely perfect. I also occasionally bake pizzas and other foods in this oven. With only a very small exception, the cheese reaches a uniform golden brown exactly how I prefer it, and I know it will do the same the next time I make a pizza. One nice thing about this oven is that for most foods, you don’t have to guess a time and temperature. You just don’t. Instead, you select the type of program you want and the amount you’re making. For instance, I have English muffins every morning with breakfast. I set the oven to the “toast” program, darkness level 5, and quantity 3 — sometimes you have to set the quantity by +/- 1 to get the results you want, but that isn’t enough of an issue to reduce the rating. When I hit start, the timer is set to exactly the right time needed to achieve that level of darkness. There are many different programs, which you can read about in the product features above, so I won’t go into them here. I have personally used the toast, bagel, pizza, and bake programs. They all work very well. The bake program, unlike most others, does require you to set the time and temperature. For pizzas, you enter the size (in inches) and the temperature, and the oven suggests the appropriate time. I have found the time suggested for pizzas is far too long, but I have only baked thin crust pizzas. For a Chicago-style deep dish, the time would perhaps be too short. But without an option to set the crust type, this is to be expected. I have also baked frozen fried chicken tenders and French fries, with excellent results here as well. Warming up chocolate chip cookies from the bakery is a snap: in under 5 minutes, I have “fresh from the oven” chocolate chip cookies with gooey melted chocolate chips. Some toaster ovens I’ve used take forever to heat up… and some run so hot I have learned (the hard way) that I needed to cut the suggested time in half. This one is spot on. Preheating to 425°F takes around 5 minutes or a bit less (I haven’t actually timed it). The one small issue I have had is that the right front section tends to get slightly hotter than the rest of the oven. Not a lot; only slightly. It doesn’t make a difference with foods like toast, which complete quickly. But something like a pizza, which takes about 12 minutes (after preheating) for my preferred pizza in this oven, the cheese will be a bit browner in that area. The included baking pan, pizza pan, and grill pan are high quality and sturdy, but the finish does not stand up to pizza cutters, so be sure to take the pizza off the pan before slicing, or otherwise to cut very carefully. Cleaning is easy, but could be better. The crumb/drip tray pulls right out from the front. There could be some improvement here though, because there is a bar running across the front that collects crumbs, and the only way to really completely clean the oven is with a handheld vac with the right attachment. Also, I would prefer if the drip tray had a nonstick coating like the included pizza pan. If food gets baked on, it can be difficult to clean off. Of all the toaster ovens I have owned, I have been far happier with this one than any other. There is no contest. Is it perfect? No… but nothing is. It’s pretty darn close though. Breville toaster ovens are comparatively expensive, and this model doesn’t double as an air fryer, but I will never buy another brand again, so long as this oven continues to please me like it has for the last two years.

Difficult decision to make which Toaster Oven to purchase. I had to choose based on a specific Size requirement. I chose the mid-grade Breville unit, but it was still a bit pricey. After about a week of use, this Toaster Oven is great and worth it's price. The controls are easy to use and the dials are easy to read, especially with its backlit panel display. It even has a a great Oven Light that really illuminates well. The light automatically comes on 30 seconds before time is up. It can can also be turned on at any time. This Oven heats up fast, toasts items quickly and exactly like I prefer. All in all, a great unit. But still there's a few rough edges I need to tell you about. 1) the sides do get hot, and, 2) the door is not very smooth when opening or closing. But, it does have magnets that help pulls out the wire cooking rack.

UPDATE August 13, 2017: After having received the replacement for the defect unit I originally got, I've had a chance to use more of the features and can now provide a better review based on observations. As A Toaster Oven - 2 Out Of 5 Stars: For me the Breville BOV845BSS just doesn't do toast justice. I can't seem to get a good, crisp outside with a softer inside as I can with a regular toaster no matter what settings I dial in for temperature nor time. Because of having to crank on more time to get the outside a nice, golden brown the inside ends up crispy as well. When I bite into the toast it shatters almost like a piece of glass and crumbs go flying everywhere. I'm not talking about any fancy bread here, just the run-of-the-mill bread common in any grocery store. I'm sorry, but if I have to babysit a toast-maker that much just to end up with mediocre toast that doesn't qualify it as a toaster oven. So, I'll be buying a regular toaster just so I can get a nice piece of toast for my Marmite. As A Full-Size Oven - 5 Out Of 5 Stars: As a regular oven this where this unit really shines, and I mean really shines. We've used ours quite a lot since getting it and it does a phenomenal job on all tasks I'd have used the full-sized oven for. It does an excellent job for cooking convenience dishes in aluminum foil pans, to reheating foods, and cooking gourmet meals from scratch. I like this oven so much now I don't think I'll even use our full-size over for anything other than for foods that won't fit in the Breville. Given there's just the two of us I can't envision many dishes we wouldn't be able to cook in the Breville. In Summary: If you're buying the BOV845BSS as a very expensive toaster oven then I'd suggest looking elsewhere and saving yourself a chunk of money. If you're buying it to use as a regular oven to take on the chores of a full-size oven but in smaller portions then this unit is for you. The controls are well laid out and easy to use; it has built-in functions for cooking many types of dishes while allowing you to fine-tune the cook times and temperatures, and; it's really easy to clean. After reading some reviews whereby the electronics and/or elements went out right after the manufactures warranty ran out we did buy the extended warranty, just in case. ORIGINAL REVIEW: The first Breville BOV845BSS I received apparently had a defective Element IQ system. It produced great colored toast the first one or two times after which I couldn't even get any color on the toast without me cranking on quite a few extra minutes to get the color I wanted (same brand and type of bread each of the times). I called Breville who confirmed it was likely a defective element IQ system causing the issue and recommended I return it to Amazon for a replacement, which I did. That's why I gave the experience 3 out of 5 stars because both Breville and Amazon were willing to make things right. I'll report on how well the replacement unit does after a few firings and maybe over a wider array of functions rather than just to make toast. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision in buying an expensive unit that's not able to perform commensurate with its cost.

Our Breville Smart Oven finally broke after 10 years of almost daily use, so it was time to replace it. Another Breville, no question - but which one? The bigger Pro version (the one in this review) seemed like the obvious choice, but I wasn't sure if it would fit on the counter or get too hot under the cabinets. Short answer: It fits! It doesn't get too hot! It works great! Best choice! Long answer, for those who like to overanalyze everything (not that I'd know anything about that...): How big is it? - Width: 21.5" - Depth: 15" not including handle, 17.25" with handle - Height: 12.375" not including handle, 12.75" with handle See the attached pictures for how it compares with the BOV800XL. How loud is it? Quieter than the old one. The older 800XL convection fan was loud and almost rattled. The new one has 2 fans: one to cool the electronics and one for convection. Even with both fans, cooking with normal convection is pretty quiet. Airfry turns the convection fan up to 11 and makes a serious whoosh. I don't use airfry much (regular convection works just as well for most things we cook), so it's not a big deal. You want numbers? I got numbers. With the meter sitting on the counter next to the oven: Baseline room noise: 33dB Oven, no convection: 55dB (mostly the electronics fan) Convection: 57 dB Airfry mode: 69 dB (Note that when the fan first starts, it's louder, maybe 66dB, for 1-2 seconds until it gets up to speed. That's how the old 800XL fan sounded all the time.) Check out the attached video if you want to actually hear it. How hot does it get? After 15 minutes of convection roast at 450 degrees... - Top front: 215 - Top back: 160 - Sides: 140 - Glass: 235 - Door: 220 (top and sides), 170 (bottom) - Back: 135 - Wall behind it, a few inches away: 90 - Cabinet above, 7" clearance: 90 The cabinet above it does get warmish inside, so if you store your chocolate or cooking oils or other heat-sensitive stuff there, you might have a problem. How well does it work? Great! I love having a 2nd oven for when I don't want to heat the big one, or need to cook things at 2 different temperatures, or need to keep something warm while the rest of the food finishes cooking. This oven has 10 settings, but I use only a few of them: - Toast: Slower than a toaster, but cooks the slices evenly. - Bake/roast: Temperate is accurate, cooks mostly evenly (there's a slightly hotter spot in the front right). - Airfry: I never had a standalone airfryer, so I can't compare. It does make things crispier compared with normal convection. Usually I just use the airfry basket with the fan on normal convection, and that seems fine. - Slow cook: Never used it. - Reheat: As far I as I can tell, the only difference between reheat and bake/roast is that for reheat, the timer starts when the oven starts heating. For bake and roast, the timer starts after the oven is already heated. Subtle difference, but surprisingly convenient for not overcooking your leftovers. tl;dr: Oven is good. I like it.

Excellent product that is a replacement of prior model 13! Years of use later! And the minor improvements only make it more usable! Highly recommend! The convection is quieter than the old one, the added light is much of a help and the only reason I replaced it was I wore out the on off button !

We bought this oven to replace our aging BOV800XL, which we loved. With just 2 of us, we use the oven primarily for baking meat to avoid having to use the large oven in our stove. The first 2 times we used it, it worked fine. The third time it stopped with an E05 error code after baking for about 20-30 minutes. We pulled the power cord, waited a couple minutes and plugged it back in. The oven started up and we were able to finish cooking the meat. The Breville manual says to contact customer service with no further explanation of what the error code means. We were reluctant to use it again, but we did. This time it ran fine. The next time we used it, it again stopped with the same error code, so the problem is intermittent. We contacted Breville customer service on Nov 30 and after a couple email exchanges, they authorized a replacement. They emailed us a pre-paid FedEx Ground shipping label on Dec 4. Good thing we had saved the original shipping box. Saturday, Dec 9, we boxed up the defective oven and brought it to FedEx. According to Breville customer support, they will ship the replacement unit once they have received the defective unit. They stated to expect to receive the replacement oven within 7-10 days after that. They do offer a Ship in Advance option which places a temporary authorization hold on a major credit or debit card. They will then ship a replacement unit without waiting to receive the defective one. We decided not to take this option. UPDATE 05-08-2018: The replacement unit had worked fine until today, when it started shutting off with an E05 error code. They either have a design problem or a quality control issue. At this point I don't know what I want from Breville. I hesitate to get another replacement. I have lowered my rating to 1 star. Very disappointed. UPDATE 05/22/2018 Breville agreed to send another oven (3rd oven), this time a model BOV800XL, at my request to try a different model. Within a couple uses, it shut off with the same E05 error code. Building codes where I live require GFCI circuits in bathrooms and kitchens. The circuit where I plug in the oven is a 20 amp dedicated circuit with a GFCI outlet. Running the oven has never tripped the GFCI outlet or the main 20 amp breaker, just the E05 error and the oven shuts off. Only one other device is plugged into this circuit, a power block for a cordless telephone base unit. I again contacted Breville and this is what they told me in an email: "If it is a GFCI outlet, sharing the outlet, or if the unit is not running on a 20 amp circuit you will keep getting this error." So the bottom line is that Breville ovens cannot be reliably run on a power circuit with a GFCI outlet. UPDATE 07/06/2018: Breville agreed to let me return the 3rd oven and they issued me a full refund for the original purchase price. We then ordered a Cuisinart TOB-260N1 from Amazon. We have been using it for several weeks and so far have had no problems with it.