Breville BOV450XL Mini Smart Toaster Oven vs Breville Smart Oven Pro Side-by-Side Comparison

• Model: BOV450XL
• Warranty: 1-year limited
• User Manual
• Baking Rack
• Baking Pan

On the packaging were some illustrations and basic information, and the oven was couched nicely between two foam pads. Breville’s user manual explains in detail how each oven function works. 

The default accessories, a baking rack and baking pan, were packaged in a fitted carton box. You can opt to buy a separate 11” pizza pan and/or a broiling rack to cover more cooking methods.

• Model: BOV845BSSUSC
• Warranty: 1 year (US only)
• User Manual
• Baking Rack
• Baking Pan
• Broiling Rack
• Pizza Pan

The Breville toaster oven came in an eye-catching box but it was only secured with two foam pads. On the bright side, its accessories including a baking rack, baking pan, broiling rack, and pizza pan were neatly placed in a fitted carton box.

The oven’s user manual explains in detail how each oven function works and includes a number of recipes. To elevate your pizza party, you can opt for the optional pizza crisper, pizza stone, and bamboo cutting board.

The small size didn’t stop Breville from designing a sturdy stainless steel outer shell. The shape of the back buffers makes it easy to wrap the power cord around them once things have cooled.

Also, the tray-level indicators on the glass door and the slide-out crumb tray are always nice touches. However, the oven’s exterior doesn’t provide good grip points to carry the oven.

We measured the oven’s footprint to be 15.74" x 14.17" x 8.86" which was slightly different in terms of height from the manufacturer’s 16.1" x 14.2" x 10.4".

An exterior feature that stood out to us on the Breville is its side-positioned carrying handles which double up as air ventilation holes for the convection system. We were also impressed by the indicators on the glass door that direct you to its three tray levels and many cooking functions.

The Breville has an interesting automatic eject feature for when the oven rack is in the middle guide rail. This is achieved thanks to a magnet in the corresponding position on the oven door.

Further attention to the design shows in the convenient slide-out crumb tray and strong base stands. The oven’s door handle is cool-touch and provides a good grip. Unfortunately, the back buffers are not long enough to create ample space between the back of the oven and the wall.

Our measurements of 18.39" x 15.94" x 10.78" for the oven pretty much coincided with the dimensions provided by the manufacturer—18.5" x 14.5" x 11". The 1.5-inch difference in width is probably because we took the door handle into account.

The control panel consists of 1 control knob for 8 functions and 4 buttons to set the time, temperature, and/or toasting mode. The digital display and the Start/Cancel button both shine blue when the oven’s plugged in and red when it’s cooking.

Beyond the standard stuff, you’ll find 3 unique buttons: Temperature Conversion (°F-°C), Frozen Foods, and A Bit More. The latter adds a specific amount of time depending on the cooking function.

The LCD screen will display ‘E01’ or ‘E02’ when there is a non-resettable issue with the appliance. When this happens, immediately unplug the cord from the wall outlet and call the Breville Customer Service Center.

The ‘E03’ shows up when the oven temperature exceeds its design limit. Should this occur, unplug your oven, allow it to cool for 15 minutes, then plug it back in.

The ‘E04’ appears when the room temperature is below the set minimum. If this happens, unplug the oven and move it to a warmer area.

The Breville has 3 control knobs for function, temperature, and timer. Its five buttons include four toggles for temperature conversion, interior light, convection fan, and Defrost feature. The Start/Cancel button and the digital display both shine red when the oven’s cooking.

The LCD screen will display ‘E01’, ‘E02’, or ‘E05’ when there is a non-resettable issue with the appliance. When this happens, immediately unplug the cord from the wall outlet and call the Breville Customer Service Center.

The ‘E03’ shows up when the oven temperature exceeds its design limit. Should this occur, unplug your oven, allow it to cool for 15 minutes, then plug it back in.

The ‘E04’ appears when the room temperature is below the set minimum. If this happens, unplug the oven and move it to a warmer area.

• Toast (7 levels, 4 slices maximum)
• Bagel (7 levels, 4 slices maximum)
• Bake (1h 30m maximum)
• Broil (High and Low levels, 20 minutes maximum)
• Pizza (55 minutes maximum)
• Roast (1h 30m maximum)
• Cookies (55 minutes maximum)
• Reheat (370°F maximum)

For safety reasons, all cooking functions have a predetermined timer limit after which the oven stops cooking. If you want to continue cooking, simply operate the oven in standard mode. The High setting of the Broil function does the job faster than Low and you’ll need to experiment with it to learn how quickly it cooks.

• Toast (level 1-7)
• Bagel (level 1-7)
• Bake (1 minute - 10 hours)
• Roast (1 minute - 2 hours)
• Broil (300°F, 400°F, 500°F; 1 minute - 20 minutes)
• Pizza (6″-13″; Fresh/Frozen)
• Cookies (1 minute - 1 hour)
• Reheat (1 minute - 2 hours)
• Warm (1 minute - 2 hours)
• Slow Cook (2 hours - 10 hours)

The Breville has 10 cooking functions which make full use of its wide timer and temperature ranges. Functions that allow for the full adjustment of temperature (120°F - 450°F) include Bake, Roast, Cookies, Reheat, and Warm.

The Toast and Bagel functions have 1-7 levels which include predetermined timers for 1-6 slices. This toaster oven went the extra mile as most others don’t take the number of slices into account.

Meanwhile, the pizza function includes presets for sizes ranging from 6" to 13" along with fresh or frozen pizzas. The Broil function has three preset temperatures including 500°F, 400°F, and 300°F for up to 20 minutes.

The Slow Cook function has two settings: ‘LO’ with a timer of 4-10 hours and ‘HI’ with 2-8 hours; and you can further adjust the timer up and down while cooking. After the Slow Cook cycle finishes, this function automatically turns to Keep Warm at 175°F for up to another 2 hours.

The Breville’s interior has a non-stick coating, 4 heating elements, and 3 tray levels (quite rare for its size). However, it has no internal lighting or convection system.

The oven uses 4 quartz heating elements, each with its own safety guard to prevent direct contact with baking pans and food. Unlike the more common nichrome style, these don’t heat the air in the oven, but rather radiate the infrared heat directly to the food or pan.

Overall, they produce more heat and cool down faster than nichrome. In addition, they’re easier to clean and are more energy-efficient but not as durable. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.

The BOV845BSS has a non-stick interior coating which explains the black color. The black interior isn’t a problem though thanks to the oven’s interior light. When necessary, you can remove the glass cover to change the interior light bulb which is a G9 type, 25 W, 120 V.

Each of the three tray levels has a safety hook to prevent the oven rack from accidently sliding all the way out. However, only the bottom one is positioned further in, specifically for this purpose. The convection system, while quite powerful, is pleasantly quiet.

The Breville has five quartz heating elements that use infrared light to cook. Compared to the more common nichrome heating elements, these heat up and cool down faster while also being easier to clean and more energy-efficient but don’t last as long in terms of durability.

For this unit, each heating element has a safety guard to prevent direct contact with baking pans and trays. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.

The BOV450XL had enough space for four slices of toast, an 11-inch pizza, or barely a 3 lb whole chicken.

We measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be 13.86 liters compared to the manufacturer’s provided capacity of 12.74 liters. However, it could just be because we measured from the cooking chamber’s walls to walls whereas the manufacturer stopped before reaching the heating elements.

The Breville’s cooking chamber has a capacity of 25 liters which is quite common among large toaster ovens. This was one of the rare occasions where the cooking chamber’s volume that we measured matched the manufacturer’s stated capacity.

Many large units can also fit 6 slices of toast but not all can fit a 13-inch pizza like the Breville. This oven can also fit a 9-cup muffin tray or a 4.16-liter Dutch oven.

The power cord is roughly 40.94"—plenty of length for household use—and can be wrapped around the back buffers for storage. The plug also has a nice little handle which makes it easier to grab.

The power cord is roughly 39.37"—plenty of length for household use. It does protrude from the bottom of the oven though, which may create inconvenient bends.

The rack fits perfectly on the guide rails, which helps prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven.

The baking rack fits perfectly with the guide to prevent accidents when placing food in the oven and has a pattern to keep the baking pan on top of it in place.

Although the baking pan is a bit smaller than the rack, it still has more than enough space for a 3 lb chicken. Thus, it keeps most of the mess off the heating elements. 

However, even with the enamel coating, the chicken skin still stuck to the pan during our roasting test. Also worth noting is that the dishwasher can damage this coating.

The baking pan has a non-stick enamel coating. However, it’s not big enough to fit into the guide rails which means it can’t fully utilize the capacity of the cooking chamber.

The Breville is well-constructed and durable with a high power rating of 1800 W. All of its parts fit nicely and work smoothly, especially the LCD display and the buttons.

Thanks to the good insulation of the casing, the oven gets hot to the touch only after cooking for a long period of time at high heat.

The Breville has a sturdy build and is made from durable stainless steel. The oven has good heat insulation and a good convection system so the casing rarely gets hot to the touch—only after a long cooking time at a high temperature (>400°F).

Its LCD has a good color contrast, the control dials turn smoothly, and the buttons have good responsiveness. On another note, this unit doesn’t provide enough oven racks to make full use of the three tray levels and additional accessories.

Note: This product adheres to the California Proposition 65.