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Oster French Door vs Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4 Slices Toaster Oven Side-by-Side Comparison
Our Verdict
- Performance (50%)6.4/10
- Design (25%)6.7/10
- Usability (25%)6.4/10
- Performance (50%)6.3/10
- Design (25%)5.1/10
- Usability (25%)5.5/10
The extra large Oster French Door Digital Convection Toaster Oven (TSSTTVFDDG) has higher scores than the Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4 Slices Toaster Oven (31344DA). However, it may surprise you that their scores don’t differ as much as their sizes.
Both units have an interesting design quirk of their own. The Oster has a sleek brush stainless steel casing and a single-pull French door. Meanwhile, the Hamilton has a roll-top door that saves some more space on top of its small footprint.
Other than that, the Hamilton has only the standard features similar to many other small toaster ovens, such as two quartz heating elements and analog control dials. On the other hand, the Oster has digital controls, internal lighting, a convection system, and more heating elements.
Thanks to its higher power draw, the Oster scored higher in roasting whole chicken and baking fries. The Hamilton won in toasting bread and baking pizza, although not by much.
Oster French Door Toaster Oven Performance
- Toast (40%)6.0/10
- Pizza (25%)6.3/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)8.1/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)4.1/10
- Toast (40%)6.7/10
- Pizza (25%)6.6/10
- Whole Roasted Chicken (25%)6.6/10
- Baked French Fries (10%)3.6/10
Toast
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: 4/6
- Cooking Time: 7m 25s
- Second Batch: 5m 31s
- Convection: No
We began our Toast test on the Oster with the default toast level 4 and got pretty good results right off the bat. For good measure, we continued to try the toast level 3, which failed to color evenly within the stipulated time.
We then tried level 5 only to end up with burnt toast and not the expected deep brown shade. Regretfully, while level 4 was the best toast level, it didn’t score high on our benchmark scale—only 6/10.
On this setting—7 minutes 25 seconds on the timer—the four pieces of bread on the upper tray were toasted to a nice golden brown color. However, the color became dark towards the edges, especially where the bread was less dense.
Additionally, a large portion of the bottom right piece of toast was significantly lighter, possibly indicating a cold spot in the cooking chamber. With such unevenness, we could only score the surface color a 6/10 despite the overall golden brown hue.
Moreover, due to the lengthy toasting time, the toast became very crispy but dry on the inside. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, said this crispiness would be great for eggs benedict and especially soup, but maybe not omelets and sandwiches. Unfortunately, the dark edges produced a bitter taste, preventing it from getting higher than a 6/10 from our chef.
We toasted the second batch of four slices immediately after the first. We chose level 4 again whereupon the oven automatically calibrated the timer to 5 minutes 31 seconds.
Since the oven was already hot, the aforementioned cold spot became less apparent. The toast was not as crispy nor dry as the first batch, which made it more suitable for sandwiches and omelets.
However, the burnt edges were still a problem, so the oven received one final 6/10 for consecutive usability. If you want better results for the second batch, we recommend decreasing the toast level by one.
- Function: Toast
- Number Of Slices: 4
- Toast Level: Medium
- Cooking Time: 5m
- Second Batch: 5m
- Convection: No
To start off our Toast test, we placed four pieces of bread on the lower tray level and turned the time knob to the point just before the toast icon, which was around 4 minutes 5 seconds on the timer. The bread came out only lightly toasted on top.
Thus, we tried increasing the timer to 5 minutes and had a pretty good result. We then tried increasing the timer again to 7 minutes and 20 seconds just for good measure, but that almost burnt the toast.
With everything in mind, we decided 5 minutes of toasting would yield the best possible result and the final score was 6.7/10. It was quite tricky to get the exact toasting time due to the analog control knob so we used an external timer.
The top of the four pieces of toast had good golden-brown color in areas that were closest to the center of the oven, but was only lightly toasted in areas furthest away from the center of the oven. On the bottom, the lightly toasted areas were even larger, so we gave the toast a 7/10 for even surface color.
The toast was a bit too crispy in the golden-brown areas and a little dry in the lighter areas, so we could only give it a 6.8/10 for taste. Our head chef, Tuyet Pham, determined it would go well with omelets and eggs benedict, but not sandwiches and soups.
The second batch came out brown on both the top and the bottom and crispy throughout, which could be more suitable for soup than the first batch. However, there were still lighter areas on both sides and the bottom even had some burnt ends.
Thus, we could only give the oven a 6.3/10 for consecutive usability. If you want the second batch to be the same as the first, around four minutes on the timer should be enough.
Pizza
- Function: Turbo Convection
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 6m
- Convection: Yes
For this pizza test, we didn’t choose the oven’s 400°F pizza preset because it didn’t match our Pizza test requirement of 450°F. Instead, we chose Turbo Convection as a suitable setting for baking pizza. Nonetheless, the results were not so favorable scoring only 6.4/10 on our testing scale.
We were, however, impressed that the oven only took 9 minutes to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza placed on the upper rack level. According to our accumulated data on average toaster oven performance, this deserved a 9/10.
Unfortunately, the oven lacks the high-intensity heating capability needed to crisp a crust effectively in such a short period of time, which the Toshiba AC25CEW-BS has. Consequently, parts of the crust bottom stuck to the grooves of the baking tray and the surface had a light golden color - so the score was only 5.5/10.
We had to stop baking because some of the meat and parts of the cheese started charring. It was a shame that the cheese didn’t completely melt before this, so we could only give the toppings a 6/10.
We were able to prevent the toppings from burning and the potential bitter taste. However, the crust and the topping weren’t good enough for the taste of the pizza to get a score higher than 5.5/10 from our chef.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 450°F
- Cooking Time: 6m
- Convection: No
We used the Hamilton to bake a 9-inch thick-crust meat pizza at 450°F for our Pizza test and the final score was 6.6/10. To our surprise, the oven took 6 minutes to bake the pizza, which was very fast and worthy of a 9/10 for cooking time.
Unfortunately, the crust showed the oven’s uneven heat distribution. The bottom right quarter of the crust almost became brown before the rest could turn an ideal golden-brown color. The crust was also mostly soft, so we could only give it a 6/10.
The same problem also showed in the toppings, giving the oven another 6/10. While the cheese was only slightly melty and most of the meat was not caramelized, some pieces of meat had some burnt ends.
With that said, our chef gave the pizza a final 6/10 after tasting it.
Whole Roasted Chicken
- Function: Turbo Convection
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 10m
- Convection: Yes
The spacious interior of the Oster seemed a key factor in our Whole Roasted Chicken test, scoring an impressive 8.1/10. We placed a 3 lb chicken belly-up on the upper rack level and flipped it after the first 40 minutes.
After 1 hour and 10 minutes, the skin reached an acceptable roasted color scoring a 7/10 for cooking time. Our chef surmised that further roasting wouldn’t result in better skin caramelization. Thus, we stopped roasting to avoid overcooking the meat and inadvertently lowering the total score.
The skin had an appetizing golden color, except for the sides of the two drumsticks which were a little lighter in color. Compared to other benchmark tests, the skin only crisped slightly indicating the heating elements and convection system to be less than ideal/top-of-the-range. The results were good, enough for a 7.5/10.
In conclusion, the oven maintained an ideal temperature long enough to evenly cook an entire chicken throughout. We measured the internal temperature of the chicken and it was 181°F. This was very surprising and almost spot-on with the recommended 165°F - 180°F by the USDA—thus earning a whopping 9.8/10 for doneness.
Interestingly, the meat came out so tender that the bone simply fell off as we tried to carve the chicken. If the skin was crispier, the chicken would have received a higher than 8/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 350°F
- Cooking Time: 1h 20m
- Convection: No
The cooking chamber of the Hamilton technically didn’t have enough space for a 3 lb whole chicken as required in our Whole Roasted Chicken test. Thus, we had to place the chicken directly in front of the upper heating element, which led to a number of problems.
On the bright side, the result wasn’t too bad at 6.6/10 for a total score. If you choose to roast a whole chicken in this oven, we recommend flattening the chicken out, cutting it open, or cutting it into pieces.
The oven took 1 hour 20 minutes to roast the chicken, which was 20 minutes longer than the standard cooking time, so we gave it a 6/10.
Looking at the skin, the side that faced the door lacked color due to the lower temperature. In addition, the chicken grazed the upper heating element’s guard a number of times, which caused parts of the chicken to burn and led to the oven smoking during roasting as well as burnt bits on the guards afterward.
The silver lining in this was that the burnt areas actually had a nice golden-brown color. However, due to a lower power draw, the skin on the sides basically had no color. With everything in mind, we could only give the skin a 5/10.
Interestingly, the chicken had near-perfect doneness at 9.8/10. The meat had no pink spots and an internal temperature of 174°F-183°F, which was really close to the USDA recommendation.
The ideal doneness helped maintain the tenderness and juiciness of the meat. However, the skin was really unappetizing, so our chef could only give the chicken a 6/10 for taste.
Baked French Fries
- Function: Turbo Convection
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 30 m
- Convection: Yes
For our Baked French Fries test, the Oster was disappointing, scoring only 4.1/10. Our reasoning was the poor size ratio of the cooking chamber to the oven’s power output. The oven wasn’t able to maintain a high enough temperature for baking frozen fries, as opposed to the Ninja DT201.
After 30 minutes the fries showed no significant change in color—where the test time limit was 25 minutes! Therefore, we had no choice but to stop baking and give the fries a 0/10 for cooking time.
Most fries had a pale color as if they were air-dried instead of air-fried. Some small pieces had a light golden color, but that wasn’t enough to score higher than 5/10.
Texture-wise, the fries were soft but dry on the outside, barely enough for a 5.5/10. All things considered, the only silver lining was that the fries were cooked, so our chef gave them a 5/10 for taste.
- Function: Bake
- Temperature: 400°F
- Cooking Time: 26m
- Convection: No
The Hamilton was at its weakest baking 12 oz of frozen fries for our Baked French Fries test, scoring a 3.6/10.
At 26 minutes, which was over our time limit, the fries still had no significant change in color. Thus, we stopped the baking process and gave the oven a 0/10 for cooking time.
Color-wise, the fries didn’t look much different before and after baking. The only saving grace was that the fries were actually cooked, so we could still give it a 4.5/10 for color.
Similarly, the fries had a texture like they were air-dried, which was still better than boiled french fries that are simply soft and soggy. Thus, it got another 4.5/10.
After tasting this batch of french fries that lacked both color and texture, our chef couldn’t give a higher score than 4.5/10.
Oster XL French Door Countertop Toaster Oven Design Review
- Exterior (20%)8.0/10
- Interior (30%)7.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)6.0/10
- Exterior (20%)5.0/10
- Interior (30%)2.0/10
- Build Quality (50%)7.0/10
In the Oster TSSTTVFDDG Double-Door Convection Toaster Oven Box
- Model: TSSTTVFDDG
- Warranty: 1 year (US and Canada only)
- User Manual
- Baking Rack x 2
- Baking Pan
- Removable Crumb Tray
The Oster TSSTTVFDDG arrived boxed between two styrofoam brackets. The four accessories were packaged inside carton boxes and taped to the oven. While the box only has some basic information, a complete user manual was inside.
- Model: 31344DA
- Warranty: US - 1 year; Canada - 5 years
- User Manual
- Baking Rack
- Baking Pan
- Removable Crumb Tray
The Hamilton toaster oven, along with its accessories and a simple user manual, came in a basic cardboard box. The oven is secured with two foam pads and the accessories are duct-taped to it.
Exterior
- Weight:16.8 lbs (7.6 kg)
- Length:21.5" (54.7 cm)
- Width:20.0" (50.7 cm)
- Height:12.8" (32.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:Cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Removable
Considering the Oster’s large size, ventilation slats on all sides are a big plus. (+3). At first glance, the most stand-out feature was the tempered glass french door with cool-touch door handles (+3).
It has a rear buffer to maintain a cool distance from the wall, but we thought it could be greater(+2). Additionally, while the oven’s leg stoppers are sturdy, they are rather small.
Our measurements of the oven’s footprints were 21.53" x 19.96" x 12.79" which matched closely with the manufacturer’s 22" x 19.5" x 13". On a side note, we weighed the oven and it was 16.75 lbs while the manufacturer stated the entire package to be 13.87 lbs.
- Weight:6.9 lbs (3.1 kg)
- Length:15.8" (40.0 cm)
- Width:11.9" (30.3 cm)
- Height:8.4" (21.3 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Color:Silver
- Door Handle:Cool-touch
- Tray Indicators:No
- Crumb Tray:Removable
Although simple, the Hamilton has all the basic exterior features of a toaster oven and also something more: The roll-top door is a neat feature that can make it easier to move food in and out of the oven and save some space on the kitchen counter.
To make it easy to carry the oven, the two sides of the casing have shallow arches. The oven has a cool-touch door handle and two back buffers to prevent it from being too close to the walls.
Our measurements of 15.75" x 11.93" x 8.39" for the oven coincided almost completely with the manufacturer’s 16.12" x 11.93" x 8.97", with marginal differences being less than an inch.
Control Panel
- Type:LCD + 15 buttons
- Temperature:150°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 6 hours
- Indicator Light:No
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:Yes
- Audio Cues:No
The Oster has an LCD and 15 flat buttons including 8 for functions, 2 for timer adjustment, 2 for temperature adjustment, a Clock button, a Stop/Cancel button, and a Start button. The oven has an automatic interior light with no toggle button.
- Type:2 control knobs
- Temperature:200°F - 450°F
- Timer:1 minute - 30 minutes + stay-on
- Indicator Light:Yes
- Status Bar:No
- Light Toggle:No
- Convection Toggle:No
- Rotation Toggle:No
- Automatic Preheat:No
- Audio Cues:No
The Hamilton has two simple control knobs: one for temperature and one for time. The timer has a stay-on setting to help with its short range, similar to many other small toaster ovens.
The temperature knob indicates the lowest temperature setting to be 200°F, which is quite limited. Interestingly, however, we could actually set the temperature as low as 120°F by only turning the knob until we heard a small clank before the 200°F mark.
Cooking Functions of the Oster XL Digital Convection Toaster Oven
- Toast (level 1-6)
- Bake (150°F-450°F)
- Turbo Convection (150°F-450°F)
- Broil (450°F)
- Pizza (400°F)
- Warm (150°F)
- Defrost (150°F)
- Dehydrate (150°F)
The Oster has eight cooking functions including Toast, Bake, Broil, Pizza, Warm, Defrost, Dehydrate, and Turbo Convection. Despite the name, Turbo Convection is basically Convection Bake—meaning this oven only has one convection level.
The standard Bake function and ‘Turbo’ Convection operate in the oven’s maximum temperature range, between 150°F to 450°F. The Toast function has 6 preset levels from Light to Dark, Meanwhile, the Pizza function is set to 400°F and Broil to 450°F—meaning neither can be adjusted.
The user manual recommends not to preheat the oven when using Defrost and Dehydrate. These two functions are set to 150°F—the lowest possible temperature —and cannot be adjusted. However, 150°F is a bit high compared to common dehydrators which operate at around 100°F.
For some reason, we couldn’t find the set temperature for Warm in the manual, but we measured the temperature to be 150°F.
- Not available
Not having multiple functions doesn’t affect a toaster oven’s mechanism, which is to heat air up to a certain temperature to cook food. However, it does mean that the user won’t have any way to operate only the upper or lower heating elements individually.
Interior
- Heating Elements:3 nichrome
- Convection Fan:Yes
- Lighting:Yes
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Oster uses three nichrome heating elements with an unusual looped design for the upper heating element (+3). Most similar large-capacity ovens we have examined have four upper heating elements, two bottom heating elements, and a combined power draw of 1800 W.
However, the Oster has only one upper heating element which bends across and around the cooking chamber’s ceiling to cover the same area as would four. Since the power draw is divided equally between working heating elements, we speculated this design choice was to accommodate the oven’s lower power draw of 1500 W.
The TSSTTVFDDG claims to have ‘easy clean interior walls’. While they are not grease-proof, our cleaning test showed that the oven was, indeed, easy to clean (+1).
The convection fan is situated on the right side of the cooking chamber (+2). While the oven has an interior light, it’s fully automatic with no manual operation (+2).
Having only two rack levels, the oven doesn’t really require guides on the glass door (-1). The manual recommends using the upper rack position for toast and pizza, and the lower one for other foods. It’s worth noting that the rack guide rails are assembled parts and not hollowed out of the cooking chamber’s walls like many other toaster ovens.
The baking rack should not be slid into the lower rack slot with the baking tray attached to the bottom. This will result in direct contact with the bottom heating elements.
- Heating Elements:2 quartz
- Convection Fan:No
- Lighting:No
- Tray Levels:2
- Rotisserie:No
- Safety Hook:No
The Hamilton shares the same lack of interior features, including a convection system and an interior light, similar to many other units of the same size. The design didn’t allow for maximum use of the space inside the cooking chamber even though it had two tray levels like most other small toaster ovens, including the Mueller MT-175.
It also only has two quartz heating elements, which can usually lead to uneven heat distribution compared to four or more heating elements. Nonetheless, they use infrared light to cook, which makes the process faster and more energy-efficient than the more common nichrome heating elements.
They also cool down faster and are easier to clean but not as durable. However, if grease splashes onto the heating elements while cooking, it’ll leave permanent stains.
Capacity of the Oster Double Door Oven
- Length:15.8" (40.0 cm)
- Width:16.5" (42.0 cm)
- Height:10.0" (25.5 cm)
According to the manufacturer, the TSSTTVFDDG can take 14 slices of toast and two 16-inch pizzas on its two racks. However, our hands-on testing proved it fits only 12 slices (6 per rack, each requiring at least 4.5 x 4.5 inches of space) or a 15-inch pizza. While it wasn’t clear what the maximum size for a whole chicken was, our tests indicated plenty of room for a 3 lb bird.
The manufacturer doesn’t state the interior capacity, but we measured the cooking chamber volume to be around 42.83 liters—our biggest number to date. However, we felt only two rack slots didn’t do justice to the oven’s capacity.
- Length:11.0" (27.9 cm)
- Width:9.84
- Height:7.5" (19.0 cm)
While we couldn’t find the manufacturer’s capacity, we measured the cooking chamber’s volume to be around 13.28 liters. The 31344DA can accommodate four slices of toast or a 9-inch pizza, but not a 3-pound chicken due to insufficient height.
Power Cord
- Length:25.8" (65.5 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1500 W
- Rated Output:120 V ~ 60 Hz
The power cord is 25.79" long which is enough for household use. However, it could be a bit longer since a toaster oven as large as the Oster requires at least 5 inches of clear space on all sides. The oven doesn’t have storage space for the cord like some ovens do.
- Length:34.6" (88.0 cm)
- Type:2-prong plug
- Power:1200
- Rated Output:120
The power cord has enough length for household use and an oven this size— roughly 34.65". The fact that it protrudes from the bottom of the oven may lead to some inconvenient bends, though.
Accessories
- Length:15.7" (39.8 cm)
- Width:16.1" (41.0 cm)
- Height:0.7" (1.8 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The Oster has two slightly different baking racks. One is the standard rack type, while the other has two supports below to slide the baking pan under.
- Length:11.0" (27.9 cm)
- Width:9.3" (23.5 cm)
- Height:1.0" (2.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking rack has two supports below to slide the baking pan in. It fits perfectly with the guide to prevent accidents when placing your food in the oven. The supports narrow at the back to prevent the pan from sliding out, but the entire thing doesn’t conform perfectly.
Accessories
- Length:14.13
- Width:11.8" (30.0 cm)
- Height:1.1" (2.9 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The baking pan has ridges and grooves for creating attractive roast markings and catching drippings. It also has wide edges for a firm fit on the baking rack supports, unlike some other designs we’ve seen.
However, it’s not big enough to fit into the rack rail guides and can only go on top of a rack or attached beneath. This means it doesn’t make full use of the oven’s capacity. In addition, the tray is coated, but not completely non-stick so prone to stubborn stains.
- Length:9.9" (25.2 cm)
- Width:8.3" (21.2 cm)
- Height:0.6" (1.5 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Yes
The baking pan fits nicely below the rack to catch any meat juice and drippings, which helps prevent any mess and the risk of fire from dirty heating elements. Keep in mind that it isn’t 100% non-stick, so it may be prone to stubborn stains after a hefty roast. During our performance tests, the pan bends when heated but luckily didn’t cause any issues.
Accessories
- Length:15.7" (39.8 cm)
- Width:12.5" (31.8 cm)
- Height:0.8" (1.9 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
A crumb tray is always a useful accessory to clean up pesky debris, especially with a large toaster oven like the Oster. Look out for crumbs falling onto the oven floor as you take out the tray. It’s quite a hassle to tilt the oven to get them out.
- Length:10.8" (27.5 cm)
- Width:8.9" (22.5 cm)
- Height:0.9" (2.4 cm)
- Material:Stainless steel
- Dishwasher Safe:Not advisable
The removable crumb tray is useful for cleaning up crumbs and bits, which can be quite a hassle. However, some of the mess may still fall to the bottom of the oven upon taking out the tray.
Build Quality
The TSSTTVFDDG is light for its size and has a graspable rectangular shape making it easy to carry or position on a counter (+2). It also has a sturdy build and durable stainless steel casing (+4). The LCD is black while the numbers are yellow and the settings are red, making everything easy to see (+1).
Unfortunately, we found that the flat buttons often required some force to register (-1). Moreover, the door hinge could be firmer thus preventing the door from slamming shut.
The Hamilton’s exterior shell is made from alloy steel, which has a higher tensile strength than stainless. We speculated the reason for this choice was to have the roll-top door—which can be easily removed for cleaning—more durable.
The casing also seems to have good heat insulation and only got hot to the touch after a long cooking time at a high temperature (>400°F). The knobs turn smoothly and have a contoured design for better grip.
Oster TSSTTVFDDG Digital French Door Toaster Oven Usability
- User Control (30%)8.0/10
- Oster French Door Toaster Oven Ease of Use (50%)5.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)7.5/10
- User Control (30%)6.0/10
- Ease of Use (50%)5.0/10
- Cleanability (20%)6.0/10
User Control
The Oster’s controls are easy to understand since what you see is what you get (+2). Therefore, the LCD doesn’t provide any extra information but it’s easy to read (+2).
The buttons have only a single function and are easy to tell apart(+2). Although the manual says you can press the Stop/Cancel button twice to turn off the oven, we weren’t able to do so (-1).
The temperature can be adjusted in increments of 5°F and the timer runs from one minute to six hours, which is quite impressive (+1). Time can be adjusted in increments of 1 minute up to 2 hours and in increments of 0.5 hours above 2 hours (+1).
To set up the clock, press the clock button once and the clock will flash. Then, use the arrow keys to set the hour and press the clock button again to likewise set the minutes. Finally, push the clock button or the start button to set the time (+1).
The user control of the Hamilton cannot be any easier with just two knobs. Nonetheless, there are a few things to keep in mind. For the timer knob, when setting it to less than 10 minutes, always rotate past 10 minutes and then rotate back to the desired time.
To select the Toast function, you’ll need to turn the temperature knob to the maximum, indicated by the Toast icon. This is consistent with the fact that for all toaster ovens, their toast function has an endpoint temperature of 450°F.
Similar to other manual toaster ovens, it can be tricky to precisely set time and temperature. This can be easily dealt with, however, by using an external timer and an oven thermometer for more accurate measurements.
Oster French Door Toaster Oven Ease of Use
As you select a function, the corresponding icons will illuminate in the LCD screen. The TSSTTVFDDG has an automatic preheat phase which is only applicable for the Bake and Turbo Convection Bake functions (+1).
After setting the time and temperature, you then push start and the display will show PrE indicating the oven is in the preheating phase. You can bypass this phase by pressing the start button a second time.
Preheating takes roughly 5 minutes to around 300°F regardless of the temperature you set. You can readjust the time and temperature only after the preheating phase.
Interestingly, we found that the oven would return to preheat mode after adjusting the temperature until the new input temperature was reached and not just 300°F. This is also stated in the user manual.
The racks fit perfectly into the rail guides thus preventing accidents when placing food in the oven (+3). When the cooking cycle begins, the interior light will turn on automatically and then off when the cooking cycle ends (+2).
The french door and its cool-touch handle allow you to stay away from the heat wave when opening after cooking (+4). The doors are also single-pull which is very convenient. However, the doors cannot open partially and can slam shut if your hand slips (-2).
Unlike some ovens, opening the door doesn’t stop the oven or the interior light (-2). The oven casing can get very hot after long cooking times at high temperatures, so you should take care (-1).
When the cooking cycle finishes, the oven will beep once, switch off the heat, and return to the clock screen. It’s advised to unplug the oven after use.
To remove the door, you simply need to fully open it, then pull straight up. The door can’t be kept partially open to let food cool inside the oven. With two control knobs, it’s easier than ever to readjust cooking settings.
The cooking cycle finishes when the timer reaches O (off). When this happens, the oven will ding once and shut off. As it has no digital display, you can freely leave this oven plugged in without worrying about power consumption.
Cleanability
The stainless steel exterior of the Oster was very easy to clean (+2). Even though the interior doesn’t have a non-stick coating, there are no tricky nooks and crannies, so cleaning didn’t require much labor (+4).
After roasting a chicken, the baking pan accumulated some stubborn stains which we were able to remove even with a baking soda paste and water (+1.5). We were worried the grease could splash inside the fan cavity while cooking, but this was not the case.
Due to its design, the Hamilton was more tricky to clean than anticipated. Because the chicken grazed the upper heating element’s guard during our test, it left some permanent stains there. Luckily, the heating element itself was intact.
As the oven doesn’t have a non-stick interior coating, there were also permanent grease stains on the cooking chamber’s ceiling. Some discoloration even made it to the top of the casing due to it not being stainless steel and the shape of the door.
In addition, the grease splashed into some tricky spots on the door, but it can be thoroughly wiped off after removing the door. The baking pan sustained some stubborn stains as well, but we were able to brush them off with a paste of baking soda and water.