Countertop oven deal alert

Profile picture for user Precaud
Precaud on 21 Feb 2024 at 18:42

Mini-oven fans! Walmart is blowing out their 1.1 cu ft toaster oven for $49!

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-XL-Toaster-Oven-32L-6-Slice-Family-Size-Black-1500W/3319168997

I came across this while hunting for one that was tall inside for baking bread. Most are only 6" or so.

I wasn't expecting much, but I find it is an impressive baker.

All metal - the only plastic is the knobs, feet, and handle.
13.75" W x 12.5" D inside, with an impressive 8" from bottom rack to upper heating elements.
Old school... no fan, no computer. But excellent temperature regulation; only 15º swing @ 400+.
Internal air temp on mine topped out at 440º (empty, in a 68º kitchen).

It appears to use a "variable duty cycle generator" to maintain the set temp, with the on/off cycle much shorter than usual, resulting in the minimal temp swing. The only downside to this is, it takes a little longer to warm up from a cold start. A tradeoff I'll take any day.

A well-designed radiant oven.

My other two large countertops have swing in the 50-60º range. They both have much longer on/off cycles.

and in toast mode (both upper and lower elements on), it definitely bakes hot, relative to the temp setting on the dial. Which is a good thing, IMO...

I was using a dark steel loaf pan and it overcooked the crust relative to the top. I've never seen that from any other TO. I usually have to cover the top to keep it from burning. I could/should have pulled it 5 min earlier.

This is definitely a radiant oven. The short on/off cycle means the heaters are always red. Everything inside is reflective. No fans or vents. The rear panel surface is sculpted to scatter its reflection. The black pan soaked it all up.

Next time I'll monitor pan temps instead of air temp.

Encouraging first results!

Here is the same loaf, everything the same except baked differently.

The first one was 28 min @ 450º in 'toast' mode (both burners on), then 5 min of 'bake' (just bottom burner). Doing the latter was based on prior experience with these small ovens burning the tops before the rest is done.

This bake was also 28 min @ 450º Toast, then 5 min of Broil (only top burners). It also had a steam pan on the bottom (though it didn't use much water).

Much better. I'm liking this thing. (Forgot to take the pic before cutting into it!)

I've never baked like that.

But... I have one of the the speckled oval roaster pans, and it fits perfectly in this oven (13.75" wide)   :)

👍👍👍

 

 

Darn! It's out of stock!😭😭😭, but, I found it on Ali!!! Paid $10+. The only problem is, where will I put it? I suppose I'll figure that out when it arrives.

It shows as in-stock for me. How about the ship-to-store option (it's free)?

They had a huge pile of 'em locally.

Mine will live in the laundry room when not in use.

It's not available in my area, whether for in-store pickup or shipping to the store or home.

Yippee 

Hi Precaud,

I will go looking for this oven. It is out online but maybe the local stores have it. 

Your white bread on your last clas post had such even color. I need to bake pies too and if you can get the granite roaster in , I think the pie will go in well  too.

Here is another appliance at my parents' house! 

It will take a 12" round pie tin.

I bet your parents won't mind - with more of your toys at their house, it means you'll be there more often!  :)

How can you tell when it's reached the right temperature? Does it signal like a regular oven does?

Yippee 

This is a basic oven. No electronics inside. The only signal is from the mechanical timer, you can set it for a preheat period.

What I see so far is, since this is primarily a radiant oven, it doesn't require a full warm-up of the air inside. 5-10 minutes is fine. During the bakes I described above, I put a thermometer inside next to the pan. It warmed up to 330 and held steady. Very little swing. But the loaf cooked much faster than a 330º bake. So measuring the air temp is not going to tell the whole story.

Example: I baked the same loaf, same pan, etc. a few weeks ago in a Euro-Pro JO287 oven; similar size, same wattage, etc. but the interior is dark, not reflective, and it has a much longer on/off cycle. It definitely requires a full warmup, to heat the oven walls up to temp. And it still has a 50-60º temp swing... It took 45 minutes for the JO287 to bake this same loaf, versus 33 min in this oven. And I had to cover the top with foil for the last 10 min in the JO287.

Every oven is a little different. This oven definitely bakes hotter than the internal air temperature measures.

EDIT: For comparison sake, here is the same bake (same recipe, pan, etc) done in a Lagasse Power AirFryer 360 in Toast mode (upper and lower heaters on, convection fan off). It uses a similarly-long on/off cycle like the JO287, with simillar temp swings inside. This took 45 minutes @ 420º (preheated), with foil on top for the last 5 min.

Like I said, while baking those loaves it topped out at 330 or so. But that's air temp. When I first tested it, it got to 440 but that's in an empty oven and it took a long time, 40+ min. By then any bread would have burned  :)

 

and I hope you grabbed one, because this thing is fantastic for baking bread! Put a small pan for steam in between the bottom elements (the small pan that comes with the B&T proofer is perfect) and it makes the best crusts of anything I have ever experienced. And in 2/3 the time of other ovens, with little or no preheating!

Radiant ovens rock!

Hi jo-en,

Yep, that's the one. I think it's the best-tasting of Rusbrot's white flour recipes, but I have since found one better, will post on it in a day or two.

 

Our 26-year-old Jenn Air double oven died on Monday. We were baking a King Cake from Floyd's instructions. It was beautiful until the broiler switched on by itself and burned the top. I had to trip the breaker to get it to turn off. We've ordered a new oven but it'll be next month before we get it. 

I remembered the praise of this Walmart oven and they are still available. It came yesterday and I used it today. I'm pleased. The bottom got a bit dark but I'll work that out with some foil. Also, the tips about air temperature not telling the full story are very relevant. 

I also used it to proof the bread. The lowest marking on the thermostat knob is 150 but it has considerable range below there. I was able to achieve an average of 80F air temperature with a bit of fiddling. 

Pullman loaf baked into mini oven

 

Who woulda thunk we'd be baking great bread in a Walmart oven?!?!

Very cool that you successfully used it for 80º-ish proofing! That would certainly be icing on the cake, and addresses one of my peeves about portable ovens. I'll give it a test run. What mode did you use for it?

By listening very carefully I could hear the bimetallic thermostat click. I turned the knob up from lowest until it clicked on. I monitored with a cheap Bluetooth thermometer I've had for years. It took a bit of fiddling but it is about 66 here in the kitchen and I didn't want to wait all day.

The oven is great. I'm glad I can still bake while waiting on our new oven to arrive.