For this metric, we gave the Easy Reach its highest marks for ease of cleaning. Likewise, cleaning out the oven’s interior is a breeze — another benefit of the roll-top door. When open, the oven is completely accessible, both visually and spatially, which allows fingers, rags or scrubbers to easily find their way into every corner. The Hamilton Beach Easy Reach 4-Slice is able to do most basic cooking tasks well and does so at a great price. You can’t fit huge portions in this compact oven, but what does fit inside will be cooked or baked consistently better than what you’d expect from such an inexpensive oven.
The toaster oven is a perfect solution, and it does all that while using less power. The 2-in-1 combination oven and toaster allows you to do more in less space. Bake, broil and toast by switching cooking modes easily with the slide of a lever. We also see a place for the Easy Reach in an adventure van or other type of RV. It takes up little space and is lightweight, simple to use and to clean. When we combine its lower price with its ability to compete with higher-priced models, we feel the Easy Reach is a great buy.
After taking out the first batch, we immediately put four more pieces inside to test the oven’s consecutive usability which ended up at 7/10. Also under the identical toasting time, the four pieces of bread became brown with an increased evenness from the first batch. While the color was a bit darker than ideal, the extra crispiness made the second batch more suitable for soups. As you might imagine, an appliance that heats all these foods is going to get dirty. Luckily, most models are as easy to clean out as a traditional toaster, if not easier.
Inside the box are also a user manual and a simple recipe booklet. Nonetheless, our chef decided to stop the roasting as the color wouldn’t improve anyway and to avoid overcooking the meat. This cooking time was the equivalent of a 6/10 according to our data. It’s important to think about both the internal and external size of any toaster oven you’re considering. We recommend these products based on an intensive research process that’s designed to cut through the noise and find the top products in this space.
Also look for handy features like toaster slots or a roll-top door. Roll-top door lifts up for easy access and removal of hot food. Works as an air fryer to quickly brown and crisp foods even from frozen. The feature we liked the most was the oven’s roll-top opening which not only frees up counter space, but also gives the Easy Reach its name. Most toaster ovens either swing open to the side, like a microwave, or swing down, like a conventional oven.
The HD camera can recognize certain ingredients, automatically prompting the interface to recommend corresponding cooking programs. Plus, a Wi-Fi connection allows you to use an app to monitor your food with the camera and control the oven from anywhere in your home—or even miles away. Despite all these features, we were disappointed with the June’s performance, especially given its high price. We wish it had additional cooking programs and that the recipes were more enticing and better written. And although the June is larger than most toaster ovens, its capacity is still limited compared with that of a full-size oven, especially if you plan to prepare food for four or more people. To test how well the toaster ovens maintained a set temperature, we stuck an air probe thermometer into their cavities and monitored them for 20 minutes.
The cheese topping on Bagel Bites didn’t melt as evenly in these models as our picks, and the bottoms were burned. Also, the wide gaps on either side of the oven racks allowed bread to slip through the slots and onto the bottom of the oven cavity. A standard quarter-sheet tray (and if you put a quarter-sheet tray on each of its two racks, that’s equal to a standard half sheet pan you’d use in a full-size oven). It can also fit a 12-cup muffin tin (ours measured 14 by 10.75 inches) or a 9-by-13-inch baking pan (without handles).
We felt that the larger size would save on heating up the big oven for some smaller side dishes. While the timer is loud, you get used to it like everything else and it’s really nice to have a built-in timer aside from our oven timer. This oven is not “intuitive”; it definitely takes some getting used to.
But if you’re looking to do a lot of air frying in your toaster oven, you may want to check out our separate guide to air fryer toaster ovens. High-end hamilton beachs are priced between $100 and $170. These ovens are way more than just toaster ovens (though they can toast too), with options for convection cooking, air frying, and more, plus quality features like digital controls. It’s not the model for anyone who is looking for a replacement for their full size oven.
Check the number of slices of bread your chosen toaster oven can handle at once. When the oven is operating, the glass door becomes excessively hot, reaching temperatures as high as 339.2°F. The Hamilton Beach is the only toaster oven we tested with a door handle that becomes very hot to the touch at a temperature of 146.8 °F.