I cannot comment on the other two, however my Breville Smart Oven is pretty darn handy! I have no complaints! The only thing that you should know is that the top of the oven becomes very warm. I found myself buying the optional cutting board to place on top. Maybe I'm klutzy, but I would have certainly burned myself reaching over the top or melted some innocent piece of plastic casually sitting on top waiting for it's next home! LOL

I am intrigued by the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven. A CNET review indicates it roasts meat in less than half the time of conventional roasting. I love my pressure cooker pots, so the idea of a pressure oven is appealing.

I would get the Breville oven and have been wanting to replace the B&D toaster oven I have, but I won't as long as it is working. Whatever you get, make sure that it makes good toast, as that is what I use mine for more than anything else. I do use it for baking anything that will fit inside it, such as fish or casseroles, but most of my cooking is done on the stove top.

For your kitchen remodel, I recommend that you get a portable induction burner and a Fagor pressure cooker to go with it. That is even more portable than the toaster oven, and cooks meals very quickly. Oddly enough, I do not use my induction burner with any other pan, and I do not use my PC on any other burner.

I put plates on top of my toaster oven when using it, and then I have warm (or hot) plates when the food is done.

Lars

As discussed before, I am a Breville Smart Oven devotee. I just got a new one at BB&B with my 20 discount.

Yes, very hot. Like Ellen, I got the cutting board to place on top. I keep my FoodSaver on top of the cutting board so I don't use it for cutting. For additional protection, I have a 17"X20" insulated counter pad under the cutting board.

We're going on 3 yrs. with our Breville countertop oven and I am very, very pleased with it. We bought it to replace a toaster & to use as an extra oven for holidays but it has been our everyday workhorse appliance.

My fancy pro range began failing a couple years ago and we have been using my Breville and a Max Burton induction burner for our everyday cooking needs as we await our remodel (scheduled to begin any day!) & a new induction range.

I've used it for baking, broiling, reheating, toasting & roasting. Just love it!

Sometimes I feel like I should stop posting negative comments about Breville, but then again I keep seeing the same positive comments pop up so why not go for it... again.

Whatever you get, make sure that it makes good toast.

If that is a major consideration, I do NOT recommend the large Breville. Can't speak for the smaller sizes but someday I'll run some comparisons against my parents' smaller one. On mine the toast excruciatingly slow and horribly uneven, can't imagine it being much worse, honestly. And yes, I know TO's are not as good as toasters for toast but still. This isn't my first TO.

For oven functions it's very good. The convection makes a real difference and I'd go for larger just to get it.

Cleaning is ok. The tray looks nonstick but it's not (probably a good thing?) and it will become a mess. But unless you pull it out you won't see it. ;-) To Ellen's point, I've melted plenty of bags carelessly leaning against it, but I suspect that's the nature of the beast. It's a pain - avoid doing that.

Overall, performance-wise I'd rate it very good except for toasting, but I'm not comfortable saying it's worth the money. Even with 20% off at BBB. If it ever dies I'll try something else and post a comparison.

Thanks for that review of the toast! I do not have room for a toaster oven AND a toaster, and the one I have now does a great job on toast and it is fine for my baking needs. I frequently use it as a warming oven - at 200 degrees - for waffles and pancakes, but now that I have a very nice large griddle, I don't need to keep pancakes warm.

I'd glad now that I did not replace it. I lightly toast bread every other day for my sandwich, as the bread falls apart if I do not, and so I consider toast to be very important. I always have toast when I make omelets also, and the toaster oven is good for heating the plates for the omelets just by placing them on top of it.

Interesting, FOAS. I was about to post that in general, I really love Breville appliances, however, I also love toast. I rarely use my toaster oven except for toast but I keep it in a cabinet and pull it out when needed, which is often. (trying to eat less carbs).

If it were sitting out all the time I would have a nicer one and use it a lot for things other than toast.

I do agree about the less than perfect toast from the Breville. But I sacrifice perfect toast so as not to have another appliance on the counter.

Because of the tasks I can accomplish with the BSO for two people, I don't use either of my other full size ovens. Well I do use them, one for storing Dutch ovens and the other for storing chips and crackers.

Breville Smart Oven --- without question! If mine broke tomorrow, I would buy another immediately. I use it exclusively while my very expensive Dacor oven is never used. I do not have a problem making even toast, but I admit, we do not make regular toast often. We do toast English muffins, and bagels almost everyday. It makes the best pizza - I use the 12" pizza pans. I cook chicken, roast veggies, ham, potatoes, if it fits-it is cooked in the Breville.
The top does get very hot. I use it to warm plates -- as it is designed to do. I love it.

I was reminded by a CF Friend to mention that Hammacher Schlemmer offers a lifetime guarantee.

This year when my BSO went dark, Breville gave me a healthy discount on a new one and sent it to me free shipping.

Here is a link that might be useful: Guarantee

I've found the convection and rotiserrie features in mine very useful.

dcarch

I am mostly just repeating what others have said about the Breville:

The toast from my large Breville is pretty darn good. True, the bottoms have pale lines where the rack deflects the heat, but the tops are evenly toasted. It is a little slower than the old toaster I happily sent on to Goodwill, but I can do 2 to 6 slices at once, and the toaster did only 2.

You do need to have the shelf in the center of the oven for toast and select the number of slices or it will toast unevenly.

I use it several times a week, for toast, pizza, roasting and baking smaller items. Like others, I find it excellent for all functions and easy to clean. (I usually cover the drip tray with foil.)

Wonderful these hot days. It preheats very quickly and puts off SO much less heat than the range oven.

It sits on the countertop and earns every square inch of that prime space.

Only criticism--and I wouldn't have thought of this if Dcarch hadn't mentioned using the rotisserie on his--I wish it had a rotisserie. But I wouldn't trade with him!

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 8:27

Ok, four slices with TO set accordingly, to its darkest setting. This is what I got after the 6:40 cycle. Not too bad, if I'm being picky I could say it should be darker after all that time and a bit more even, but I'm ok with his picture:

The bottoms of those same four slices, not so much:

That looks pretty good for a toaster oven. I've concluded you have to flip the toast over mid-way, to get good results, and it takes 2x longer than a real toaster.

FOAS, Exactly what I get. I'm okay with those results; I put the side with lines on the inside of the sandwich.

You do need to have the shelf in the center of the oven for toast... The HG forgets to move the shelf so he thinks my results are better because I have a special way of placing the bread.

FOAS, from now on, you are to only toast and eat Pumpernickel bread..

You will not see unevenly toasted bread anymore.

dcarch :-)

I've done some reading about the Wolfgang Puck Pressure Oven and now I am more skeptical. The pressure above ambient is minimal, only 1 psi. Every user review I've found is very positive, not just on subjective aspects but they also attest that the oven cooks much faster than a conventional oven. However, I don't really understand why this would be.

We we just raving about our new, small Breville toaster oven and the terrific job it does with toast and bagels.

I checked the toast I made today at lunch, and it looked pretty much like the photos above, except the tops were not as brown, but the bottoms did have the lines. However, it was satisfactory for me, and so perhaps I have low standards!

The reviews I've read on the pressure oven were not good.

Why is the biggest complaint about a 'toaster oven', making toast! Keep the toaster. I looked, with the idea of convection, but didn't buy any brand. Too much trouble to clean and a waste of counter space. Good luck on your decision.

Thank you all for your input.

Moosemac
Let us know what you decide to purchase and how it works for you. I am really curious about (but not at all tempted by) the pressure oven.

FOAS--
With toast like that in your pic, it is lucky that we usually only look at one side of a piece of toast as we eat it. It surely tastes a lot better than the bottom looks!

We have a Breville mini smart oven, and I (and a bunch of young adults) love it. Ours broke after about five months and I had to set up our old one. Wow! A good toaster oven is a game changer -- we'd become spoiled by Breville.

As an aside, even though ours broke after only about five months, I called Breville, spoke to a very professional (i.e. saying all the right things) representative, sent it back on Breville's dime and got a new one in a week.

Good luck with your decision.

Cathy in SWPA